Sheffield now and then: Nostalgic pictures show old Tip Top store and Chapel Walk

Our pictures today look at how Sheffield looked in 1975 and how it appears today, through the lenses of our photographers across the years.

Chapel Walk is the narrow street that links Fargate with Norfolk Street, taking shoppers from the pedestrianised precinct, virtually to the Crucible Theatre.

Sadly, the pictures, taken at the Norfolk Street end, show how the decline of retail has hit the city centre over the intervening 47 years.

Take a look at the picture from 1975.

We see a woman looking intently into the window of a shoe shop – part of the sign above the window appears to be hanging loose.

Next door, is the old Tip Top discount store, a name long gone from our high streets. And the prices displayed are also long gone. Where can you nowadays see prices for goods displayed at 22p?

NOW AND THEN: Photos of Fargate today and in 60s show Sheffield city centre street's transformation

The bustling street is full of shoppers sporting the fashions and unmistakable hairstyles of the 70s, with stylish ladies sporting the trendy flares of the time.

Fast forward to 2022, and much has changed – but that 70s shoe store is still selling footwear, perhaps with fewer platform shoes.

What was then a book shop on the other side of the road now has a tattoo and body art sign outside.

Sadly, that old Tip Top discount store now bears a ‘shop to let sign’

The picture taken this year shows a near-empty street, apart from the shopper peering into the window, wrapped up against the rain, which may have kept people indoors.

NOW AND THEN: Angel Street and the former ABC cinema