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| The utopian estate that's been left to die | The utopian estate that's been left to die |
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| Park Hill is one of those places that a photographer, fascinated by architecture, social history and dereliction, simply has to visit. I have done, twice so far, driving up from Nottingham, hoping that the wonderful light would still be there by the time I arrived. Parking, and oddly just about the only car there, I was struck not only by its imposing nature, but also the tangible atmosphere of the place. The un-regenerated part is mostly empty now, with only about a dozen flats still occupied. The rest are boarded up, vacant. But the regeneration company ‘Urban Splash’ are making bright new flats and commercial spaces for Sheffield residents. | |
| Walking through the open spaces, there was an touching sense of the vision of the original architects, and how the gulf between their idealism, and the reality, would come back to haunt the place. Football goals, climbing frames, benches arranged for social interaction all showed a positive agenda. The security cameras on very tall poles were more intrusive. | Walking through the open spaces, there was an touching sense of the vision of the original architects, and how the gulf between their idealism, and the reality, would come back to haunt the place. Football goals, climbing frames, benches arranged for social interaction all showed a positive agenda. The security cameras on very tall poles were more intrusive. |
| A stretch of graffiti reads “Clare Middleton I Love You Will U Marry Me”. It was done by a man called Jason in April 2001. The neon (and the editing) was added later by Urban Splash, the company restoring the flats. Sadly, the couple never did marry, and Ms Middleton died in March 2007. | A stretch of graffiti reads “Clare Middleton I Love You Will U Marry Me”. It was done by a man called Jason in April 2001. The neon (and the editing) was added later by Urban Splash, the company restoring the flats. Sadly, the couple never did marry, and Ms Middleton died in March 2007. |
| Park Hill was the first post-second world war redevelopment scheme in Sheffield, built on a site consisting of the existing ‘back-to-back’ housing, tenement buildings, waste ground and a maze of alleyways. In the 1930s it was known by local people as ‘Little Chicago’ because of the levels of violent crime there. As there was no real sewerage system, there were typhus and cholera outbreaks; having only one standpipe per hundred people didn’t help either. In the 19th century, the Park area housed the worst slums in Sheffield. | Park Hill was the first post-second world war redevelopment scheme in Sheffield, built on a site consisting of the existing ‘back-to-back’ housing, tenement buildings, waste ground and a maze of alleyways. In the 1930s it was known by local people as ‘Little Chicago’ because of the levels of violent crime there. As there was no real sewerage system, there were typhus and cholera outbreaks; having only one standpipe per hundred people didn’t help either. In the 19th century, the Park area housed the worst slums in Sheffield. |
| Clearance started in the 1930s, paused for the second world war, but resumed shortly afterwards, when the young Sheffield city council architects Ivor Smith and Jack Lynn began work in 1945, designing a radical scheme to rehouse the local community. Park Hill was the first successful post-second world war slum clearance scheme of an entire community in Britain. | Clearance started in the 1930s, paused for the second world war, but resumed shortly afterwards, when the young Sheffield city council architects Ivor Smith and Jack Lynn began work in 1945, designing a radical scheme to rehouse the local community. Park Hill was the first successful post-second world war slum clearance scheme of an entire community in Britain. |
| In 1957 the construction started, and when it was completed in 1961 it was hailed as the most ambitious inner-city development of its time. Inspired partly by Le Corbusier, the ‘deck access scheme’ was seen as revolutionary. Its style was known as brutalism, and the concept described as ‘streets in the sky’, where milk floats would trundle along broad decks, stopping at front doors, as if they were in a normal street. | In 1957 the construction started, and when it was completed in 1961 it was hailed as the most ambitious inner-city development of its time. Inspired partly by Le Corbusier, the ‘deck access scheme’ was seen as revolutionary. Its style was known as brutalism, and the concept described as ‘streets in the sky’, where milk floats would trundle along broad decks, stopping at front doors, as if they were in a normal street. |
| On 16 June 1961, Park Hill was officially opened by Hugh Gaitskell, the leader of the Opposition. So began the saga of Park Hill, where families were re-homed next to their neighbours to maintain a strong sense of community, and old street names were re-used. Park Hill was designed so that the roof line stays level, even though it’s sited on a steep slope. At the site’s lowest point the flats are 13 storeys high, and at the highest point just 4 storeys. Twelve caretakers lived on site, on 24-hour call, ready to tackle any jobs that needed doing. | On 16 June 1961, Park Hill was officially opened by Hugh Gaitskell, the leader of the Opposition. So began the saga of Park Hill, where families were re-homed next to their neighbours to maintain a strong sense of community, and old street names were re-used. Park Hill was designed so that the roof line stays level, even though it’s sited on a steep slope. At the site’s lowest point the flats are 13 storeys high, and at the highest point just 4 storeys. Twelve caretakers lived on site, on 24-hour call, ready to tackle any jobs that needed doing. |
| Slowly, problems became apparent. By the 1980s, unemployment was rising as the local steel industry collapsed, Park Hill had descended into dilapidation and was no longer a place people wanted to live in. Boarded up pubs, burned out cars, rubbish, graffiti, it became a ‘no go’ area. The maze of alleys and walkways made it a perfect place for muggings; there were also problems with drugs, poor noise insulation, and even tales of air rifle snipers shooting at kids in the school playground. The spirit and traditions of the pre-war communities faded away, as the original residents aged and eventually died. | Slowly, problems became apparent. By the 1980s, unemployment was rising as the local steel industry collapsed, Park Hill had descended into dilapidation and was no longer a place people wanted to live in. Boarded up pubs, burned out cars, rubbish, graffiti, it became a ‘no go’ area. The maze of alleys and walkways made it a perfect place for muggings; there were also problems with drugs, poor noise insulation, and even tales of air rifle snipers shooting at kids in the school playground. The spirit and traditions of the pre-war communities faded away, as the original residents aged and eventually died. |
| In 1998 the controversial decision was taken to make Park Hill a Grade II listed building, the largest in Europe. Developers Urban Splash (in partnership with English Heritage) bought the site to turn it into flats and business units. One section has already been renovated. But in the main, its future looks commercial … | |
| If you’ve an eye for odd details, Park Hill is full of things to make pictures of. I used Fuji X cameras, with the 18mm, 23mm (on an X100), and 35mm Fuji lenses. The fisheye photos were made with a Samyang 8mm and an old Canon FD 135mm f2.8 lens was used (with an adapter) for some of the detail pictures. |