Steel City Snapper photography
35mm, medium format and large format film photography (with the odd bit of digital every now and then…)
Five minutes before this shot was taken the whole structure was enveloped in steam. I quickly made my way to a vantage point where I could get a photograph of the spectacle but, alas, it didn’t reoccur in the time I was able to wait. Smaller volumes of steam were constantly being emitted, as in the shot below, but not the glorious fogbank I’d initially witnessd.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 12 January 2020
This derelict building stands adjacent to the Rotherham United football stadium at the edge of Rotherham town centre. The building is the site of a former brassworks, Guest & Chrimes Ltd, which was established in 1843 by brothers Richard and Edward Chrimes and moved to this site in 1857. The company produced produced taps, sluice valves, hydrants and water meters and expanded rapidly after the invention of the ‘High Pressure Loose Valve Screw-Down Cock‘ (clearly the double entendre had not been invented yet :)) – the forerunner of the modern domestic tap – by Edward Chrimes. The foundry eventually closed in 1999.
There is historic film footage from 1901 showing workers leaving the factory. It’s alarming to see how many young boys are amongst the workforce (although cheering to see that they enjoyed larking about in front of a camera in exactly the same way that boys still do today).
The Grade II listed building is currently surrounded by high fencing, and parts of the structure shown in the last two photos was demolished following a fire in 2018. The entire building is under lease to the neighbouring football club and there are plans to redevelop the building.
This final image features some poignant graffiti that I only noticed when scanning the negative (you may need to click on the image to see the full size version in order to read it).
There is a forum post dating back to 2013 showing some urbex images of the building, including interiors, here.
Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 12 January 2020
Dating back almost 550 years, the Old Queen’s Head is the oldest surviving domestic building in Sheffield, constructed at the end of the Plantagenet period. The building became a pub in the 1860s when the venue next door extended into this one. Prior to this the buidling was used as a house and may have been a banqueting hall before that. Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisonned in Sheffield in the late 16th century (although not in this building!) and it’s believed that this is where the pubs name is derived.
Holga 120N & Kodak Tmax 400.
Taken on 10 January 2020
This is The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. It was opened in 1971 and, as well as hosting plays and similar performances, has been the venue for the World Snooker Championship since 1977. The theatre has an unusual stage layout with the audience sitting around three of its sides. The building holds Grade II listed status.
Just opposite (to the right of the scene in this photo) lies the Lyceum Theatre, a more traditional (and older – dating back 120 years) venue.
Holga 120N & Kodak Tmax 400.
Taken on 10 January 2020
A small, selfie me, trapped in one of the spherical water features in Sheffield’s Millennium Square.
Holga 120N & Kodak Tmax 400.
Taken on 10 January 2020
Taken shortly before the photo of the cow that I posted a few days ago, this is farmland near Whiston, South Yorkshire, UK.
I liked the muddy field entrance leading into the shot and the brow of the hill giving the impression that the land goes on for miles (Spoiler alert! It doesn’t – there’s a motorway not far beyond the ridge – sorry to spoil the illusion :)).
There are a lot of farms with haystacks and haybales still in the fields this year, slowly rotting away through the autumn and winter. I can only assume that they were caught in rain before the farmers had chance to wrap them or get them into dry barns. I’ve seen some that have actually grown a fresh green grassy hairstyle!
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 23 December 2019
This was, I think, the last photograph I took before Christmas. It’s certianly the final shot from the roll of HP5 that I shot on the 23rd December. After making most of the pictures near Meadowhall and the nearby M1, I decided to drive home on a circuitous route to see if there was anything I could use the remaining few frames on. After taking a landscape shot of some haybales, I came across a farm I’ve never driven past before which had a wonderful (and very muddy) farmyard right beside the road, where a herd of cows were feeding and taking shelter. This photo is one of two I took.
The farm has a shop and I bought myself a very tasty black-pudding sausage roll for my lunch while I was there too.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 23 December 2019
Sheffield, as with many cities, towns and villages in the UK, has a significant number of closed pubs. Whereas pubs in residential areas and the city centre still survive (and thrive) – either due to footfall, location, or by adapting to changing tastes and becoming family orientated pub-restaurants – in places that were once centres of heavy industry, they haven’t fared so well.
The east-end of Sheffield was once carpeted with steel foundries, engineering firms, and manufacturing industry. While this is still the case to some extent, much of the heavy industry has gone and with it the huge numbers of workers keen to slake their thirst after their shifts came to an end.
The decline in this industry has also changed the residential makeup of the surrounding areas. Row upon row of terraced houses that used to house the workers and their families have now either been demolished, of are now inhabited by new generations less inclined to spend their leisure time in public houses. As a result of this, huge numbers of pubs in the area have been closed or re-purposed.
The picture today is of the Sportsman Inn, which is on Blackburn Road in Sheffield. The pub was acquired by Gilmours in 1906, so probably dates back earlier than that. The facade staes 1919, but that is apparently when the pub was rebuilt (perhaps after bomb damage during the first world war?). The pub probably closed sometime in the last five years as the WhatPub site last updated it’s page in 2016, when the pub appeared to be still trading.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 23 December 2019
This is a footbridge across the M1 motorway just north of junction 34. I’ve driven beneath the bridge on many occasions, but have never walked across it before I took this photo. It’s quite a long way down when you get to the upper end, with traffic hurtling beneath.
I’ve thought about taking photos in this area on more than one occasion as I’ve driven past, and so I finally took the opportunity to do so just before Christmas. It’s hardly the most beautiful of places, but there are lots of interesting photos to be had.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 23 December 2019
A shot taken a couple of days before Christmas in typically wet UK December conditions. It was raining quite heavily when I took this so I perhaps rushed the shot a little. With hindsight I should have either gotten lower or angled the camera down to get more of the reflection in frame (and at the same time removing some of the somewhat uninteresting sky). I have thought about cropping it, but in the end decided not to.
I do like it though, and think it might be worth a re-visit if there are similar wet conditions (and an empty car park) again at some point.
Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Ilford HP5+.
Taken on 23 December 2019
