Park Hill: A Preservation of the Past with a Hopeful Future
- Allison Owens
- Sep 8, 2022
- 4 min read
Park Hill Flats have fascinated me since I first visited Sheffield in 2019. Recently however, I've followed this interest and, needing a space to put all this information, I've decided to make a blog post about it. They are situated on one of Sheffield's seven hills and can be seen just behind the train station.
Last year, I worked for the Census. My first day was spent wandering around Park Hill trying to find addresses that no longer existed, I got to walk through the then-building site which was very cool but I didn't get a lot of time to appreciate the structure. I found it quite interesting that between the 2011 and the 2021 censuses, these addresses had ceased to exist.
Park Hill is a place where past and present coexist, exemplified by the above photo of Norwich Street. The left side is currently being renovated, the right is finished, only separated by a temporary wall.
This is eerily similar to this second photo from the 1970s, this could easily be the same walkway - it was definitely taken on the highest section of the complex.
Park Hill in the 20th Century
Park Hill Flats, the design of Jack Lynn and Ivor Smith, have marked the Sheffield skyline since 1961, followed for a time by Hyde Park. The Streets in the Sky were created to function as regular streets; the names of old streets in the area were reused and the decks outside the apartments are 10ft, designed to be wide enough for milk floats.
An additional block of flats looms in the earlier photos of Park Hill. Hyde Park, opened in 1966 on the same day as the University of Sheffield's Arts Tower, only existed for just over 20 years, but its presence in these photos is overwhelming.
Hyde Park and Park Hill were extremely similar in some ways, but notably, where Park Hill went across, Hyde Park went up; the tallest block, Block B, was 19 floors (56m). This tallest block was demolished in the early 90s. Two blocks of Hyde Park remain, Castle Court and Harold Lambert Court, the latter of which I spent time working in in 2021.
A team of caretakers lived on-site until 2003 but by the 1980s, Park Hill had gained a notorious reputation reinforced by poor noise insulation and badly lit walkways.
In 1998, Park Hill was granted Grade II listed building status, a move which proved controversial but meant that the building itself remained. The developers Urban Splash later took over the estate and created the iconic, colourful windows that I saw the first time I arrived in Sheffield.
Park Hill in the 21st Century
I Love You Will You Marry Me
Originally featuring the name "Clare Middleton", the 'I love you will you marry me?' graffiti is an iconic part of Park Hill's legacy. Appearing in Spring 2001, the story behind the graffiti is wrapped up in tragedy.
This graffiti has enjoyed longevity, used by many including YUNGBLUD, Arctic Monkeys and Urban Splash themselves.
In 2016, Frances Byrne wrote about the reality behind the graffiti
One thing that stood out to me was the following:
"The city projected abandonment on to Park Hill, so the graffiti started to look like love yelling at the top of its voice in an estate thought to be desolate."
I don't know how I personally feel about 'I love you will you marry me?', before I knew about the background I thought it was brilliant. Now, I'm less sure, I don't like the way it was commercialised. Ultimately, there were real people behind the graffiti and this commercialisation removed them from their own story. I could probably write a whole second blog post about my feelings about this specific aspect of Park Hill's history because it's such a complex, emotional issue.
The reality of the graffiti is rather heartbreaking, the story behind it isn't just some cliché romance but a permanent reminder of a family's grief that developers co-opted for financial gain. For a time in 2021, the graffiti and Neon lighting was removed as construction work was carried out on the walkway but afterwards it was returned to that spot.
Chibnall's Doctor Who
While the most recent series of Doctor Who have been met with real mixed reviews, I personally loved them. One thing I really liked was the familiarity of the setting, Sheffield was a place I was only just discovering.
Season 11, Episode 4, Arachnids in the UK features Park Hill as the home of companion Yasmin Khan and her family.
The Future of Park Hill
The part of Park Hill that really interests me is the part that remains untouched by Urban Splash, the 'unregenerated'. This won't be there for much longer, already I can see the progress that has been made between April 2021 and August 2022. I understand that they can't just leave the estate as it is but there is a part of me that's sad to see it changed.
In 2019, the then Sheffield Poet Laureate Otis Mensah wrote 'We were never derelict', which can be found written on the barriers that keep the public out of the currently empty areas of Park Hill. I walked past this poem daily for the best part of two months but I didn't read the full poem until earlier this month.
We were never derelict |
|
Pockets of people's stories |
cradled by brick and mortar |
amidst the rubble and murmur |
living catalysts of love |
|
Paint gallons of life on dreary |
dance over mundane & void |
solitude birthed a smile |
that sought community & good |
|
Build towers of noise aside us |
such transience won't quake |
a spirit, not stone and cemented |
but blood & flesh & faith |
|
We were never derelict |
just displaced and out of sight |
carrying home inside us |
when home they tried to break. |
Otis Mensah |
Eventually, Park Hill will be fully regenerated and many more people will move into the flats that are currently unoccupied. I know a lot of people think Park Hill is a 'blight on Sheffield's skyline' but I think it's incredible. It's history and it's alive in such an urban way, it's simultaneously a preservation of the past and a reflection of our modern way of living. I love it.
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