150 years of Catherine Street

Story: Elizabeth and Gordon Shaw

Properties on Catherine Street and Brotherton Street are presently fronted by scaffolding prior to demolition. These properties are over a hundred years old and the property on the corner of these two streets has probably been a part of the lives of many locals over the years.

In 1868, No. 31 Catherine Street, the corner property, is entered in White’s Directory as G E Swift & Co., Merchants. By 1876 George Stanley was running a grocery and beer retailer from No. 31 and the adjoining property at 29 Catherine Street. Over twenty years later, in 1898, there was still a George Stanley – Grocer – at this address, and at No. 11 Brotherton Street was an Inspector of Weights and Measures, a Mr G A Bridges! Next door to him, at No. 9, resided John Stanley – possibly a relative of the grocer?

The property continued to be run as a grocery shop until around 1948 when it is listed as the Catherine Arms, with Herbert Whitlock as the licensee. According to Michael Liversidge in his book ‘Sheffield Public Houses’, the Catherine Arms was one of only two Public Houses in the Sheffield area to double up as a grocery shop where, at one time, you could walk through from shop to public bar.

The photograph used in ‘Sheffield Public Houses’ shows a mural on the gable end of the property on Brotherton Street, called “Birth of Pegasus” and dating from 1977. An article on the internet describes the painting of a horse with wings as being painted in Dulux Weathershield’s new range and goes on to state, “The artist was not paid for this work, but completed the piece as a part of his studies, with some assistance from a number of fellow students. The house owner at the time was also a student in Architecture at the University of Sheffield.”

Troubled pub loses licence

By 1995, the street had become very run down. The Catherine Arms was still trading but was one of the first pubs to lose its licence after numerous police complaints of the number of people gathering outside the pub and on the street. A report in the Sheffield Star referred to the pub as “one of Sheffield’s most notorious blackspot pubs” and reported on crack cocaine dealers. Inspector Gary Boughen of Attercliffe Police said, “It was known to attract drug dealers, and it’s nice to think there might be a downturn in drug dealing in the area in light of the decision.”

Later on, the premises reopened as Al-Nur’s bakery, selling fresh Arabic bread and pizzas for a short while until a fire put the building out of action. It has been unoccupied since then. Now it has gone.