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About Broomhill Situated
directly to the west of Sheffield's city centre approximately 2 km
distant, Broomhill is a leafy suburb of mainly Victorian houses centred
around local shops and amenities. The boundaries of Broomhill are somewhat ill
defined but influenced by the hilly nature of the terrain. Certainly if
one considers where residents themselves feel they 'belong', those who
identify with Broomhill occupy only a portion of the local council ward
boundary illustrated in the Ward Boundary Map. Much of Broomhill ihas been designated a Conservation Area to provide some protection for its special character in the face of severe development pressure.
To the east Broomhill blends into the district occupied by many of Sheffield University's departments and the teaching hospitals. To the southeast of us, Broomhall contains many fine Georgian and Victorian houses. The equally leafy suburbs of Ecclesall to the south, Endcliffe to the south-west and Ranmoor to the west are primarily Victorian; to the north is Crookes, originally a village separated from Sheffield, as was also Crosspool to our north-west.  The large student
population in and around Broomhill gives its social mix a strong
seasonal variation. During the quiet months of summer, Broomhill tends
to look middle-aged, middle class and not very ethnically diverse. An
explosion of youth and diversity occurs every september with the new
student intake, which brings people from every continent to our community. Furthermore, the daily influx of children to our
many popular schools, from a wide surrounding area, radically alters
the age profile during term-time.To get a sense of Broomhill from a two-dimensional map is difficult, as the land slopes in two directions, upwards from east to west and from south to north. In the north west of Broomhill, Tapton is Sheffield's highest hill, and when viewed from the south across the city appears to have virtually unbroken tree cover. Many of Broomhill's houses have sizeable gardens to both front and rear that contain fine mature trees. Weston Park to the east of Broomhill, and the Botanical Gardens to the south, are large public open spaces within walking distance. These public and private green spaces help to counteract the detrimental impact of traffic on our community, living as we do on one of the main arterial routes into Sheffield city centre. John Betjeman captured the spirit of Broomhill very well in his poem, An Edwardian Sunday, Broomhill, Sheffield. The history of the development of Broomhill as one of Sheffield's first suburbs is covered in detail in  the Pevsner Architectural Guide to Sheffield, by Ruth
Harman and John Minnis (Yale University Press, 2004). This book
is indispensible reading for all those interested in the
architecture of Broomhill; it contains recommended walks and points out
interesting buildings in the area (many of which are listed). There are many fine examples of different styles and periods
of housing to
be found in Broomhill, ranging from workers' cottages with outside
privies to fine villas and mansions. We also have several
listed buildings. The architectural details gallery
shows specific interesting features of some of our buildings.Many of Sheffield's best-known families have lived in Broomhill at some time and the area has a rich social history. BANG is interested in collecting memories of Broomhill from current and former residents and making this collection available through this website. (top) |
