Sheffield Street Accident (1902)

The aftermath of an accident on the streets of Edwardian Sheffield.

Morbid curiosity is nothing new. On a visit to Sheffield Mitchell and Kenyon's cameraman clearly stumbled on an accident near the junction of Angel Street and Market Place (now Castle Square), allowing us to see an Edwardian commotion. Men erect wooden barriers around a badly damaged shopfront, while passers by strain to see the damage - although others are more captivated by the camera.

Special thanks go to Nic Bowden for pinpointing the location of the scene, based on the shop's visible neighbour, H.L. Brown. The damaged shop, 'Hepworth & Son Ltd' may have been owned by the Leeds-based tailor Joseph Hepworth. Today this area of Sheffield is almost entirely unrecognisable.