Sheffield

From the records: “Other prehistoric remains found in Sheffield include a Mesolithic "house"—a circle of stones in the shape of a hut-base dating to around 8000 BC, found at Deepcar, in the northern part of the city.”

From the records: “During the Bronze Age (about 1500 BC) tribes sometimes called the Urn people started to settle in the area.”

From the records: “It is this tribe who in around 500 BC are thought to have constructed the hill fort that stands on the summit of a steep hill above the River Don at Wincobank, in what is now northeastern Sheffield.”

From the records: “In 2011 excavations revealed remains of a substantial 1st or 2nd century AD Roman rural estate centre, or 'villa' on what is believed to be a pre-existing Brigantian farmstead site at Whirlow Hall Farm in South-west Sheffield.”

From the records: “It is likely then that the origin of the present-day city of Sheffield is an Anglo-Saxon settlement in a clearing beside the confluence of the rivers Sheaf and Don founded between the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in this region (roughly the 6th century) and the early 9th century.”

From the records: “The abbey was dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint Thomas Becket, who had been canonised in 1172.”

From the records: “As a result of this, in 1266 a party of barons, led by John de Eyvill, marching from north Lincolnshire to Derbyshire passed through Sheffield and destroyed the town, burning the church and castle.”

From the records: “On 12 November 1296 Edward I granted a charter for a market to be held in Sheffield on Tuesday each week.”

From the records: “The earliest official record of cutlery production, for which Sheffield is particularly well known, is from 1297 when a tax return for 'Robert the Cutler' was submitted.”

From the records: “Other notable surviving buildings from this period include the Old Queen's Head pub in Pond Hill, which dates from around 1480, with its timber frame still intact, and Bishops' House and Broom Hall, both built around 1500.”

From the records: “The fourth Earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot took up residence in Sheffield, building the Manor Lodge outside the town in about 1510 and adding a chapel to the Parish Church c1520 to hold the family vault.”

From the records: “Mary was regarded as a threat by Elizabeth I, and had been held captive since her arrival in England in 1568.”

From the records: “By 1600 Sheffield was the main centre of cutlery production in England outside London, and in 1624 The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire was formed to oversee the trade.”

From the records: “Thomas Boulsover invented Sheffield plate (silver-plated copper) in the early 18th century.”

From the records: “In the 1740s Benjamin Huntsman, a clock maker in Handsworth, invented a form of the crucible steel process for making a better quality of steel than had previously been available.”

From the records: “In 1773 Sheffield was given a silver assay office.”

From the records: “In 1774 a 2-mile (3.2 km) wooden tramway was laid at the Duke of Norfolk's Nunnery Colliery.”

From the records: “The Sheffield Canal opened in 1819 allowing the large-scale transport of freight.”

From the records: “In 1857 a collective of cricketers formed the world's first-ever official football club, Sheffield F.C., and the world's second-ever, Hallam F.C., who also play at the world's oldest football ground in the suburb of Crosspool.”

From the records: “The collapse of the dam wall of one of these reservoirs in 1864 resulted in the Great Sheffield Flood, which killed 270 people and devastated large parts of the town.”

From the records: “The Sheffield Trades Council organised a meeting in Sheffield in 1866 at which the United Kingdom Alliance of Organised Trades—a forerunner of the Trades Union Congress (TUC)—was founded.”

From the records: “The Sheffield Tramway was started in 1873 with the construction of a horse tram route from Lady's Bridge to Attercliffe.”

From the records: “A municipal borough was formed by an Act of Incorporation in 1843, and this borough was granted the style and title of "City" by letters patent in 1893.”

From the records: “The Lyceum, which opened in 1897, serves as a venue for touring West End productions and operas by Opera North, as well as locally produced shows.”

From the records: “Stainless steel was discovered by Harry Brearley in 1912, at the Brown Firth Laboratories in Sheffield.”

From the records: “In 1914 Sheffield became a diocese of the Church of England, and the parish church became a cathedral.”

From the records: “The Great Depression hit the city in the 1930s, but as international tensions increased and the Second World War became imminent, Sheffield's steel factories were set to work manufacturing weapons and ammunition for the war effort.”

From the records: “The south-west boundary of the city overlaps with the Peak District National Park, the first national park in England (est. 1951).”

From the records: “In the 1950s and 1960s, many of the city's slums were demolished, and replaced with housing schemes such as the Park Hill flats.”

From the records: “International competition in iron and steel caused a decline in these industries in the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with the collapse of coal mining in the area.”

From the records: “The building of the Meadowhall shopping centre on the site of a former steelworks in 1990 was a mixed blessing, creating much needed jobs but speeding the decline of the city centre.”

From the records: “Attempts to regenerate the city were kick-started when the city hosted the 1991 World Student Games, which saw the construction of new sporting facilities such as the Sheffield Arena, Don Valley Stadium and the Ponds Forge complex.”

From the records: “The Sheffield Supertram opened in 1994 and was operated by Stagecoach.”

From the records: “One such, the Heart of the City Project, with £470 million investment, has initiated a number of public works in the city centre: the Peace Gardens were renovated in 1998, the Millennium Gallery opened in April 2001, the Winter Gardens were opened in May 2003, and a public space to link these two areas, the Millennium Square, was opened in May 2006.”

From the records: “Sheffield has more trees per person than any other city in Europe and is considered to be one of the greenest cities in England and the UK, which was further reinforced when it won the 2005 Entente Florale competition.”