Upperthorpe History
A people’s history of Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe, two neighbourhoods just north-west of Sheffield city centre. It tells how working people there learned, lived and worked as Sheffield grew into an industrial city.
Read the history
In the 19th century Sheffield grew from a town of 45,000 people into a city of almost half a million. Most newcomers came from nearby farming counties to work in the expanding steel and engineering industries, and many settled in crowded streets around the workshops and factories.
This history follows that story at street level in Upperthorpe and Netherthorpe. It draws on local people’s own accounts, historic pictures and photographs.
The exhibition panels
The history is also told across five exhibition panels. Use the arrows or pick a panel below, and select a panel to read it full size.
Panel 1 of 5
Introduction
How migration and industry transformed Sheffield in the 19th century, and how community life grew in Upperthorpe.
Panel 2 of 5
How we learned
Adult education and schooling, from the Mechanics’ Institute to the Sheffield Educational Settlement led by Arnold Freeman.
Panel 3 of 5
How we lived
From rural fields to crowded courts: housing, sanitation, the Townhead Street flats, and the slum clearances that followed.
Panel 4 of 5
How we worked
Life in Sheffield’s metal trades, told partly through workers’ own descriptions of their workplaces.
Panel 5 of 5
The Little Theatre
Drama at the Settlement in Shipton Street, where plays were staged for decades until the area was redeveloped.
Do you have memories or photographs of Upperthorpe or Netherthorpe? We would love to hear from you. Email steve@sheffield.coop.