Sheffield has an interesting history of high rise living which stretches back quite a long way. In this selection I intend to present the remaining tower blocks and apartments which remain from the 20th century. Unfortunately there are only a small number left on the ground today.
Beside Brook Hill Roundabout are four 1962 Tower Blocks. They were reclad and improved in 1998.
In this view from the other side of the valley we can see the area in it's full context. The tall dark tower in the centre is the Sheffield University Arts Tower, with the large square bulk of the Hallamshire hospital behind it which we are seeing from the side (we normally see only the front of this building in photos). To the left of the picture we see the blue and cream Netherthorpe towers at the top of the dual carriageway Netherthorpe road. On the right of the picture we can clearly see the group of brown and cream towers at Upperthorpe.
Originally these blocks were the same style as the blocks at Callow mount, two of the blocks being with Single bedroom apartments, and two with Dual Bedrooms.
After a detailed survey and analysis following a 6 months time delay to negate the "Halo Effect" which may have affected the residents, the success of the improvements to the Upperthorpe blocks across the park completed in 1996 was more or less confirmed and the local contractor "Henry Boot" was engaged to improve these blocks using the same methods. Details of the improvements can be found here on the upperthorpe page.
When counting the amount of windows across each floor, it is possible to calculate the number of bedrooms. The closest block in the above shot "Crawshaw" has 7 windows across each floor on the longest side and has 2 bedrooms per apartment. Whereas, the furthest one at the top of the hill and far left of the photo "Adamfield" has only 5 windows across the longest side of each floor and has a single bedroom in each apartment. The middle block we can see is positioned in an opposite direction to the other two visible blocks, and it also has 7 windows and 2 bedrooms per apartment.
On the short side of each apartment there are only four windows across each floor, two to each apartment. The ones in the corners of the towers are for the main lounge of each apartment, whereas the central pair separated by the stripe were originally balconies. The balconies were taken out in the Re clad, so that the small kitchen areas could be extended.
The blocks are named Crawshaw, Robertshaw, Adamfield and Cornhill.
Summary of the Blocks
| Block Name | Address | Tot Floors | Residential Floors | Bedrooms per Apartment | Total Bedrooms in Block |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adamfield | 1 - 95 Brightmore Drive | 14 |
12 |
1 |
48 |
| Cornhill | 99 - 193 Brightmore Drive | 14 |
12 |
1 |
48 |
| Robertshaw | 2 - 112 Brightmore Drive | 15 |
14 |
2 |
56 |
| Crowshaw | 2 - 112 Mitchell Street | 15 |
14 |
2 |
56 |
All Photos taken by Author during October 2007
Closest to the Brook Hill Roundabout, also known as, Sheffield University Roundabout ( with the supertram tunnel ) Adamfield Block (Address 1 - 95 Brightmore Drive) has 12 residential storeys and two Lobby floors beneath. Each of the 48 apartments has a single bedroom.
Here is Adamfield's upper lobby entrance with level access to Bolsover street, right across from the Sheffield University
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Here, a closeup of Adamfield's entrance panel, where you can call the tennant of each Apartment via the intercom, and ask them to let you in. Unfortunately showing a bit of corrosion in 2007, this panel should surely be made of some higher quality material judging by the heavy use it will be subjected to with 24 hour access to 48 apartments. |
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Here is the lower lobby entrance to Adamfield Block onto Brightmore drive.
This block is situated on such a steep gradient, that at the above views we see a whole double floor of lobby floors, and the actual bottom door needs a further 6 large steps into what would be a 3rd lobby floor.
Looking down at the Side of Robertshaw Block from the Bolsover Street Pavement close to the upper Adamfield Block Entrance, we can see that Robertshaw Block is 14 Residential storeys, and 2 taller than Adamfeld.
Cornhill is the closest block to the Iconic Arts Tower, Still sheffield's tallest and highest building at the time of these photos.
Cornhill also has level access to Bolsover street at it's upper lobby level.
Another shot of the Arts Tower, and the edge of Cornhill, 26th October 2007, which is soon to be tidied up with new windows, and the remaining asbestos removed from the structure.
Crawshaw, is one of the two blocks intended for family accommodation. It has 14 storeys, each with 4 apartments, 56 Apartments in total. All apartments have two bedrooms
Robertshaw is the other family block, with two bedroom apartments.
It is hard to find a location where all blocks can be seen at once.
I originally stated the following in the opening article at the top of this page : -
| When they were reclad in 1998, the two highest blocks had the top 2 stories dismantled, because of a new policy whereby the council decided that "High rise living breaks down above 12 stories" These two highest blocks were the single bedroomed blocks for single people or couples without children. It is entirely possible that a large number of young adults which lived at the top of these buildings may have been difficult to keep under control. Removing 2 storeys would take away 8 flats in each block, and it would be difficult to imagine what a difference that made, unless there was a flaw with the weight of the buildings which was addressed by removing the weight of 2 complete floors? |
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But thanks to feedback from Plaintalker, I am aware that this might actually be a misunderstanding, especially as I cannot find a photo or any hard evidence of the two smaller towers with more floors. I speculate that, a common misconception has grown about this issue because the larger towers, which were more commonly photographed can be seen to have more floors in their original guise.
I am willing to be corrected on this however if any further witnesses or evidence comes to light.