Sheffield United Gas Light Company Offices
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Canada House, formerly known as Panache House, is a Grade II*
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 ...
situated on the northern side of Commercial Street in the
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of the city of
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...
, England. It was built as the head offices of the Sheffield United Gas Light Company in 1874. While the main outlook of the building is out onto Commercial Street there is also a short frontage onto Shude Hill at its eastern end and this designated as 19 Shude Hill.


History

The building was constructed for the Sheffield United Gas Light Company in 1874 by M.E. Hadfield & Son in the classical style of a grand Italian villa. It was originally named Panache House, and this designation remains carved above the main entrance. The interior contains ornate plaster ceilings and period fireplaces. The general office contains a glazed dome by J.F. Bentley and carvings by
Thomas Earp Thomas Earp may refer to: * Thomas Earp (politician) * Thomas Earp (sculptor) Thomas Earp (1828–1893) was a British sculptor and architectural carver who was active in the late 19th century. His best known work is his 1863 reproduction of t ...
while the board room contains a decorative ceiling by
Hugh Stannus Hugh Hutton Stannus (21 March 1840 – 18 August 1908) was a sculptor, architect and author. In his early career he worked with the sculptor Alfred Stevens (sculptor), Alfred Stevens; he was in later life a lecturer at art colleges. Life Stannus w ...
. Improvements and additions were made to the building in 1890. The building remained as offices for the Gas Board until 1972 and throughout this period it was informally known as the Gas Office. The vacant building was offered for sale in 1972 but no buyers came forward. Property developers sought consent to demolish the building and redevelop the site but this was opposed by several preservation societies and in June 1973 it was designated as a Grade II* listed building. An inquiry into the building’s future in 1977 resulted in Sheffield’s Assistant Chief Planner David Cathels stating that the building was considered to be “A vigorous and distinguished example of Victorian architecture which should be retained”. Local businessman Les Vickers paid £110,000 for the building in 1978 with a scheme to turn it into a hotel and conference centre, however these plan fell through and in the early 1980s the building’s lower floor was converted into “Turn Ups”
nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...
and “Bloomers”
pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
. In 1990 Canadian Business Parks of Bedfordshire acquired the building with plans to restore it, but this never happened as the company hit financial problems. The building continued to deteriorate throughout the early 1990s and in 1996 Sheffield City Council served a legal notice on the owners to effect repairs. However, no maintenance was carried out, rain came in through the damaged roof and period fireplaces were stolen. The Council in partnership with
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
sealed the building against further damage and it was then acquired by
English Partnerships English Partnerships (EP) was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agencies on a regional level. On 1 December 2008 its powers passed to a successor ...
, the Government agency for regeneration.''"Listed Buildings In Sheffield"'', Hallamshire Press , Chapter “The Gas Offices”, Gives history of building. The building has been restored, and now carries the name Canada House. The lower floors were occupied by No. 1 Oriental Buffet Restaurant, Gives details of present day interior. but this was closed by 2011. There is office space on the upper floors. As of 2022, Sheffield Music Academy are turning the building into "Harmony Works" - a centre for music teaching in Sheffield


Architecture

The building is constructed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. Among the highlights of the architecture are the four paired
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...
on both the ground and first floor. The main door is round arched with steps and is flanked by two figures of
Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
on pedestals supporting a segmental
Pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...
. The roof has four square corner pinnacles topped with spires. Gives details of architecture.


References

{{SheffieldStructures Grade II* listed buildings in Sheffield Office buildings completed in 1874 Matthew Ellison Hadfield buildings 1874 establishments in England