The iconic Grade II Listed Norfolk Street building, which is managed by The Foundry Sheffield, has been awarded a £650,000 Future High Streets Fund grant that will help increase accessibility and improve facilities for visitors.
Following the appointment of project contractors Messenger, work is now getting under way, with a schedule that should see the main part of the project completed by the end of November.
Major elements of the scheme will include the restoration of the building’s original Chapel Walk shop frontages, while internally there will be works to give the complex even greater accessibility.
The Messenger team has a broad range of experience, having worked upon Grade I listed buildings, ancient monuments, stately homes, churches and cathedrals, as well as new build and large town and country houses.
Past and present clients include the National Trust, Historic England, Natural England, The Church, Conservation Trusts, members of The Historic Houses Association, Peers of the Realm and Royalty.
“We are delighted to be working with Messenger and pleased that work is now starting, meaning we will soon be able to welcome even more people into the Victoria Hall,” said Foundry Sheffield Chief Executive Rose Durant.
“This funding is intended specifically to increase footfall into the city and revitalise under-used spaces.
“As we continue to develop our reputation as a prime space for conferences, concerts and other events, this level of investment in the future can only help us to make even stronger our position as a major city centre space and one that really is welcoming to all people.
“We aim to keep disruption for all our users and visitors to a minimum and ask that people do bear with us while this important work in carried out.
“We have had to relocate some of our tenants for a short period but for the majority of visitors we do aim to make it business as usual.”
The Foundry Sheffield is a small charitable organisation charged with the task of running the Victoria Hall effectively, safely and in the interests of all tenants, users and visitors and with the ultimate aim of improving the lives of people throughout the city.
Charities working out of the Victoria Hall’s range of offices include Age Active, Assist and City of Sanctuary, who work mainly around supporting vulnerable and needy people in Sheffield and the surrounding areas.
Independent Training Services – which is part of Barnsley College – has teamed-up with Manchester-based The Growth Company to expand the reach of its popular new pre-employment training courses and selected the The Foundry as its Sheffield base.
The Sunday Centre provides food and support to the city’s homeless communities on a Sunday afternoon and the hall is also used by many other charitable organisations offering a wide variety of activities, classes and social opportunities.
The main hall has always been a popular venue for choral, instrumental and other events and South Yorkshire’s finest amateur orchestra, The Sheffield Philharmonic, holds its weekly rehearsals and the majority of its concert season performances there.
A growing programme of concerts and events is now restoring the Victoria Hall’s reputation as one of the city’s most vital and diverse performance spaces.
Well known too as the home of Methodism in the city since the early years of the 20th century, Methodist services are still held in the main hall twice every Sunday, with various other activities throughout the week, and it continues to be the home of the Sheffield Methodist District office.
