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Park Hill Flats, who lived there, and what are your memories of them?

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Hello,

 

I am a student at Newcastle Uni, studying architecture. I am currently trying to write a dissertation on high rise living, and as part of this im looking at Park Hill for a case study. I would like to seek anyone who used to live there, for any amount of time, and any date. I would like to ask you a few questions about what it was like to live there, what was good, and what was bad etc.

 

I hope you can help me out, it would be most appreciated.

 

Many Thanks

Catherine

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Pomo hell

 

Form follows function?

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It's still a listed building.

 

A city in the sky.

 

A thing of beauty.

 

Ask yourself this - would you like to send your own family to live there for the next 30 years?

 

...la...la....la....la.....:hihi:

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Personally, from what i know about the scheme, no i definatly would not send my family there, in its current state, maybe once it has been redeveloped, but thats only my point of view, i know alots of people loved their flats and stayed there for many years. I really want to know from primary sources what it was like to live there, good or bad interperatations so i can make a balanced conclusion.

 

Did you live there?

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I lived on the other development, originally called "Park Hill II" , Hyde Park.

My grandma lived on Park Hill though. and in the 60's when she lived there it was lovely. (in the seventies, it started going downhill.)

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Can u remember why it went down hill? i know maintenace was a problem and new tenants with little respect for their surroundings added to it. Did she say what things she liked about it?

 

Thank you

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Can u remember why it went down hill? i know maintenace was a problem and new tenants with little respect for their surroundings added to it. Did she say what things she liked about it?

 

Thank you

 

I know that when I lived on Hyde Park, (And whilst my Gran lived on PHF) it was traditional for the tenants to have a pride in their gleaming new homes which had replaced the back to back slums (ok, maybe a touch too rosily tinted!) but we certainly had a pride, such as mopping the area of landing, outside our front doors (akin to "Donkey-Stoning the front doorstep in the old houses) but certainly I would mop my front door area right up to moving off in 85/6.

 

My grandmother found it less pleasant to live there, when the so-called "problem families" were moved onto the flats, and the council seemed reluctant or powerless (you decide) to take any action to make the disruptive tenants "behave" in a less anti social manner.

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Sorry, forgot the other question:- what she liked about it?

 

It was convenient for town, (she grew up near where the university arts tower would be built, so was used to living quite centrally) and the markets.

 

there was "recreation" "built in" with the bingo in the complex's social centre and there were the four pubs also on the complex.

 

warm, modern great new facilities, a world away from Tin baths, outside loos, and back-to-back slums,

 

because many of the people moved onto the flats all came from the same small area, at the time of opening, the sense of community, and community responsibility was nurtured, and to add to that benefit, the continuity "community" of the same people as had lived near you before, living near you once again was good.

 

the choice of shops at the time, on the complex was fantastic, and with the waste-disposal "garchey" system, which was so innovative, and meant you didn't have hassle disposing of garbage it was "hi-tec living" after a fashion.

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My aunt lived on Norwich Row, from memory in the 60s/70s. I used to love going to visit and did have a spell of living there for 9 months while my mother was in hospital.

 

I remember the lifts reeked of pee, nothing new there:) I used to like how the footsteps echoed when people walked passed. From her flat you could see the trains going into the station and the christmas lights in town. I remember they had a waste disposal unit and had never seen one of those before.

 

I went to PH school for a little while and remember it as being very modern, probably 1968ish.

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My aunt lived on Norwich Row, from memory in the 60s/70s. I used to love going to visit and did have a spell of living there for 9 months while my mother was in hospital.

 

I remember the lifts reeked of pee, nothing new there:) I used to like how the footsteps echoed when people walked passed. From her flat you could see the trains going into the station and the christmas lights in town. I remember they had a waste disposal unit and had never seen one of those before.

 

I went to PH school for a little while and remember it as being very modern, probably 1968ish.

 

The waste disposal was called a "Garchey".

 

I preferred the PHF lifts to the HPF ones, as the PHF lifts weren't glassed to the outside..(the ones on HPF had big windows in the back of the lift so you could see the ground falling away from you, and it terrified me as a child.) When I was a chiild the lifts didn't smell of pee, so much as the disinfectant "San Izal".

 

there are some fab pictures of the original park hill school on picturesheffield, it was big, and dark and glowering. it was on the same site as the new school. (that's also now demolished) It looked rather odd, in the middle of this shiny new development.

 

I used to love to walk all the way down the massive staircase by the shops. When I was old enough, my gran would let me go down the steps on my own, whilst she used the lift, and she'd wait for me at the bottom, and we;d go shopping in the "Stoo-ers" or Fine Fare.

 

I remember the farm foods shop, by the housing office near the paper shop. My gran would buy a loose 1/2 lb pat of butter from them, which was a pale silvery colour, like Lurpak, rather than yellow, like anchor, and it had been hand shaped.

 

My gran's flat also overlooked the train station, before the trees got as big as they are now, and the view was fantastic, especially when something special like the Flying Scotsman or the Duchess of Hamilton came to the Sheffield Station!

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i used to live at number 1 long henry row the one that was 4 stories high.. loved the view into sheffield city centre. i never had any problems while i lived there but it was in 1983-1985. only one grip was that you could not turn off the heating.. so it was alwasy red hot lol

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