Our Visitors’ Guide. USEFUL NUMBERS AND WEBSITES The University of Sheffield Sheffield Visitor Information This publication is available in Visitor Information service 0114 221 1900 alternative formats. University House Find out more about the city, To request an alternative format, Your on-campus point of and download a city centre map: telephone: 0114 222 1303 contact. For help and advice www.sheffield.gov.uk/out--about Email: on any aspect of visiting the disability.info@sheffield.ac.uk University, pop in and see us, National Rail Enquiries or call: 0114 222 1255 0845 748 4950 ©The University of Sheffield 2006 www.sheffield.ac.uk/visitors Textphone: 0845 60 50 600 MC0196 www.nationalrail.co.uk South Yorkshire Transport Student Recruitment Admissions Executive Traveline National Express and Marketing For information on buses, Booking: 08705 80 80 80 The University of Sheffield trains, and trams in the South Disabled customers: 0121 423 8479 8 Palmerston Road Yorkshire region. www.nationalexpress.com Sheffield S10 2TE 01709 51 51 51 Tel: 0114 222 1255 www.sypte.co.uk www.sheffield.ac.uk/asksheffield USE YOUR GUIDE TO EXPLORE You may be coming to an Open Day, an interview, or just for a day out. Your guide will help you make the most of your day. It includes information on how to get here, how to get around, places to eat and things to see on campus and in the city. “It was the only place I looked around where something just instantly clicked.” Claire Fittes French and Hispanic Studies “I love Sheffield, it’s absolutely amazing.” Emma Stephens Economics VISITING US If you can’t make it to one of our Open Days, there’s a regular campus tour departing from the Visitor Information Service in University House (map ref 119) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Book a place online at www.sheffield.ac.uk/opendays/alternatives “The city itself is brilliant.” Sarah Barker Physics and Astronomy “It just clicked there and then, and I thought yeah I’m going to Sheffield.” Will Davies Theoretical Physics Additional support requirements If you have any additional support requirements, you can arrange an individual visit. Please book in advance by telephoning 0114 222 1241. EASY TO REACH By air Manchester, Leeds/Bradford and Nottingham East Midlands and Doncaster Robin Hood airports are all one hour from Sheffield. Manchester Airport has a direct rail link to Sheffield day and night. By train Regular services operate between Sheffield and London St. Pancras, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham. You can get a tram to the University from the station. Take the blue route towards Malin Bridge. The University tram stop is six stops from the station. For the engineering departments, Archaeology or the Management School, get off at the fifth stop, West Street. By coach National Express operates coach services from most parts of the country to Sheffield Transport Interchange, Pond Street. The 60 bus runs from the interchange to the campus roughly every ten minutes. Taxis There are taxi ranks at the railway station and beside the City Hall at Barkers Pool. The journey to the University should only take five minutes, but can take longer if traffic is heavy. Expect to pay about £6. By car Parking on campus is extremely limited. As with all major UK cities, parking in the centre of Sheffield can also be difficult. If you do come by car, we recommend using the Supertram park and ride system. From the M1, take exit 33 for the Nunnery Square park and ride site, or exit 34 for the Meadowhall Interchange park and ride site. From either site, take the yellow route towards Middlewood. If you’re coming to Sheffield from the west, for example via the A628 Woodhead Pass or the A61, use the Middlewood park and ride site. Take the yellow route towards Meadowhall. Tesco Abbeydale Road park and ride Just off the A621 to the south of the city. Handy for local visitors. Buses leave for campus every 30 minutes between 06.30 and 09.00. The journey takes 25 minutes. In the afternoon, buses leave campus for the park and ride site every 30 minutes between 15.35 and 17.35. Return tickets are £1.50 each. Pick up/drop off point at the University is the Hicks Building (map ref 121). The service operates Monday to Friday, but not on public holidays. Personalised directions for drivers, and detailed information on park and ride locations, tram times and journey durations are at www.sheffield.ac.uk/visitors/ HISTORY 1828 The School of Medicine founded. 1884 Sheffield Technical School founded to support industry, particularly steelmaking. 1879 Following the success of the Cambridge University Extension Movement, a scheme designed to bring university teaching to the larger towns and cities of England, local steel manufacturer Mark Firth establishes Firth College as a centre for arts and sciences. 