4.10 St. George's Quarter

Character

St. George’s is located on the ridge of high ground separating the Don and Sheaf Valleys, north west of the city centre. The area to the east of the quarter is within the designated City Centre Conservation Area. The ring road and its roundabout at Brook Hill create a formidable pedestrian barrier to the west of the quarter.

The quarter comprises the eastern part of the University of Sheffield campus. A nationally recognised institution for teaching and research, the University activities in the quarter are focussed around the landmark of St. George’s Church, now a lecture theatre. There are a number of buildings throughout the quarter which are used by the University, however, this part of the campus does not have a collegiate atmosphere. Most of the University buildings are used as laboratories or lecture theatres and, with limited opportunities for ground level activity, they do not foster interesting streetscapes or urban spaces.

There is a variety of architectural styles in the St. George’s Quarter. The eastern part of the quarter is a typical mix of early 1900s housing and industrial units. There are several buildings of historical significance including the Mappin Building, Steel City House and the grand mass of the former Jessop Hospital. Otherwise, the built form generally comprises 1960s developments which have been utilised as office and lecture space.

The buildings in the west of the quarter are generally designed to a high quality and some are monumental in scale, ranging from the Edwardian period to modern contemporary structures. This quality is not reflected in the recently developed student flats which are pastiche in their architectural style and do little to improve the quality of the urban environment. Building materials tend to be red or brown brick, buff stone, buff faience, painted render, modern cladding on external walls and slate or metal sheet for roofing.

The quarter also retains a limited industrial presence, principally at Trippet Lane and Rockingham Street in the east. Here, the urban form is more fragmented due to the industrial buildings, gap sites and poor quality public realm.

Glossop Road and West Street offer a degree of vibrancy in the quarter with their shops, pubs and cafes. At this point, the activity of the Devonshire Quarter’s urban village merges with St. George’s.

Buildings in St. George’s are generally 2-4 storeys, with some newer interventions reaching up to 10 storeys. While there have been some successful conversions of older buildings and several new developments, no attempt has been made to integrate these buildings with the street and many are pastiche in their design.

St. George’s suffers from poor legibility and permeability for both the pedestrian and cyclist. The university campus itself is fragmented by the ring road, particularly at Western Bank and Upper Hanover Street. As with much of Sheffield City Centre, many of the external spaces in the quarter are monopolised by on street carparking, despite the area being well served by public transport. The connections between public transport stops and the university buildings are unattractive, with characteristic blank facades and a poor quality public realm. As a result, the streets and through routes of the quarter offer no incentive for people to stop and spend time here.

There are a number of important gateways within St. George’s, for both pedestrians and vehicles. The Brook Hill/Broad Lane roundabout is a key entry point from the west and, together with Glossop Road, is a principal pedestrian thoroughfare for Sheffield University Students. Rockingham Street connects the quarter with the city centre.

There is small group of urban spaces in this vicinity, namely Weston park, St. George’s Church and Devonshire Green which, if safely connected and better maintained, would provide an attractive open space network. There are also some pocket parks, however, they tend to be located by the busy dual carriageways and are poorly maintained.

The open space network will be enhanced by the redevelopment of the Mappin Gallery and Weston Park to provide a dynamic centre for education within Sheffield museums and galleries. This will be undertaken with the cooperation of the Trust, the University and the Union of Students to create an exciting urban space.

Public realm materials in this quarter generally consist of tarmac paving and concrete kerbs with buff concrete paving around the university building.

The character areas within the quarter are

A St. George’s. This comprises the St. George’s Church lecture theatre, the Jessop Hospital and the Mappin Building, which form a group of architecturally and historically significant buildings.

B West Street. West Street is the dividing line between the Devonshire and St. George’s quarters and is one of the historic streets of the city. Much of the nineteenth century development remains, and there are a number of good commercial blocks with shops on the ground floor and offices above.

Within the St. George’s Quarter are the following principal buildings:

• St. George’s Church Lecture Theatre
  
• Mappin Building
  
• Steel City House
  
• Somme Barracks and Drill Hall
  
• Jessop Hospital
  
• 23, 25, 27 Trippet Lane, former cutlery works

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