Interesting facts about Sheffield

sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England.

It is located in north-central England about 260 kmilometers (160 miles) northwest of London.

As of May 2020, the population of Wellington is about 590,000 people. It is the 3rd most populous city in England. The metropolitan population of Sheffield is 1.6 million people.

The city covers a total area of 368 square kilometers (142 square miles).

The city’s lowest point is just 29 metres (95 feet) above sea level near Blackburn Meadows while the highest point is 548 metres (1,798 ft) above sea level at High Stones, near Margery Hill.

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Sheffield is the most geographically diverse city in England. Lying in the eastern foothills of the Pennines, the city nestles in a natural amphitheatre created by several hills and the confluence of five rivers: Don, Sheaf, Rivelin, Loxley and Porter.

The area known as Sheffield was probably founded in the second half of 1AD in a clearing by the River Sheaf although humans may have lived in the area for at least 10,000 years.

Escafeld, as the historic town of Sheffield was called at the time of Domesday Book (1086), was an Anglo-Saxon village.

It became the site of a castle and a parish church built by the Norman lord William de Lovetot early in the 12th century. He also built a church on the site of Sheffield Cathedral.

sheffield history

A little town grew up between the castle and the church. That often happened in the Middle Ages.

Sheffield was a centre of blade production since the 14th century.

By the 17th century, Sheffield became the biggest producer of cutlery outside of London.

Sheffield played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution, with many significant inventions and technologies developed in the city.

In the 19th century, the city saw a huge expansion of its traditional cutlery trade, when stainless steel and crucible steel were developed locally, fuelling an almost tenfold increase in the population.

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Sheffield town was incorporated as a borough in 1843 and granted a city charter in 1893.

Although its industrial base underwent some shrinkage in the late 20th century, Sheffield is still a major British producer of raw steel, cutlery, and machinery.

Sixty-one per cent of Sheffield’s entire area is green space, and a third of the city lies within the Peak District National Park.

The Peak District National Park became the first national park in the United Kingdom in 1951. It attracts millions of visitors every year.

peak district national park

The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul usually called simply Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914.

Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul

The Kelham Island Museum is an industrial museum on Alma Street, alongside the River Don, in the centre of Sheffield, England. It was opened in 1982. The island on which it is located is man-made, resulting from the construction of a mill race, in the 12th century, which diverted water from the River Don to power a corn mill belonging to the Lord of the Manor.

kelham island museum

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is an industrial museum in the south of the City of Sheffield. The museum forms part of a former steel-working site on the River Sheaf, with a history going back to at least the 13th century. It consists of a number of dwellings and workshops that were formerly the Abbeydale Works—a scythe-making plant that was in operation until the 1930s—and is a remarkably complete example of a 19th-century works.

abbeydale industrial hamlet

Weston Park Museum is a museum in Sheffield. It is Sheffield’s largest museum and is housed in a Grade II* listed building and managed by Museums Sheffield.

weston park museum

The Millennium Gallery is an art gallery and museum in the centre of Sheffield. Opened in April 2001 as part of Sheffield’s Heart of the City project, it is located in the city centre. The gallery has two permanent collections, two temporary exhibition spaces, space for corporate events and weddings, and a cafe and shop.

millennium gallery

The Sheffield Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens situated off Ecclesall Road in Sheffield, England, with 5,000 species of plants in 7.7 hectares (19 acres) of land. The most notable feature of the gardens are the Grade II* listed glass pavilions, restored and reopened in 2003.

sheffield botanical gardens

There are more than 250 parks, woodlands and gardens in the city, which is estimated to contain around 4.5 million trees.

Graves Park is the largest public park in Sheffield. The park was developed by Alderman J.G.Graves between 1926 and 1936, to protect the thousand year old woodland from building development. Mr Graves donated the 91.9 hectares park to the city.

graves park

The city has a long sporting heritage, and is home to the world’s oldest football club, Sheffield F.C.

The oldest football ground is Sandygate, owned by Hallam FC in Sheffield. The first competitive game played at the ground was against Sheffield Football Club on 26 Dec 1860.

The most people tossing pancakes is 890 and was achieved at an event organised by the University of Sheffield (UK), in Sheffield, UK, back in 2012.

The most people playing hopscotch simultaneously is 664, and was achieved by Move More Sheffield (UK) in Sheffield, UK, on 20 May 2019.