2 Haymarket is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Sheffield City Centre Sheffield City Centre (referred to locally as simply Town) is a district of the Sheffield, City of Sheffield and is covered partly by the City ward, Sheffield, City ward of the City of Sheffield. It includes the area that is within a radius of ...

in England. The building was constructed in 1871 to serve as Sheffield's head

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

.Ruth Harman and John Minnis, ''Pevsner Architectural Guides: Sheffield'', p.149 It was originally intended also to house the local branch of the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

, but the space was almost immediately found to be inadequate, and within a couple of months of its opening in 1872, the Revenue moved to offices on Norfolk Street.Pawson and Brailsford, ''The Illustrated Guide to Sheffield and District'' (1879 edition), p.111 The building has two stories and an attic and is in the

classical revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style, adopting a form which was already old-fashioned at the time it was built. In 1879, it was described as "a fairly handsome Doric structure, but inadequate to the requirements of the rapidly increasing postal and telegraphic business of so large a town". A further section at the rear of the building, facing Commercial Street, was constructed at the same time and in the same style, but is of a single storey, with a basement below. In 1910, a new head post office for the city was constructed on Fitzalan Square. The building was purchased by the Sheffield

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

, which opened its new site with a grand ceremony in 1911. The stock exchange operated until 1967, when the creation of

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

dramatically reduced its business. The building was restored in the 1970s, and the interior was completely reworked to serve as a branch of the Yorkshire Bank, which it remained until September 2014. The building is Grade II listed. As of July 2017, the building remains unoccupied following Yorkshire Bank's vacation of the site. There are currently plans for the refurbishment of 2 Haymarket and the adjacent building at 5-7 Commercial Street, which would include the addition of a second floor on the Commercial Street building and the creation of 11 flats across both buildings.

References

{{Authority control Government buildings completed in 1871 Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield Former post office buildings Stock exchanges in the United Kingdom Grade II listed banks Post office buildings in the United Kingdom