2 Haymarket
Former post office in Sheffield, United Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2 Haymarket is a listed building located on Haymarket in the Sheffield City Centre in England.
| 2 Haymarket | |
|---|---|
2 Haymarket, seen from the west | |
 Interactive map of the 2 Haymarket area | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Former post office |
| Architectural style | Classical revival |
| Classification | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 12 June 1973 |
| Reference no. | 1270961 |
| Location | Sheffield, United Kingdom |
| Completed | 1871 |
| Opened | 1872 |
The building was constructed in 1871 to serve as Sheffield's head post office.[1] It was originally intended also to house the local branch of the Inland Revenue, but the space was almost immediately found to be inadequate, and within a couple of months of its opening in 1872, the Revenue moved to offices on Norfolk Street.[2]
The building has two stories and an attic and is in the classical revival style, adopting a form which was already old-fashioned at the time it was built.[1] In 1879, it was described as "a fairly handsome Doric structure, but inadequate to the requirements of the rapidly increasing postal and telegraphic business of so large a town".[2] A further section at the rear of the building, facing Commercial Street, was constructed at the same time and in the same style, but is of a single storey, with a basement below.[1]
In 1910, a new head post office for the city was constructed on Fitzalan Square.[3] The building was purchased by the Sheffield Stock Exchange, which opened its new site with a grand ceremony in 1911.[4] The stock exchange operated until 1967, when the creation of British Steel Corporation dramatically reduced its business.[1][5]
The building was restored in the 1970s, and the interior was completely reworked to serve as a branch of the Yorkshire Bank,[6] which it remained until September 2014. The building is Grade II listed.[7]
As of July 2017, the building remains unoccupied following Yorkshire Bank's vacation of the site. There are currently plans for the refurbishment of 2 Haymarket and the adjacent building at 5-7 Commercial Street, which would include the addition of a second floor on the Commercial Street building and the creation of 11 flats across both buildings.[8]