What Makes Sheffield Special

Call us biased, but we think Sheffield is rather great. What we don’t think is great however is the limited resources on the internet that celebrate the fact that Sheffield has spawned some big names and even bigger moments in history.

For this reason, we decided to shine a light on our beautiful City and showcase the famous names from Sheffield across film, television, media, music and sport, delve into some of our unique history.

And even though we tried, we couldn’t possibly have named everything that makes Sheffield what it is, so please let us know who or what makes it special to you in the comments below.

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Famous Names

Michael Palin

Comedian, actor, writer and television presenter famed as a member of the Monty Python was born in Broomhill, Sheffield.

Sean Bean

Film and television actor from Handsworth, famous for his roles in The Lord of the Rings, James Bond and Game of Thrones to name but a few.

Helen Sharman

Born in Grenoside, Sheffield a chemist who became the first British astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir space station in 1991.

Margaret Drabble

Acclaimed novelist, biographer, and critic. Internationally recognised with a wealth of accolades E M Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973.

David Mellor

Regarded as one of the best designers in Britain, Mellor is famous for metalwork and road traffic light design. His cutlery is used around the globe winning multiple international awards.

Sebastian Coe

An athlete who grew up in Sheffield that went on to become a gold medallist before undertaking a political role, heavily involved in bringing the 2012 games to London.

Sporting Icons

Jessica Ennis

The poster girl of the London 2012 games with Olympic and World Championship gold medals in the Heptathlon.

Michael Vaughan

Growing up in Sheffield, Vaughan is one of the most successful English Cricket captains famous for reclaiming the Ashes with a memorable victory in 2005.

Nick Matthew

One of the greatest Squash players of all time, with a host of achievements that includes 3 World Championships.

Gordon Banks

Growing up in Tinsley, Banks is widely regarded as England’s all-time greatest goalkeeper and still the only one with a World Cup winners medal.

Naseem Hamed

More commonly known as Prince, Naseem was a protégé of Brendan Ingle’s Wincobank gym that went on to achieve titles across WBC, IBF & WBO boxing federations.

The Crucible

Home to Snooker’s World Championships since 1977, this icon theatre is recognised the world over for hosting the prestigious tournament.

Music Legends

Joe Cocker

Born on Tasker Road in Crookes, Joe’s distinctive gritty vocals are internationally recognised. A 1983 Grammy winner famed for his cover of the Beatles classic ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’.

Def Leppard

One of the World’s top selling heavy metal bands. Original members Savage, Kenning, Willis all attended Tapton School in Crosspool, before going on to sell 100 million records worldwide.

Pulp

Fronted by Jarvis Cocker, the Britpop band started life at The City School in 1978, although they didn’t gain prominence until the mid-nineties thanks to Common People and Disco 2000.

Arctic Monkeys

Formed in 2002 in High Green, the indie rock band rocketed to prominence thanks to a new wave of internet marketing on the social network, Myspace.

The Human League

An electronic new wave band formed in 1977, becoming an influence on many synth-based acts. Phillip Oakley is still active with the band some 40 years after its inception.

ABC

Another synthpop act to originate in 1977, ABC enjoyed great chart success in the 1980’s with popular tracks off ‘The Lexicon of Love’ to include Poison Arrow and The Look of Love.

Great History

Sheffield Plate

In 1742, a Sheffield man called Thomas Bolsouver pioneered the making of Sheffield Plate made by fusing silver and copper ingots and rolling them together to form a wide range of household items.

Oldest Football Club

In 1857 William Prest and Nathaniel Creswick founded the first football club in the world. Two pioneers, that developed new rules and laws for a game.

Stainless Steel

Discovered in 1912 by Harry Brearley at the Brown Firth Laboratories, helping Sheffield remain at the forefront of steel production and strengthen its Steel City credentials.

Did You Know?

Greenest City

The greenest city in England, thanks to its enormous tree cover – 4 trees per resident! A third of Sheffield finds itself within a national park, The Peak District, the only English city to do so.

Robin Hood

Although heavily associated with Nottinghamshire, Robin Hood, or Robin or Locksley, actual birth location is now known to be Loxley, a suburb of Sheffield.

Yorkshire Ripper

On the 2nd January 1981, Peter Sutcliffe was caught by police on the driveway of Light Trades House in Broomhill after it was revealed he was using false number plates.