Part of hidden River Sheaf beneath Sheffield Station unveiled for first time in 150 years
River Sheaf lightwell unveiled at Sheffield Station after six-year scheme
A new lightwell revealing part of the hidden River Sheaf beneath Sheffield Station has officially been unveiled after years of planning and fundraising.
Located on Platform 5A, the installation allows the public to hear and glimpse the river below the station for the first time in around 150 years.
The River Sheaf, which gave Sheffield its name, was buried underneath Victorian culverts when the station was built in the 1870s.
The scheme was led by the Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust alongside volunteers, engineers and local supporters.
Retired engineer and designer Ric Bingham, 73, said the idea first emerged in 2019.
“It’s been long in the design but even longer in the bureaucracy,” he said.
Mr Bingham explained that approval processes involving Network Rail, station operators and others caused major delays before construction was finally approved in late 2025.
He described the installation as “unique”, saying there are few railway stations in the country where people can directly experience a river flowing beneath them.
“It’s one way of getting daylight back into the rivers,” he said, referring to efforts to reconnect buried waterways with the public and make hidden rivers visible again.
Fabricated and installed by Sheffield company Steel Line, the structure includes engraved information about the history of the River Sheaf alongside poetry written by local schoolchildren and Yorkshire poet Ian McMillan.
Simon Ogden, 73, chair of the Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust, said the initiative was about both heritage and environmental restoration.
“Sheffield was named after the River Sheaf, so it’s very nice to be able to see that river again,” he said.
He added that restoring rivers and improving natural habitats was increasingly important during the climate and biodiversity crises.
“We need to do everything we can to restore our rivers as habitats because they are nature’s highways,”he said.
Green Party councillor Douglas Johnson, who attended the unveiling, said the scheme would help the general public reconnect with the city’s waterways.
“Most people don’t know the rivers are directly underneath them,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to see so many more people wanting to engage with this place in different ways.”
MP for Sheffield Central, Abtisam Mohamed also attended the unveiling and said she first heard aboutthe idea during one of the Trust’s Hidden Rivers tours several years ago.
“To actually see it in person is really good to see,” she said.
She added that the project would allow “light coming into the river for it to breathe again”.
One visitor at the unveiling described the lightwell as “a portal down into the rivers below”.
They said: “You can feel the cool air, smell the river water and hear the rivers flowing by.”
The Trust says it is already working on similar installations and hopes to see more projects appear elsewhere along the River Sheaf in the future.
Money raised through the Trust’s Hidden Rivers tours helped support the work.