My Views of Sheffield Buildings - No.1

No 20 – 22 Cambridge Street – Leah’s Yard.

When walking round Sheffield what people notice nowadays are all the new buildings seemingly appearing one every two weeks, what some fail to see are the places, that survive (maybe not for long) one such is Leah’s Yard.  The Yard itself to be redeveloped alongside the huge development earmarked for the area round it, the plans state that it will return to small units, work and shop areas.  The Yard is Grade II listed so major work has to match the existing architecture and is protected from demolition.

Leah’s Yard was built presumably around 1860 as the buildings round it have date stones of this time.  In the 1880’s it was the site of the Cambridge Horn Works, which supplied the cutlers in the area with the horn handles fashionable at that time.  1892 Henry Leah set up his Die Stamp Company on the site, producing stamps for the Silverware Industry here in Sheffield and elsewhere, this is where the Yard got the name we know it as.  The yard in 1905 was the home of 18 “Little Mesters”.  More recenty some of the units were taken over by small independent clothes and record shops.

Little Mesters

The origins of the term come from “Mester” the Sheffield dialect for master. So a “Little Mester” referred to a master craftsman working on a small scale.  Before the eighteenth century cutlery manufacture in Sheffield had been undertaken by master craftsmen who would make an item from start to finish. In the late 1700s there was a large increase in the call for more cutlery and tools that made it necessary for craftsman to focus on a single stage of the manufacture.  The larger Cutlery factories out sourced some of the work to self-employed craftsmen, the “Little Mesters”, each specializing in one step of production, such as forging, grinding or finishing.  Today, there are a handful of these craftsmen left in Sheffield, and the future for the continuation of their skills is looking uncertain.

Well that’s a bit about Leah’s Yard, as you can see from my photograph the sign that marks the currently unused site, had been kept over the years and whilst the buildings surrounding it have been redeveloped, Leah’s Yard is awaiting it’s makeover. 

Sunday on Camera 3

Well a few weeks ago, my church were looking for volunteers to help them during the services. I attend Hope City Church, here in Sheffield. So I thought I'd put back something as the people there had been really good and very, very welcoming. I went along not knowing what I wanted to help with, there is the cafe, security, production (Video, Sound Etc.), reception, meeters and greeters etc. I ended up with my computer and photography skills, joining the production team a great bunch of people who do the filming, sound, lights etc for the services. The services are now recorded and put on the UCB channel on sky, so to my astonishment and only after two full practice evenings, I was asked to man a camera, this Sunday Evening (talk about in at the deep end!!).

So I turned up before the requested time, not wanting to be late, it's one of my good points, honest. After setting up the cameras, with the help of Steve and James, I put on my communication head set (mike and headphones), only finding out when I couldn't hear anything I'd forgotten to plug in one lead, this attached I could now hear the Director Gavin, giving instructions to me (camera Three) for the run through, before the public were let in. This seemed to go well and Camera Three, was a happy boy. So while we had a short break before going Live I celebrated with a small Pepsi from the cafe. Back to work, going Live, I did my bit , taking instructions from Gavin and trying to remember what James had taught me. The service was made up of the "Band" and "Singers" going through the songs practised, earlier in the week, that in my mind went well, but hey as I said I'm no expert. Then to the rest of the service, with Pastor Roger (on release from Liverpool), preaching up a storm, with me nervously following instructions ansd him. Well service over and it went well and I was told i'd done a good job, so there you go my first stint as a video cameraman, it can only get better, can't it? Well practice again Thursday evening and I hope to get better and keep up the good work.

Thanks for rewading and i'll post again soon.

My first post, no not the "last post".

Well welcome to my blog. I decided to try and write a blog that's interesting and informative, well you can take bets on how long that lasts!!

A little about me and the place I live.

I am a proud Yorkshireman, and like the stereotype, I'm friendly, careful with money and don't suffer fools gladly. Being a keen Amateur photographer I will post some of my pictures from time to time. I am a keen reader and enjoy a good book, mostly non-fiction. I enjoy a good film, mostly comedies and some TV, in particular detective style programs, such as NCIS, CSI (all series) and comedy/dramas, such as Chuck, Reaper (pity it got canned). I enjoy all types of music and if I like it I like it I'm not a Music snob.

I was born and brought up in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England and still live there. I live in probably the most beautiful county in England, known for it's magnificent scenery, but some may not agree? Sheffield itself has definitely changed over my lifetime, from being the most recognised name when mentioning steel, cutlery or plated silver. It still produces as much steel as it did previously but employs a fraction of the workers to do this. Like Rome it is built on seven hills (some say eight) and with views either into the city centre or out onto the countryside it is a great place to live. It was built at the confluence of five rivers. It is said that we have more trees per person than any other city in Europe, roughlyt two million, a large part of the City is parks and green spaces.

More facts on Sheffield next time.

The interesting and educational didn't last long did it till next time, thanks for reading and please come back soon.