1905 The three institutions are amalgamated. The University of Sheffield is granted a Royal Charter, and Firth Court is officially opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. There are 114 full-time students, reading for degrees in arts, pure science, medicine, and applied science. 2005 There are 25,526 full-time and part-time students, across 70 academic departments. Throughout the year, staff, students, alumni and the city itself take part in a programme of events to celebrate our centenary. 2006 New students coming to the University this year join us during one of the most exciting periods of our history. Work gets underway on the new Information Commons (map ref 133), a £23 million state-of-the-art learning resource centre, and our new Student Residences Strategy raises the bar for student accommodation in the UK. CAMPUS LANDMARKS Our campus extends over a mile from the city centre into the leafy suburbs. Its blend of architectural styles reflects the University’s growth and development over the last 100 years. Firth Court1 (map ref 105). Opened by King Edward VII in 1905, and named after local steel magnate Mark Firth, the building housed all the University’s departments except those in the Faculty of Engineering. Today it is occupied by just two – Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, and Biomedical Science. The 22-storey Arts Tower2 (map ref 104), opened by the Queen Mother in 1966, is one of the UK’s tallest academic buildings. Other distinguishing features are the glass and aluminium curtain walls and the Paternoster lift. A Grade II* listed building, the Arts Tower houses the Modern Language departments, East Asian Studies, Biblical Studies, Philosophy, Landscape, and the School of Architecture. The Main Library3 (map ref 103), a Grade II* listed building with over one million books and periodicals, was opened by TS Eliot in 1959. The Edgar Allen Building (map ref 106) was one of the earliest purpose-built university libraries in the country. Opened in 1909 by the Prince of Wales (later King George V), it is linked to Firth Court by an open-sided corridor, originally designed to reduce the risk of fire spreading to the library from the main building. 2 1 3 The Grade II* listed Sir Frederick Mappin Building (map ref 170) was opened in 1904, extended in 1913, and is now home to the departments of Mechanical Engineering, and Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Worth seeing are the John Carr Library and Mappin Hall. The 13-storey Sir Robert Hadfield Building (map ref 172) houses the Department of Engineering Materials. Opened in 1965, it includes a 1,000-ton press and state-of-the-art furnaces, as well as the nationally recognised Turner Glass Museum. www.sheffield.ac.uk/turnermuseum ICOSS Building (map ref 197). Opened in 2004, the Informatics Collaboratory of the Social Sciences is the first large scale facility of its kind in the UK. This five-storey building accommodates up to 100 researchers in fields such as Criminology and Health and Social Care. Their work informs social policy at regional, national, and European levels. Bioincubator (map ref 183). Opened in 2005, this £6.9 million centre provides cutting-edge lab and office space designed to help new bioscience companies develop and prosper in the city. St George’s Church (map ref 164) at Portobello was converted by the University in 1994 to provide a state-of-the-art lecture theatre and self-catering accommodation for 50 students. The Union of Students’ Building (map ref 120), is notable for its imaginative combination of red brick, glass panelling and exposed steel support structures. Facilities include a 400-seat cinema, the WorkSpace for student clubs and societies, numerous bars and catering outlets, and two live music venues – Fusion and The Foundry. The original Union premises, the red-brick Graves Building (map ref 120), now accommodates the popular Interval Bar. The Goodwin Sports Centre (map ref 30) has undergone a major redevelopment programme and its facilities are now among the best in the UK for student sport. These include a 150-station fitness centre, three floodlit synthetic turf pitches, an indoor swimming pool, a multipurpose sports hall and The Matrix bouldering wall. The Drama Studio (map ref 74). The Glossop Road Baptist Church was opened in 1871, and converted into a theatre in 1970. It is now a 200-seat venue, with rehearsal and pre-production facilities, staging over 50 productions and concerts a year. The Studio is for the recreation and benefit of students, staff and local community groups. Everyone has the chance to get involved, and gain experience in a professional theatre environment. The Octagon Centre (map ref 118), opened in 1983, is the University’s major event venue, hosting a programme of live music as well as motor and art shows, exhibitions and fashion shows.