Editing Attercliffe

{{Short description|Suburb of Sheffield, England}}
{{See also|Sheffield Attercliffe (UK Parliament constituency)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = England
| coordinates              = {{coord|53.394|-1.433|display=inline,title}}
| official_name            = Attercliffe
| metropolitan_borough     = [[City of Sheffield]]
| metropolitan_county      = [[South Yorkshire]]
| population               =
| region                   = Yorkshire and the Humber
| constituency_westminster = [[Sheffield South East (UK Parliament constituency)|Sheffield South East]]
| post_town                = SHEFFIELD
| postcode_district        = S9
| postcode_area            = S
| dial_code                = 0114
| os_grid_reference        = SK378887 
}}

'''Attercliffe''' is an [[industrial suburb]] of northeast [[Sheffield]], [[England]] on the south bank of the [[River Don, South Yorkshire|River Don]]. The suburb falls in the [[Darnall (ward)|Darnall ward]] of [[Sheffield City Council]].

==History==
[[File:Attercliffe riverside.jpg|thumb|right|Christ Church from across the River Don in 1826. The "cliff" can be seen in front of the church.]]
The name Attercliffe can be traced back as far as an entry in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 - Ateclive – meaning “at the cliff”, a small escarpment that lay alongside the [[River Don, South Yorkshire|River Don]]. This cliff can be seen in images from the 19th century, but is no longer visible.<ref name="vickers">J. Edward Vickers, ''The Ancient Suburbs of Sheffield'', pp.7&ndash;10 (1971)</ref>

Westforth or Washford Bridge, at the Sheffield end of the village, was first recorded in a will of 1535. It was rebuilt in wood in 1608 and 1647, then in stone in 1672, 1789 and 1794.<ref name="vine2">G. R. Vine, ''[http://youle.info/history/fh_material/attercliffe_p2.html The Story of Old Attercliffe]'' (pt. 2)</ref>

Historically a part of the [[Sheffield Cathedral|parish of Sheffield]], [[Attercliffe Chapel]] was built in 1629 as the first place of worship in the settlement. The Town School was built in 1779, and Christ Church was built in 1826 but destroyed during the [[Second World War]].<ref name="vickers" />

In 1686, [[Richard Frankland (tutor)|Richard Frankland]] set up a [[dissenting academies|dissenting academy]] at Attercliffe Hall. Three years later, it was taken over by the [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|nonconformist]] minister [[Timothy Jollie]], who educated students including [[John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes|John Bowes]], [[Nicholas Saunderson]] and [[Thomas Secker]].<ref>"[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/articleHL/14978 Jollie, Timothy]", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]''</ref> Secker, later [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], was frustrated by Jollie's poor teaching, famously remarking that he lost his knowledge of languages and that 'only the old Philosophy of the Schools was taught there: and that neither ably nor diligently. The morals also of many of the young Men were bad. I spent my time there idly & ill'.<ref>Manuscript autobiography</ref>

In the early 19th century, Attercliffe remained a rural community known for its orchards, windmill, and large houses including the Old Hall, New Hall and Carlton House. New Hall was later converted into [[pleasure garden]]s, with a [[cricket ground]], [[racecourse]], [[bowling green]], [[maze]], lake and depictions of famous cities. It was known for its concerts and firework displays.<ref name="vickers" />

Small-scale manufacture of [[Penknife|pen knives]] and [[pocket knives]] developed in the early 19th century,<ref name="vickers" /> The suburb became more accessible with the construction of first a [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]] road from Sheffield to the terminus of the [[River Don Navigation]] at [[Tinsley, South Yorkshire|Tinsley]], then the opening of the [[Sheffield Canal]], running to the south of the village. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a frequent proposal to widen this to form a Sheffield Ship Canal, to terminate in a basin at Attercliffe.<ref name="vine3">G. R. Vine, ''[http://youle.info/history/fh_material/attercliffe_p2.html The Story of Old Attercliffe]'' (pt. 3)</ref>

[[Attercliffe railway station]] opened in August 1871 and closed on 26 September 1927.

[[File:John Banner Attercliffe.jpg|thumb|right|The former John Banner department store]]
Attercliffe has long been an industrial area, but by the early 20th century, there was also a large residential population and high class shops, John Banner's department store (Banner's), which opened in 1934, in particular. The area declined after the Second World War as Victorian housing was [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|cleared]] and not replaced, causing schools to close, followed by most of Attercliffe's shops. Banner's closed in 1980 and was converted into offices.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kilgannon |first1=Laurence |title=Owner of landmark building appoints administrators |url=https://www.insidermedia.com/news/yorkshire/owner-of-landmark-building-appoints-administrators |website=Insider Media |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> Some of the local industries closed or moved to larger sites further out of Sheffield.

=== Adelphi Cinema ===
[[File:Adelphi Attercliffe.jpg|thumb|left|The former Adelphi Cinema]]
The '''Adelphi''' was an art deco cinema on Vicarage Road, built in 1920 by architect William C. Fenton. It is Grade II listed. The cinema closed in 1967, and the building was then used as a [[Bingo (non-US)|bingo hall]] under the name "Adelphi Bingo Club" and a [[nightclub]]. It is currently disused. In November 2022 Sheffield Council announced plans to redevelop the building for community use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sheffield: Plan to revive Grade II-listed Adelphi cinema approved |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-63560247 |website=BBC |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref>

==Attractions==

Its location on the [[Sheffield Supertram]] route, the completion of the [[Five Weirs Walk]] and construction of the [[Don Valley Stadium]] and [[Sheffield Arena]] in the 1990s brought some life back to the area. As part of the area's regeneration, new house building started in 2002. Don Valley Stadium was demolished in 2013, but other entertainment venues bring visitors to the area, including [[Hollywood Bowl]] & [[Cineworld]]. This has changed Attercliffe from its previous seedy element to an area for outer city entertainment with the introduction of [[Valley Centertainment]].

It is home to one of the highest concentrations of sporting facilities in the UK with the [[Olympic Legacy Park]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1025175/high-profile-additions-made-to-olympic-legacy-park-in-sheffield|title = High profile additions made to Olympic Legacy Park in Sheffield}}</ref> incorporating [[iceSheffield]] and the [[English Institute of Sport - Sheffield|English Institute of Sport]].

==Politics==
Attercliffe falls within the [[Darnall]] Ward. [[Sheffield Attercliffe (UK Parliament constituency)|Sheffield Attercliffe]] was the name of one of Sheffield's parliamentary constituencies from 1885 to 2010, when it was renamed [[Sheffield South East (UK Parliament constituency)|Sheffield South East]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{OpenDomesday|SK3788|attercliffe}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060103191738/http://www.rocknroll.force9.co.uk/cinemas/cinephoto.html#adelphi Pictures of the Adelphi Cinema]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230513/https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/libraries/archives-and-local-studies/community-histories/attercliffe Sources for the History of Attercliffe] Produced by Sheffield City Council's Libraries and Archives

{{Districts of Sheffield}}
{{Stagecoach Sheffield Supertram}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Attercliffe| ]]
[[Category:Suburbs of Sheffield]]