Jessops Hospital for Women Leavygreave Road Sheffield

The Hospital site is on the corner of Broad Lane and Upper Hanover Street and replaced the earlier Sheffield Womens Hospital in Figtree Lane (opened 29th June 1864 with just six beds). Designed by Mr J.D.Webster, the hospitals original Victorian building opened in 1878.and was built in the late Gothic style. It takes its name from Sheffield steelmaker Thomas Jessop (1804-1887) who donated £30,000 towards the building costs. Jessop's fortune came from steel; his father was a steel smelter and a partner in a steel firm. Thomas worked his way up through the family business and when his brother died in 1872, Thomas became the owner. The Jessop works at Brightside became one of the biggest steelworks in the country and in 1875 the firm became a limited company with a share capital of £400,000. Jessops specialised in Crucible steel for cutlery, edge tools, and engineering and also gained a reputation in America, particularly for cutlery steel.

Thomas Jessop was a well known public figure and held many important civic posts including Master Cutler (1863), Mayor (1863-4), Alderman (1864), Town Trustee (1862) and JP (1863). As Mayor in 1864 Jessop had to deal with the aftermath of the great Sheffield flood. He became treasurer of a compensation fund of around £50,000. Jessop was also a member of Sheffield's first town council when the town became a corporate borough in 1843.

All babies born at Jessop's receive a certificate stating they are truly 'made in Sheffield'

Initially the hospital had a bed capacity of 35 but increasing demand led to an extension being added in the early 1900 which ran the length of the upper part of Gell Street to the point where it met Broad Lane. Incidentally it was designed by the same architect as the 1878 building. The six story St Georges block which faces St Georges Church was completed in the 1940's and twenty years later the Antenatal/Postnatal units together with the Physiotherapy Units were opened.

Like many public buildings in the Sheffield area in general and this area in particular, the hospital was allowed to deteriorate and eventually a new hospital was built behind the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

The site is derelict (2002) but has been purchased by the University of Sheffield for redevelopment.

The above photograph was taken in 1950 and shows the main entrance to the hospital together with the car park.

Another announcement came in November 2006 the University of Sheffield eventually announced

"This next phase will see us refurbish and bring back to life the historic Victorian Wing of the old Jessop hospital building and build a landmark new
building on the west corner of the same site. These developments will provide new homes for the departments of Music, English, Law and History, and provide outstanding facilities for staff and students across the University.

The department of Music will move into the Victorian wing, once the careful refurbishment of this Grade II listed building is complete, whilst English, Law and History will all move into the new landmark building on the west corner of the site.

The new landmark building has been designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, award winning architects renowned for delivering iconic buildings, with environmental sustainability as a top priority. Sauerbruch Hutton won the contract as part of an internal architecture competition held by the University last year. This is an exciting time for us and we look forward to starting work early in 2007 and moving departments into their new homes in 2008."

In late January 2007, the demolition of the 1940's St Georges Wing at the Jessop Hospital site began to prepare the site for the development new academic buildings.

In November 2008, the University of Sheffield released the following statement

"One of Sheffield’s most treasured buildings has been given a new lease of life by the University. The Victorian Wing of the old Jessop Hospital for Women was the birth place of thousands of Sheffield residents. Now, thanks to the University, new generations will be able to enjoy the exquisite craftsmanship and grandeur of the building. The Jessop Building, as it will now be known, has been carefully restored and will now become home to the University’s Department of Music.

Contractors Kier Northern and architects careyjones have been overseeing the restoration of the Grade II listed building. The Jessop Building covers a total of 1540 square metres over three floors. It will provide office space and a computer studio for the University´s Department of Music and teaching space for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities as a whole.....

Professor Keith Burnett, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: "We feel extremely proud to be unveiling the carefully restored and renovated Jessop Building. This is a building that is close to many people´s hearts and is an important part of Sheffield´s history. By bringing the building back to life we have created excellent facilities for our Department of Music and have retained a piece of exquisite Victorian architecture for the city."

But sadly The University of Sheffield's zest for preserving Sheffield's historical past was short-lived.

"Fears of a ‘precedent’ for Sheffield’s historic sites

Published on Wednesday 27 March 2013 06:00

CAMPAIGNERS say they fear for the future of historic buildings after a controversial Sheffield planning battle took its final twist.

The demolition of the Grade II listed Edwardian wing of the former Jessop Hospital can now go ahead – after Communities Secretary Eric Pickles decided not to ‘call in’ for review the planning permission granted by Sheffield Council.

Thousands of people signed a petition against plans by The University of Sheffield to see the building turned into an £81 million engineering block.

Nick Roscoe, a campaigner with the Save Jessop Hospital group, said: “We are disgusted, particularly with the council which has completely failed to represent people of Sheffield who made a very strong case through a petition of more than 4,000 signatures, pleading with the council and Eric Pickles to preserve our listed buildings.”

Mr Roscoe, Meersbrook, said the decision ‘set a precedent which meant Grade II listed buildings in future are not safe’. He warned: “This will be the first of many.”

The University of Sheffield welcomed the decision. Construction of the new building is due to begin later this year, complete by 2016.

Keith Lilley, director of estates and facilities management, said: “We are extremely pleased we can now begin to progress this essential new development – the centrepiece for a £154m investment in our engineering estate.

“We are committed to investing in a high quality, stunning building which will be the centrepiece for the Faculty of Engineering’s continued success and a source of enormous pride for the city.”

* Campaigners called for the Edwardian wing to be retained in the engineering block to preserve the historic site

* They were supported by a former Lord Mayor, architects, academics and conservationists

* Sheffield Conservation Advisory Group – Sheffield Council’s own panel – also criticised the plans.

* The plans were approved in December by the council

* In January it was revealed that a senior planning officer had warned in an internal email that the plans breached planning guidelines

* Plans were upheld after going back to councillors because planners failed to consult several bodies

* It was confirmed yesterday that Communities Secretary Eric Pickles would not ‘call in’ the planning decision for review

* The university has said it cannot incorporate the old hospital block in its design

* Academic leaders say the block could be the ‘best’ engineering department in the world

* The university also says an increase in engineering student and staff numbers by 2020 will boost the city’s economy by ‘more than £20 million each year’.

Name	Relation	Marital Status	Gender	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Thomas JESSOP	Head	Married	Male	77	Sheffield, York, England	Magistrate Retired Steel Manftr
F.Y.JESSOP	Wife	Married	Female	63	Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Catherine MAKON	Serv	U	Female	31	Monaghan Glebe	Cook (Dom)
Elizabeth STANLEY	Serv	U	Female	16	Carlton, Nottingham, England	Housemaid (Dom)
Lucy DURRAN	Serv	U	Female	23	Greasbro, York, England	Housemaid (Dom)
Maria COOK	Serv	U	Female	23	Sheffield, York, England	Chamber Maid (Dom)
Elleanor NORBURN	Serv	U	Female	24	Rotherham, York, England	Cook (Dom)