The development of middle-class housing in Western Sheffield during the 19th century

This thesis considers the development of the western suburbs of Broomhill, Broomhall, Endcliffe and Ranmoor, which became the largest concentration of middle class housing for Sheffield during the nineteenth century. The primary source of data has been the deeds of a wide range the larger houses in the area. This has been supplemented by fieldwork to study individual houses and the suburbs as a whole. After an introduction indicating the scope of the research and the sources used, the main body of the work is divided into two broad sections. The first part describes the background to Sheffield's suburban development and then proceeds to the general trends of extra-urban settlement. The processes of such development are then dealt with under the headings of land availability and ownership, together with the involvement of architects, builders and prospective clients. This part of the thesis concludes with a survey of house styles, layout, technology and gardens. Subjects in the first part of the thesis are then illustrated by the second part of the thesis, which consists of case studies of the main suburbs that lie within the study area. Each suburb has been dealt with under the headings of location and topography, development, architecture and residents. In conclusion, Sheffield is considered in the context of general studies of middle-class suburban development and in relation to other provincial industrial cities, notably Glasgow, Birmingham, Nottingham and Newcastle. The thesis suggests that Sheffield developed suburbs to cater for its most prosperous citizens in a manner that followed the general pattern to be found in other large cities. However, as a result of the character of the inhabitants, as described in Chapter 2, the scale and style of building was quite distinctive.