Photo by Mark Howe.
The six antiques centres and score of independent shops spread over the Queens Road/Broadfield Road/Abbeydale Road triangle have been branded the Sheffield Antiques Quarter, with a handy pamphlet and website mapping out a browser’s paradise, a world away from the city centre.
The Grade II listed Heeley Bank Antiques Centre is worth a visit for its beautiful interior as well as its varied stock. Covered from floor to ceiling in exquisite tiles, it harks back to the Victorian age, when banking decor was more carved wooden booths than grey carpet tiles. Nearby, the generous proportions of Langton’s Antiques and Collectables allow for everything from some serious militaria to vintage jewellery.
Chapel Antiques provides a showcase for French Affair, whose huge upholstered beds could make a chateau out of any Sheffield terrace, provided you can manoeuvre one up the stairs. Next door, the Sheffield Antiques Emporium is home to the '50s Funhouse, relocated from Langton’s along with its kitsch sideboards and colourful punch glasses. Over the road, the labyrinthine Sheffield Antiques Centre specialises in Bakelite railway signage and stylish garden paraphernalia, among its many other delights.
A relatively new kid on the Abbeydale Road block is Vintedge, showcasing a considered collection of retro furniture, curios and second-hand vinyl, as well as craft beer shack the Hop Hideout. Further down the street, the intimate Honeysuckle at Home is a well-curated display of vintage homeware, from floral curtain fabrics to ornate glassware and 60s coffee tables.
In marked contrast with these more selective outlets is Dronfield Antiques, so packed to the gunnels that only intrepid shoppers, patient enough to sort the wheat from the chaff and slim enough to weave between the stacks of furniture, need apply.
If all this bargain hunting has left you a little peckish then fear not: you’re at the epicentre of Abbeydale Road’s food revolution. Bragazzi's is an Italian cafe deli extraordinaire, replete with juicy Italian sandwiches and the best coffee in Sheffield. Jameson's, meanwhile, leans in a more traditional English tea room direction, and serves a generous slice of cake. Prefer pizza or baked goods for tea? Picture House Social or Forge Bakehouse will see you right.