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Sheffield ARTICLES

Thor And Vulcan The Mystical Gods Of Sheffield

13th January 2009

Queen Victoria officially opened Sheffield Town Hall on the 21st May 1897. This was very late as most towns had built their own town halls many years previous to this. However the council had more pressing issues with the population tripling rapidly over a 50-year period.

In 1886 the council found a site for the Town Hall and proceeded to hold a competition to find an architect for the project. The winner of competition E. W Mountford had fought of fierce competition from over 170 other entrants. Mr W. Pomeroy oversaw the carvings on the building.

Due to the outbreak of the Great War, there were insufficient funds for the planned extension of the Town Hall in 1901. The extension finally opened in 1923 by The Prince of Wales on May 29th. The extension was the work F. E. P. Edward and cost the council £115, 600, which was a considerable amount of money.

The exterior walls of the building were made from Stoke Stone, quarried from Stoke Hall near Guilford. The interior used a mix of Ancaster and Coxbench as well as Stoke Stone.

The Tower is 64 metres high with four 2.5 metres in diameter clock dials on each side. The top of the tower is the figure of a Vulcan standing well over 2 metres, which represents the mythical god of fire.

Above the main entrance is the Sheffield Coat of Arms, a statue of Queen Victoria and the Royal Coat of Arms. The Sheffield Borough Council was granted the arms in 1875 and also to the present council in 1977.

The crest features a lion that was in the coat of Arms of the Duke Norfolk and the lords of the manor of Sheffield.

The Sheaf of Arrows was the main motif in the seals of The Burgery of Sheffield and the Twelve Capital Burgesses, which were very important before the introduction of the borough. So it was appropriate that the Sheaf of Arrows be included in the Court of Arms.

The Vulcan and Thor figures represent prosperity and the 3 wheat sheaves on a green field stand for "the open space by the River Sheaf".

Deo Adjuvante Labor Proficit means "With God's help our labour is successful" and is the motto on the Court of Arms.