Attercliffe has already changed enormously from the days when Sheffield’s steel industry was at its peak and there was a pub on almost every corner slaking the thirst of weary workers pouring out of the factories. Almost all of those pubs have gone, either boarded up or demolished, and the area is set for a dramatic reinvention.
A vast 23-acre swathe of land either side of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal is soon to be transformed into what developers say will be one of the ‘largest zero-carbon communities in the UK’ – a world away from the days when towering chimneys belched out thick smoke into the skies above the city’s industrial powerhouse.
More than 1,000 new homes, along with ‘climate concious’ workspaces, an arts venue and shops are planned for the site by Citu, which has previously helped transform Kelham Island into one of the UK’s trendiest neighbourhoods.
This retro photo gallery shows how the area once looked, from children playing on the streets to the teeming shops and pubs which have been lost for good. From a celebrity opening to residents doing their laundry at the wash house, the timeless pictures show life in all its variety.
The photos are taken from The Star’s archives or shared courtesy of Picture Sheffield.

13. The White Hart
The White Hart, Worksop Road, Attercliffe with Brown Bayley Steels to the right, 1981 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers

14. Shopping
Some of the shops on Worksop Road, Attercliffe, in 1960 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers

15. Banners
John Banner Limited, Attercliffe, Sheffield - closing down sale January 1980 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers

16. Floating classroom
Boys from the Park High School, Tinsley, convert a 100-ton ex coal barge into a floating residential classroom on the Sheffield Canal at Attercliffe. Mr D Cliffe, science master, and Mr Roger Smith, head of the craft department, with the seven 4th year boys who are doing the conversion: Robert Hughes, Garry Mitchell, Paul Harris, David Henshaw, Martyn Howard, Paul James, David Rothwell, on the deck of the barge, May 1970 Photo: Sheffield Newspapers

