Tour around and within the Park Hill flats complex Sheffield

[@Paul_John_Paul]

My Nan lived up on Norwich Row as it was then. She was one of the earliest residents.

[@Paul_John_Paul]

They really were great.

[@Stvn-gl3sh]

My mum and dads family both lived in on the old houses in the park district ( lord street). My dads mum had a shop , he loved his time here and still to this day regards it as home and speaks of his great fondness of his time in the park district especially during the war….

[@timawells]

My Gt grandparents and Aunt lived at Darnall may have been working class but everything was clean not like modern Darnall.

[@CarltonWarren-m1b]

I lived in park hill flats when it was called Hyde park flats lived in Derwent row back in 1970 lovely place now living in Luton

[@DeanRead]

Can I ask, what is Sheffield culture and where in Sheffield does it exist. In your opinion, what part of the city says ‘Sheffield’ to you. Thanks for this video.

[@timawells]

That is really difficult, one of the issue is that so much of Sheffield city centre got destroyed in the war and rebuilt, however the Castlegate area was the heart of the City but now totally destroyed. Since 1990 the Council have gone into to over drive destroying much more of the City than the Germans ever did. At one bit Sheffield city centre had lots of industry and back to back housing along with the shopping. We had local names that have all gone. I would tell you to get down to Kelham Island, but that has now been gentrified. As a Sheffielder born in 1964 all I seem to have are my memories and scatterings of what once existed that I see hidden.

[@DeanRead]

@@timawells thanks Tim, I’m new to Sheffield having lived across the border south of Chesterfield until recently. I’m really enjoying learning the history in a new place as my focus has been the Derwent Valley over the years. I love the old industrial parts of Sheffield, but have liked learning about the housing too. thanks for sharing your video of Park Hill

[@timawells]

I am going to do a video on the old Castlegate area which should be interesting. I have lots more videos on my channel, Black Swan walk is a good one. I go into Chesterfield market place to support the Freedom fighters there and even Chesterfield is being erased. @@DeanRead

[@timawells]

Have you been to Kelham island museum Dean?@@DeanRead

[@DeanRead]

@@timawells I have yes, it’s a great place. Any more recommendations for industrial heritage? I need to visit the Emergency Services museum at some point soon.

[@JackBlack-gh5yf]

You're an arduous explorer Tim. It was originally the Park Gang round there, made their money from the pitch 'n' toss. It's a shame Pearce's chippy isn't still at the bottom of Duke Street, I went to school with Pete and Lizzie Pearce. Just above there, on the left hand side of Duke Street (going up), were some older flats. They were a bit grim. I had some relatives moved onto Park Hill Flats not long after they were built, and they thought they were great. I remember going to visit them, when I was 3 or 4. First, my dad had to call in Violet May's record shop on Duke Street. I played outside on the old flagstones, because he was in there for ages! There were still houses running up Duke Street then. When we visited my auntie and uncle, I was allowed to go down in the lift to play in the playground. There were no other kids there, but I remember, it being full of dog muck. I had to remember the number for the lift to get back up again! I've known quite a few people over the years, who lived in the flats, and in Hyde Park. Some of the Park Hill residents were fond of them, but I don't know anybody who lives there now. Further up the hill, before you got to the first part of Hyde Park, there were some slightly older flats, which looked terrible, because the concrete had had some sort of reaction, with the rain I think. I applied for one of the Hyde Park flats in 2002, as my best mate lived there at the time, but they were mainly being let to students. The original build quality was terrible Tim, same as Kelvin, where a lot of my family lived, designed by people who knew that neither they, or anyone they knew, were ever going to live there. They wasted all that money putting cladding on Kelvin, and then knocked them down a couple of years later. At least, unlike Hyde Park, there was a bit of community there. I once saw a plan of Hyde Park flats in the Town Hall, and it looked like a deformed swastika! Park Hill ended up as "A unique example of mid 20th century European Brutalist architecture" because every other town had the good sense to pull them down first!

[@timawells]

I wonder if it would have been cheaper to upgrade what was already there Jack rather than having Pie in the sky visions.

[@JackBlack-gh5yf]

@@timawells Someone always seems to make money out of these schemes don't they Tim?

[@timawells]

Absolutely Jack look at the closure of the railways by Transport minister Ernest Marples who had a road haulage and road building company, follow the money.@@JackBlack-gh5yf

[@timawells]

Its a case of I am alright Jack, excuse the Pun. @@JackBlack-gh5yf

[@JackBlack-gh5yf]

@@timawells 🤣🤣🤣👍

[@lindahanley9773]

Remember flats being built , thanks Tim interesting xxx

[@timawells]

I have just seen a video inside a renovated one Linda, even that looks like a rabbit hutch. XX

[@firsteerr]

no i lived on an estate like this and when the residents changed the place fell into disrepair and became a slum

[@lizjames3797]

I’m always interested in park hill as I’ve got older. I knew people who said it was rough but never went that far down being from arbourthorne myself. When they was built I’d imagine there was a lot more luxury for the people that had lived in the slums. Over the years council would have just put anyone in them then all goes wrong happens on all estates Gleadless valley springs to mind. Parking is always a problem in flats we had to live in one in the Washington road flats for a while and parking is only ever made for a few cars, they clearly never thought it through that there would be a lot more people in the future owning cars.

