Restorations - Gorgeous Georgian semis in Sheffield get a revamp but come with old identity crisis

Rooms in the 1820s-built Grade II-listed houses have been returned to their original size after being brutally divided in a ‘horrendous’ 1970s conversion for ‘multiple occupation’.

Owners Simon and Jaime Tillyer weren’t planning to spend that much on a rental property but the building seduced them, although rocketing prices for materials and Covid delays played a part.

WHERE IS GELL STREET?

But now, just days away from finishing, and all nine flats taken, one question remains. Where is Gell Street?

Until 1964, there was an easy answer.

It was in the historic estate of Broomhall, based around Broom Hall, built in 1498. The 524-year-old building on Broomhall Road is still going strong as offices today.

Its patch extends to Fitzwilliam Street, well towards the city centre. But the inner ring road changed all that.

In 1964, Hanover Way smashed through on its way from Ecclesall Road to Brook Hill roundabout.

At the time, The Star reported the road was needed to cope with traffic, which was set to treble by 1984.

WHICH ROADS WERE AFFECTED BY THE INNER RING ROAD?

The wrecking ball came very close to 100 and 102 Gell Street, taking out all the houses and properties immediately to the rear.

But while they survived, Broomhall was left in two pieces, split by a wide and busy dual carriageway with few crossing points.

Old maps show Broomhall Street confidently running straight into the city centre. Today, the section on the inside of Hanover Way has largely gone, with just a fragment popping up near Fitzwilliam Street.

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Broomspring Lane and Wilkinson Street still exist on the ‘left’ but are little stubs on the right. It must be a nightmare for new posties.

Monmouth Lane and Aberdeen Street were obliterated. Upper Hanover Street only exists on the left side in its lower section before the new road takes its name further up.

But while some road names survive, what do you call the area just inside the ring road?

Simon, who used to own the Shefflets agency and knows the city as well as anyone, shrugs with uncertainty.

It’s not really Broomhall and it’s not really the city centre and its postcode is different to both. How about simply S3?

WHY ARE LANDLORDS SELLING UP?

What he does know is that the road is handy for town, the university and the hospital. Meanwhile, landlords are selling up due to tax changes and ballooning red tape.

It means areas like Ecclesall Road and Crookes are returning to families. And it has led to a surge in demand for a dwindling number of rental properties, according to the Tillyers. All the revamped flats went in two days after 50 enquiries in 24 hours, they say.

The couple bought the houses on Gell Street when they came up in a virtual auction last year.

For many, it was a first experience of an online property sale, Simon says. And that led to the £650,000 guide price being bumped up to £755,000.

He said: “It was one of the first online auctions and people didn’t realise every bid reset a three-minute timer.

“Some thought they’d win with a sneaky bid at the last second, like on eBay, but it just restarted the clock. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. We said we could go to £800,000 and still make it stack up.”

Listed in 1995, a report states: “The windows are 16-pane sashes with panelled lintels with raised keystones, arranged 3:3.

“Each house has a central round-headed doorcase with imposts and a keystone and rebated brick jambs, containing C20 fielded 6-panel door with fanlight.”

WHO WORKED ON THE REVAMP?

Liam Brown, of Spartan Developments, co-ordinated a 25-strong workforce of tradespeople including plumbers, joiners, decorators, electricians, a dryliner and a ‘mastic man’.

Five of the flats were reconfigured and taken back to brick before having new flooring, electrics, plumbing and more.

But Covid saw people go off for days. The price of some materials shot up, such as timber which trebled in price, he says. And there were shortages. That was when good relations with builders’ merchants came into their own.

He said: “You’d place an order and they couldn’t say when they were going to receive it. I’d have to ring round for extra.”

There is another Georgian building, even grander and detached, on the plot next door. But they are the only survivors after demolition on three sides. As well as bulldozers, explosives could have played a part. The map ‘Where Bombs Dropped in Sheffield’ shows a cluster of black dots in the area.

Today, as well as Hanover Way to the rear, Springfield Playground is at the front, there is a new-build to the side and student flats just up the street.

But then any 200-year-old building will have hair-raising tales of close shaves.

The Tillyers recently sold their share of Shefflets to family. They also sold Vouch - an app for landlords and tenants that Jaime devised - to a London company.

Unencumbered, they are on the hunt for more properties. But, no surprises perhaps, they say they always use a letting agent.

Jaime said: “There are 272 regulations as a landlord. Some carry a £20,000 fine and jail sentences and you can get caught out so easily. Councils enforce them and they get to keep the fine too.

“As a private landlord you now need to be registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Tenants are move savvy and the law favours them.”

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