Sheffield’s lost landmarks: The ‘Hole in the Road,’ the ‘Egg Box’and the ‘Wedding Cake’ registry office

Sheffielders didn't realise how much they loved their city's unusual icons until they were gone.

Here are Sheffield’s loved and lost landmarks:

The Tinsley Towers

These cooling towers were built in 1938 to help meet demand for electricity in the city.

While to visitors they may have looked grim, to us Sheffielders they were an important part of our skyline.

Tinsley Towers lasted 70 years until they were demolished in 2008 when 10,000 people gathered to watch the icons crumble.

Wedding Cake, Sheffield registry office

In the 1970s, Sheffield built its own registry office behind the Town Hall.

Controversially, it was going to be built following the demolition of Leader House, a Georgian townhouse which is now Grade I-listed and the base for some of Sheffield Museums Trust’s staff.

Thankfully it was constructed 100 metres away and Leader House was saved.

The registry office - nicknamed locally as the ‘wedding cake’ building - was popular amongst couples although many locals saw it as an eyesore.

The ‘Wedding Cake’s’ tumultuous relationship with the city barely reached its pearl anniversary before it was knocked down in 2003.

Now the area is home of the ‘cheese grater’ car park which has been the set of many music videos.

The Egg Box

Near to the ‘Wedding Cake,’ this other controversial council building was nicknamed the ‘Egg Box' by locals who mocked this extension of Sheffield Town Hall.

The controversial building cost £9million to be built in 1977 and it even had a roof garden. It was home to some of the city council’s administrative staff and services.

Nowadays the transformed Peace Gardens and the Winter Gardens stand in its place after the ‘Egg Box’ was demolished in 2002.

A lot of the area’s redevelopment is part of the Heart of the City project, a £130 million major re-development in the Steel City.

Public toilets

Under the Grade I-listed town hall lies another piece of history in the shape of a gentleman's toilet.

Back in the day shoppers would have to venture down to these questionable public toilets which were polluted with a pungent urine aroma.

Now inside the former gent's toilet is Public, a small cocktail bar serving up fine drinks and craft beer.

The Hole in the Road

Another underground landmark which people now miss which also had a questionable stench is the Hole in the Road.

Built in the late 1960s this subterranean passageway and mini mall area was built as a result of Nazi bomb damage during the Second World War.

It embraced futuristic urban planning based on Japanese-style subterranean town centres.

Castle Square roundabout - dubbed the Hole in the Road - was also home to a large fish tank in the ‘underground city’ and the famous C&A shop above the ground.

Sadly, Sheffield’s beloved bendy bus - which would regularly travel around overground - had been discontinued already in 1999.

Eventually, the Hole in the Road went too. It was filled in to make way for the Supertram.

This area which included Castle Market is called Castlegate which is the oldest part of Sheffield.

Castle Market

Castle Market was built in the 1960s on top of the former site of Sheffield Castle. The castle had been destroyed in 1648.

Castle Market had been a popular indoor and outdoor market area until it was demolished in 2015.

Some of the traders moved to The Moor Market. The old site has made way for a Riverside park and events space to be developed as well as excavation work on the ruins of Sheffield Castle.

Sheffield Ski Village

Sheffield Ski Village was a world-class destination when it opened in 1988 with its artificial ski slopes, cafe, and shop and later it also offered bowling.

The complex was destroyed by a fire in 2012 and suffered repeat arson attacks following that.

Landmarks that remain

Some of today’s remaining landmarks include Meadowhall Shopping Centre, the city’s new trendy suburb Kelham Island, and Sheffield’s eye-catching glasshouse, the Winter Gardens.

There is still a nod to Sheffield’s industrial past as Meadowhall is the site of former steelworks.

Sheffield Steel lives on globally too, helping to construct some of the world’s most iconic landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge.

While some familiar towerblocks such as Kelvin Flats have been demolished, other ‘cities in the sky’ remain such as the now Grade II-listed Park Hill Flats now offering cutting-edge urban living and workspaces.