About Sheffield
One of the north's key cities, Sheffield is a major metropolitan city and is home to over half a million people. Yet tight restrictions on development have ensured that the beauty of the adjoining Peak District National Park has not been compromised. As a result the urban area of Sheffield has excellent shopping facilities and a fantastic range of bars and restaurants, while the Peak District National Park on its doorstep offers breathtaking views of the spectacular countryside nearby.
The city also has a plethora of parks and woodland areas within its bounds, and set as it is in the rolling Yorkshire hills just east of the Pennines, Sheffield boasts some of the best views in the country. In fact Sheffield has more trees per person than any city in Europe and despite its great size it has been informally termed "the largest village in England".
The city became famous for its steel-making, cutlery in particular, during the height of the Industrial Revolution - even now Sheffield steel is renowned for its quality - but before this success Sheffield had grown from humble Anglo-Saxon beginnings, through Norman occupation to become a bustling settlement.
Apart from steel, the Sheffield economy was strengthened by a number of other industries - the coal trade, alongside other types of mining in the area, brought prosperity - in fact, local limestone was used in the construction of the Houses of Parliament in London.
In recent years, Sheffield has been extensively redeveloped and has experienced a strong economic revival. The economy has steadily grown outpacing the rest of the broader region of Yorkshire and the Humber, with the city's GVA (gross value added) having increased by 60% in recent years. Sheffield is now host to many hi-tech companies and even Boeing, the aircraft giant, has works at the city's new manufacturing park on the outskirts.
For more details on Sheffield, please visit the About Sheffield page, or to read more about Sheffield's history, her economy, and other aspects of this great city browse the articles below.
Sheffield has a great selection of leisure facilities, local attractions, museums, galleries, historic buildings and parks and open spaces. The
nearby Peak District National Park offers a direct contrast to the charm of the city with breathtaking countryside.
The area now occupied by the City of Sheffield has been inhabited since at least the late Upper Palaeolithic period, and most likely much longer.
However, the settlements that developed and amalgamated to form Sheffield are of Anglo-Saxon and Danish origin, dating from the second half of the
first millennium.
While iron and steel have long been the main industries of Sheffield, coal and other mining has also been significant, particularly in the
outlying areas. In fact limestone from nearby quarries was used to build the Palace of Westminster in London.
Sheffield has two large theatres - the Lyceum Theatre and the Crucible Theatre - which, together with the smaller Studio Theatre, make up the
largest theatre complex outside London.
The Peak District National Park, whose dramatic scenery attracts around 22 million visitors per year, is directly to the west of Sheffield. The
national park is the fourth largest in England and Wales and has an area of 555 square miles.
Sheffield has been the home of numerous eminent bands and musicians with artists such as Pulp, The Human League, Def Leppard, Joe Cocker, Richard
Hawley, Longpigs, Milburn and Moloko, along with many other popular and alternative musicians.
Being the UK's first National City of Sport and home to the prestigious English Institute of Sport (EIS), Sheffield offers exceptional sporting
facilities and has a long and impressive sporting heritage.
Sheffield has two universities (University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University), two further education colleges, 137 primary schools, 25 secondary schools (seven of which have sixth forms), a sixth-form college
and six independent private schools.
Sheffield has earned an international reputation for metallurgy and steel production, with many innovations in these fields being developed
locally. These include Sheffield plate and the crucible technique.
The M1 skirts the north-east of the city, linking Sheffield with London to the south and Leeds to the north, while the M18 branches from the M1
close to Sheffield, connecting the city to Doncaster, Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the Humber ports.
Sheffield is a geographically diverse city, and is one of the eight largest regional English cities that make up the English Core Cities Group.
Despite its great size, Sheffield is often informally known as "the largest village in England", due to a combination of topographic and demographic
factors.
The remains of Sheffield Castle, at the confluence of the rivers Don and Sheaf, mark the site where the earliest settlement at Sheffield was
founded sometime in the second half of the 1st millennium AD.
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