Day 315
November 11, 2010Gales and rain made for a lot of opportunities in Sheffield tonight.
This is Tudor Square in Sheffield, home of the Crucible Theatre, famous for its annual hosting of the World Snooker Championships.
The square is home to the largest concentration of theatres in the UK outside London and has thus become known as Sheffield’s ‘Theatre Land’. The Square lies at the heart of the city centre, only metres away from the town hall, major attractions such as the Winter Gardens and is only 5 minutes away from Sheffield railway station.
Tudor Square has always been home to theatres. The Lyceum, Sheffield’s oldest theatre, sits on the east side of the square. On the north side of the square is the Crucible, the venue for the World Snooker Championships since 1977. Also within the square is the smaller Studio Theatre which, along with the two aforementioned theatres, is managed by Sheffield Theatres.
Tudor Square has recently been modernised with funds provided by the European Regional Development Fund. For the project £4 million pounds was allocated to redevelop the square to coincide with the refurbished and redesigned Crucible theatre. The aim of the project was to provide Sheffield Theatres Trust with a open public space for cultural activity and create an impressive new gateway to the city. The newly designed square was opened in 2010. The refurbishment of the Crucible theatre cost £15 million to complete. The aim of this particular project was to improve the night time economy of the city centre, something which the theatre has done so for its entire history. The redevelopment will, amongst other things, provide a much improved venue for the world snooker championships which are held there annually.