Sheffield, Fargate and Surrey Street 1893

Sheffield Lyceum

My first visit to this beautiful (and my favourite) theatre was to see Ronnie Hilton in the pantomime 'Sleeping Beauty'. It was then I fell in love with the theatre in general and the Lyceum in particular. It was a great loss to the Sheffield entertainment scene in 1969 and I was one of many people who tried to get it reopened during the 1970s and 1980s. It was great to see it re-furbished and re-opened in 1990 and whenever I am in Sheffield I always try and catch a show there. It was designed by W G R Sprague, opened in 1897, and is now the only surviving Sprague theatre outside London. With its modern sister theatre, the Crucible, next door, Sheffield once again has a great cultural quarter.

The Gaumont & City Hall

Barkers Pool to me will always mean the Gaumont (ex Regent) Cinema and the City Hall.The Sheffield Gaumont was one of my favourite cinemas. My first visit was to see 'The Great Escape' followed by 'Mary Poppins' and I spent many a Saturday afternoon there in its luxurious surroundings.I also remember seeing Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck live on the Gaumont stage. Across the road at the City Hall I saw many of Sheffields Big Amateur Operatic Societys Musical shows there after the Lyceum closed in 1969 and prior to its great reopening in 1990. Only the City Hall remains now of one of Sheffield's former entertainment areas.

We were 'The Young Ones'

This photgraph brought instant memories of when, as a teenager, I regularly walked with friends, Barry, George, Eric, and others, from Portland Street (Near the Royal Infirmary) to Crookes Valley Park. There we hired racquets and balls for an hour, and played tennis on the court to the right of the bowling green shown in the photograph.
We were 'The Young Ones', full of energy and careering around the court, whilst the old guys played bowls close by, and  the park keepers made sure we didn't get out of hand.
Now I'm one of the old guys, but the memories come back afresh on seeing the photograph.

Unsettled Times

I have very vivid memories of the war years as it was coming to an end. I was born in Cambridge Street in The Sportdman's public house, which up to the present time is the only pub left on Cambridge Street. Where the John Lewis store now stands on the corner of Barkers Pool/ Cambridge St there was a firm called, The Steel City Works, that got bombed, oh don't I remember the sounds around that night!!!. I remember the City Hall getting hit by the tracer bullets, I still think we were lucky not to have the City Hall bombed. I am now in my 68th year and as I walk around the city centre, memories still stick with me of those unsettled times we ALL had in Sheffield. I am pleased that some of old Sheffield remains, it's good to jog ones memories of the past.