History
Prior to World War II the area which is now Devonshire Green was a neighbourhood of housing and small firms. This area had originally been built in the first half of the 19th century on land belonging to William FitzWilliam, the 4th Earl FitzWilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse who was the local lord of the manor.
The Devonshire Green area of Sheffield was heavily bombed in the Sheffield Blitz of December 1940 with the thoroughfares of Chester Street, Devonshire Lane and the upper part of Broomhall Street being badly damaged and left as a bomb site. After the war the site was cleared and remained as an undeveloped area, eventually serving as a temporary car parking area for the city centre. In 1981 Devonshire Green was created as a public green area with seating and pedestrian footpaths crossing it, it was officially dedicated to those who died in the Blitz of 1940. In the 1990s a floodlit skatepark was built on the southern part of the Green for skateboarders and BMX bikers. By the early part of the 21st century the Green was looking rundown and needed a facelift with large flocks of pigeons gathering in the area. The building of much new property around the Green prompted the creation of the Devonshire Quarter Action Plan which urged investment for the benefit of new residents.
Read more about this topic: Devonshire Green
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Certainly there is not the fight recorded in Concord history, at least, if in the history of America, that will bear a moment’s comparison with this, whether for the numbers engaged in it, or for the patriotism and heroism displayed.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It’s not the sentiments of men which make history but their actions.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“What would we not give for some great poem to read now, which would be in harmony with the scenery,—for if men read aright, methinks they would never read anything but poems. No history nor philosophy can supply their place.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)