New heritage champion says Sheffield’s past needs stronger backing
Councillor Brian Holmshaw says his new role is about backing the volunteer groups and campaigners working to protect Sheffield’s historic buildings, from the Town Hall to Leah’s Yard and beyond
Sheffield has a very proud past, often encapsulated in ancient buildings that remind the city of all those who went before us. Now, for the first time, somebody in the Town Hall is finally fighting for the past - Heritage Champion, Councillor Brian Holmshaw.
Sheffield is a city that forged its reputation in steel but has a history which stretches back into the deer fields that became today's busiest neighbourhoods and a castle razed to the ground on a political whim.
We now expert who cut his teeth giving his own time to various heritage groups who is ready to bang the drum for all of them.
"I'm not here on behalf of the City Council," Brian told me.
"I want to support all those many, many friends groups in the city who do so much work behind the scenes to improve our buildings, communities and the places we live. This role is initially going to be part of a continuation of what I've always done which is supporting all the heritage groups."
Brian acknowledges that it has been a hard slog for campaigners to get their message heard, but he believes new appointments at the council are changing that.
What exactly will fall under the role of Heritage Champion is still being shaped but Brian is adamant that he will keep pushing for better with privately owned buildings such as the Old Town Hall. He wants a condition survey done soon so the city understands issues such as roof damage and water ingress that has worsened over recent winters.
And what about where his office sits inside the 'new' Town Hall?
"There are some fundamentals that need sorting with the Town Hall which haven't been addressed well enough over the years," Brian said. "There's been patchwork approach to heating, lighting and electrics in the building - for a functioning building you need all that and that's pretty basic but when it's this kind of scale, you need that at scale. You then need to then build up and it's a big project but I know it's been addressed by a couple of folks who've been appointed to the team.
"I think the Town Hall needs a future that is good for the people of Sheffield. What we don't have in the city centre is some good places for folks to go where they can have meetings that don't cost a fortune. Not everyone wants to have a meeting in a pub, not everyone wants to pay top dollar for a meeting room so I think that should be part of the function of a Town Hall particularly as we are building the community within Sheffield's centre. There are due to be at least 50,000 to 60,000 people, extra folks planned for the expanded city centre. I think it could perform that function of a community place."
One of the big wins in the city centre over recent years has been the loving restoration of Leah's Yard.
Brian is the first to admit that its restoration was nothing more than a hope for far too long.
He said: "For the 80s that was a dream you know and the buildings around it didn't help at that point. But I remember before that there were record shops and falling down buildings. There was a pub called The Albert I believe on the corner.
“Chubbies was an absolute legend. But it didn't really do justice to the history of it so now I'm really pleased that that Leah's Yard has been restored. Cambridge Street, it's on a broader scale, is looking good. Cambridge Street Collective around the back has had a really good impact I think on the area. And Leah's Yard itself with all those little niche and boutique places within it, they've got a place in Sheffield haven't they?"
Brian is encouraging everyone to get in touch with their opinions on what the future should look like for all heritage sites. Surprisingly, one that he isn't often contacted about is Coles - but he thinks opinions are softening.
"What I do know is that a lot of heritage folks have changed their minds over the years and they've actively said to me - 20, 30 years ago they wouldn't have rated that building but now they see it as a modernist building. They've come to terms with modernism I think and I've admitted it, they've said it to me," he explained.
In a former guise, Brian led walks and talks for the Workers Educational Association. Among his favourite spots were the old Stone's Brewery and Neepsend Rolling Mills. His own family history is wrapped up in that spot and dates back to the 1900s.
"That building's a really interesting one and has a very interesting history because sometimes this isn't just about what exists now, it's about what did exist and how we pull that together and make it clear that this is the heritage of the area, that it was such a valuable place for the communities who lived around it. All those tiny little terrace houses, the courthouses of Sheffield of old and lots of families have got history there."
So how convinced is Brian that the future for heritage in the city is more positive?
"I am confident because I think there's some good people in post and it's been a relatively recent, it's been in the last year or so, maybe 18 months, that the people getting in post and getting used to Sheffield, if they're not from Sheffield, getting used to the dynamics of how we do things.
“There are so, so many volunteer groups that need that support and that oomph to get them to a place where they are able to take over a building if needed, but be there as the champions of that building as well, because I'm not the only champion for heritage in Sheffield and I don't want to be. It's those folks on the ground that are the real champions."
- You can watch Nancy’s full interview with Brian on The Star’s YouTube channel.