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Sheffield Central Library

1934 establishments in EnglandArt Deco architecture in EnglandCulture in SheffieldGrade II listed buildings in SheffieldLibrary buildings completed in 1934
Public libraries in South YorkshireSheffield City CentreUse British English from May 2022
Sheffield Central Library 2014
Sheffield Central Library 2014

Sheffield Central Library is a public library in Sheffield, England. It houses the city library service's single largest general lending and reference collection, as well as Graves Art Gallery, on the third floor, and a theatre in the basement. Services available from the building include the Sheffield Information Service and a wide range of library sections, such as arts, sports, business, technology and local studies. Work on the building began in 1929, to a design by W. G. Davies. Built in a broadly Art Deco style, it was opened in 1934 by the Duchess of York (later The Queen Mother). Conceived as part of a plan by Patrick Abercrombie to create a civic square, it was the only element of that proposal ever built and so it faces onto a narrow street. In 1991, Tudor Square was constructed to one side of the library. The building, supported by a steel frame, is faced with Portland stone and has some decorative mouldings by Alfred and William Tory. It is a listed building at Grade II status.The art gallery contained within was founded around a bequest from J. G. Graves and hosts a range of temporary and permanent exhibitions. In January 2017, Private Eye reported that the building's owner, Sheffield City Council, planned to sell it due to expensive repairs being required following years of neglect. The potential buyer was the Sichuan Guodong Construction Group, a Chinese developer, which proposed to convert the library into a hotel. The company discovered its costs for the intended work would be higher than anticipated and the project was abandoned. The latest council commissioned report on proposals for the building indicate that the preferred option is for the library service to be moved to a new site with Castlegate or the former John Lewis building in Barkers Pool mentioned as possibilities. Under these plans, the current library building itself would be retained for just the Graves Gallery.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Sheffield Central Library (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Sheffield Central Library
Surrey Place, Sheffield City Centre

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Wikipedia: Sheffield Central LibraryContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.38 ° E -1.467 °
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Central Library & Graves Gallery

Surrey Place
S1 2LP Sheffield, City Centre
England, United Kingdom
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Sheffield Central Library 2014
Sheffield Central Library 2014
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Nearby Places

Upper Chapel
Upper Chapel

Upper Chapel is a Unitarian chapel on Norfolk Street in Sheffield City Centre. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. The Chapel is Grade II listed.James Fisher was the vicar at Sheffield Parish Church during the Commonwealth of England. He was expelled in the Great Ejection for refusing to sign the Act of Uniformity 1662, and around a tenth of his parishioners followed him in becoming Dissenters.Several splits ensued, but by the 1690s, the dominant group of non-conformists was led by Timothy Jollie. His congregation constructed Upper Chapel as the first non-conformist chapel in Sheffield in 1700. It was built of brick and faced on to Fargate. The chapel originally boasted a congregation of about 1,000 people, a sixth of the city's population. The side walls survive from this period.In the 1840s, the Chapel was turned round to face across fields. The roof was raised and the interior reconstructed. The alterations by John Frith were completed in 1848, while the interior has several later additions, including several stained glass windows. Nine on the ground floor are by Henry Holiday.Nineteenth-century ministers included George Vance Smith, Brooke Herford, Thomas Hinks and John Edmondson Manning, who wrote a history of the chapel in 1900.The Chapel is linked to Channing Hall, which faces on to Surrey Street. Designed by Flockton and Gibbs and completed in 1882, the hall is of Italianate design and is named for William Henry Channing, who served at the Chapel in 1875.The trustees own many freehold properties in Sheffield.