After my great-grandfather’s death in November 1876, it seems that there was little reason for his widow and infant son to remain in Sheffield. Within two years, they had left town and, to my knowledge, they would never return.
Shepherd St, Google Maps, 2012
I’d always wondered what had happened to Shepherd Street and its surrounding area in the 10 years since I’d first visited. And thanks to the wonders of Google Maps and Street View, I did not have to make a trip to Sheffield to find out.
From my desktop several thousand kilometres away, it seems that the area has deteriorated further and some businesses have closed their doors. If it had all looked rather dreary in 2003, then it is even more so now.
However, there is a ray of sunshine on the horizon.
My earlier hunch about the area being ripe for urban renewal has proved correct. Plans are afoot to redevelop it for a range of mixed uses: see here.
Like all such projects, time frames are long and change will be achieved incrementally, the final outcome probably taking longer to materialise than would have been originally anticipated. But when complete, I’m sure that it will look great and be home to a vibrant community.
Perhaps as it may have been over a hundred years ago.
But that story is for someone else to narrate.
It’s amazing how far technology has come–and how we can now find out what it looks like at specific addresses via google maps/street view.
Yes, saves one hell of a lot of travelling!
Reblogged this on occursus and commented:
A fascinating blog post that speaks precisely of the area in which we are making Furnace Park. It’s a strange serendipity that on the 1873 map, the space occupied by what is now the Furnace Park site is marked out in a red pen…. We have also done a little research on the Jewish community that lived in this area in the 19th century. See http://occursus.org/2012/06/15/quiet-flows-the-don/
Serendipity indeed!