Devonshire Green is a small public open space at 53.3789°N 1.4783°W within Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 city centre

Sheffield City Centre

Sheffield City Centre—often just referred to as town—is a district of the City of Sheffield, and part of the Sheffield Central ward. It includes the area that is within a radius of roughly of Sheffield Cathedral, and is encircled by the Inner Ring Road—a circular route started in the late 1960s...

 in South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, England. It covers an area of approximately 9000 square metres and is designated as a district park by Sheffield City Council

Sheffield City Council

Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...

. It stands in the Devonshire Quarter

Devonshire Quarter

The Devonshire Quarter is an area in the centre of Sheffield, England. It is based around the Division Street and Devonshire Street shopping areas, known for their small independent shops and variety of pubs and bars...

 of the city centre, bordered on its four sides by Devonshire Street, Fitzwilliam Street, Eldon Street and Wellington Street. It is the only large green space in the city centre.

History

Prior to World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 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

William FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliam

William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC , styled Viscount Milton until 1756, was a British Whig statesman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1782 he inherited his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's estates, making him one of the richest people in...

, the 4th Earl FitzWilliam

Earl FitzWilliam

Earl Fitzwilliam was a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain held by the head of the Fitzwilliam family. This family claim descent from William the Conqueror. The Fitzwilliams acquired extensive holdings in South Yorkshire, largely through strategic alliances through...

 of Wentworth Woodhouse

Wentworth Woodhouse

Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house near the village of Wentworth, in the vicinity of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. "One of the great Whig political palaces", its East Front, long, is the longest country house façade in Europe. The house includes 365 rooms and covers an...

 who was the local lord of the manor.

The Devonshire Green area of Sheffield was heavily bombed in the Sheffield Blitz

Sheffield Blitz

The Sheffield Blitz is the name given to the worst nights of German Luftwaffe bombing in Sheffield, England during the Second World War. It took place over the nights of 12 December and 15 December 1940....

 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

Skatepark

A skatepark is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, aggressive inline skating and scooters. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, quarter pipes, spine transfers, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, pyramids, banked ramps, full pipes, pools, bowls, snake runs stairsets,...

 was built on the southern part of the Green for skateboarders

Skateboard

A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...

 and BMX

Bicycle motocross

Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...

 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.

Modern renovation

On 29 January 2007, Sheffield City Council announced plans to upgrade Devonshire Green. The £1.6 million project was designed by the City Council's Regeneration Projects Design Team and funded by building developers who had built housing developments in the West Street area such as West One

West One

West One is a mixed-use development at the centre of the Devonshire Quarter in the city centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It comprises bars, restaurants and shops at ground-level and apartments housing over 1,000 people above, including a penthouse...

 which faces onto Devonshire Green. The redevelopment included the complete relaying of all the turfed areas and the planting of 340 square metres of high-quality flower beds which contain more than 23,000 bulbs and 22 semi-mature trees. Sculptured “sitting walls” were created to provide 184 metres of seating and enclosure for the planting beds which line the boulevards which have improved lighting. A terraced grass amphitheatre space was also created which can be used for events and festivals. The skatepark remained open during the redevelopment which was carried out by the contractors Wrekin Construction and the revamped park was reopened in Spring 2008.