EAW000811 ENGLAND (1946). The East Hecla Steel Works, Tinsley, 1946

Looking at this photograph, it's difficult to comprehend that the buildings in the centre, within the loop of the River Don have completely disappeared, replaced by the Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

East Hecla Works was built in 1897, as part of the expanding empire of Hadfields Limited, who had outgrown their Hecla Works on Newhall Road, since starting business in the late 1870's. Hadfields were a huge steelmaking company and in 1918, employed over 15,000 people. In the decades that followed, Hadfields were fundamental in the rise and fall of the fortunes of steelmaking in Sheffield and along with virtually all the steelmaking industry in the City, closed in 1979. The site was demolished and cleared in the mid-1980's and over the following five years, the construction company Bovis, built the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. The Centre was opened in September 1990 and currently attracts over 30 million visitors a year.