[@timawells]

I don't think the slums they replaced were as bad as they made out, it would have been cheaper to fix them up. I have seen some great pictures behind the Midland station when there was housing and looked at the OS plans back then, nothing like they would lead us to believe.

[@Ay_Up.]

Great video but you did get the picture wrong at 13.07 that's a picture of Hyde park flats. There is still a small amount of it left. You were at park hill flats which is about 20 mins away

[@timawells]

I did call it Hyde Park on the board as far as I know or I have missed something? I was at Parkhill flats as you say.

[@CryoGenic]

Nice to see how far the refurbishment has come. I have photos and videos of me exploring it years ago when it was abandoned. I personally wouldn’t ever purchase a flat there after seeing what the inside of it looked like prior to its rebuild , the place should have been knocked down. The amount of mold and fungus that was built up in those rooms had it looking like the elephants foot from Chernobyl

[@timawells]

It was listed by a guy who worked at the University.

[@Paul_John_Paul]

Tossing Rings up on Sky Edge. The Moonies were a vicious bunch.

[@timawells]

Park hill gang sounded awful as well. Watched the Kemp video on it.

[@Paul_John_Paul]

@@timawells Kemp video?

[@timawells]

@@Paul_John_Paul kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4S0i3dso9anhrcsi=2NQkfqZSDeprCEik

[@dOOMbANDiT]

All the flats in Park Hill had a toilet and hot and cold running water. The slums they replaced didn't!! It's all very well moaning about the flats, but if they'd been maintained properly by the council there wouldn't have been a problem. Many, many original residents loved living in Park Hill, Hyde Park and Kelvin because they were modern, and initially it worked very well. The oil crisis played a part in their demise because of the revelutionary heating design. In the end the authorities allowed them to fall in to disrepair... At one point you could claim to be homeless, turn up at the housing offices and have a key for PH, HP or Kelvin the same day.

[@timawells]

Where they actually slums. I don't believe many of the houses behind Midland station were slums, I saw the road layouts. They could have been upgraded, but there is more money in smashing down and building back. Same with Attercliffe. With everything the council does there is no maintenance and they get bored. Follow the money and the contracts.

[@dOOMbANDiT]

@@timawells They were back to back terraces with no hot water, heating or bathrooms. The area was known as Little Chicago due to the violent gangs and subsequent crime.

[@timawells]

@@dOOMbANDiT Its probably more violent now. Not much money adding running water or bathrooms.

[@freddiebozwell7049]

Dempseys shoes, talbots, Dougies barber, Brandwoods news.

[@timawells]

I am guessing all gone.

[@philltaylor8442]

Those flats WEAR built with cheap Concriet ,I should know I lived on the kelvin flat's from them being New! Then they started moving immigrants into those high-rise flats !from then on, Sheffield became a city for the immigrants and lazy layabouts calling themselves Students !But the majority of them are free loaders?. I'm fortunate my welding tuck me away from the UK 🇬🇧 some decades ago now it was the best thing to happen for me. I like your podcasts on Sheffield.s past and it's future .I think you'll find that the Mooney family came from the Crucks district above the Poundarosa I used to drink in White Hart! Keep your podcasts coming 😊.

[@timawells]

I hope to report a more positive future if we can get some resistance going. Surprising Park Hill flats managed to avoid destruction. Best Tim

[@Sheffield_Steve]

The slapping of the preservation order on this place, must've been the final p1sstake to Sheffield from the Thatcher era, I always think that she probably told English Heritage to slap the order on it, because South Yorkshire hadn't been insulted enough by her administration! However, this was another refurb project that the Council told us a few pork pies, especially how a fair percentage was going back to social housing and what happened there? Managed to get phase 1 complete eventually to sell them to mugs at £120k+, then Phase 2 make sure students had some places to rent, again and the Phase 3 Social Housing, seems to be left undone, funny that, eh?! 🤔🤬

[@timawells]

Steve I heard it was a University professor living there that pushed it through. These flats should have been renovated for the people of Sheffield, fair price or rent.

[@user-du5ui2em8l]

I was there for a couple of years just after the millenium and the flats were solid inside and warm, free underfloor heating, no bother, front doors left unlocked by many - yes there was the odd burnt out car but nothing to bad...fast forward to now and places like stannington flats are shiteholes(just had renovation work very badly done poisoning people with fibreglass and more) badly run by a council neighbourhood office team who do everything to make your life worse, full of dogs and bad owners loads of social problems because they were built to close together and many other reasons, truly the only place in Sheffield which has a terrible reputation as the 'end of the road' never met so many that wanted to kill themselves and had /has such a bad reputation ....Park hill was nice neighbours good people and okay flats no bother from council there and then ...having the space to drive the milk carts down each floor was an excellent idea and gave tennents outside space for community.

[@timawells]

I think the original internal work was the issue, the renovated flats look really good. But as like anywhere it doesn't take many bad apples to cause issues. I am guessing it was the Hyde Park flats that got the area a bad reputation. The council never think about future maintenance of any project they are on.

[@user-du5ui2em8l]

I thought decades ago I was forming a conspiracy about those made worse or killed in social housing in Sheffield - its all true! the council treat tennents worse than animals (but Park Hill was very different then compared to other places)...in the some of the tower blocks people were just falling out of windows for years and they did nothing until now!@@timawells

[@timawells]

@@user-du5ui2em8l Looking at the Hyde Park flats behind, twice as High. I think Kelvin was another horror block. Should be paradise with all the green space around and views.