Tapton Hall

Hadfield, Cawkwell, Davidson & Partners won the commission to extend and adapt Tapton Hall, built by steel magnate Edward Vickers to neo-classical designs with Italianate features by Flockton & Son in 1855. The Masonic Hall Company of Sheffield bought the hall in 1958 and in 1959 ran the invited competition for its development. Pevsner described the 30,000sqft extension as ‘large and uncompromisingly modern’ [1] – hardly a ringing endorsement! Essentially, the additions ran along the rear of the original hall and had two flanking wings, one typically of the International Style using a grey brick and curtain wall glazing, the other a blank box finished in ashlars stone slabs. The remodelled interior enabled passage between the two wings and the new spaces contained dining rooms, kitchens and four Masonic temples. The main entrance carries a large abstract mural by William (Bill) Mitchell that is reported to symbolise the turmoil and chaos of the outside. There is another small Mitchell half-cylinder totem to the rear that appears to have been a screen to a bin store!

[1] Harman, R. & Minnis, J. (2004) Sheffield: Pevsner City Guides (New Haven: Yale University Press) p.272.