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About

"Everyone has a part to play"

Burton Street started its life in 1879 as
Langsett Road School.

It remained open as a school for almost a century, ringing its bell for the last time in 1976. After being put to various small scale uses, it finally fell into disrepair in 1992. By 1995 the site was scheduled for demolition.

This is where things got interesting…

The local community didnā€™t want to see the old school demolished. They broke in, occupied the buildings, and formed a new organisation called the Burton Street Foundation.

They quickly began making great use of the site by running various clubs, events and community services. This proved there was a need for it to remain, and eventually the Burton Street Foundation took ownership of the site.

Two decades later the beautiful Victorian buildings are a vibrant community hub. Hundreds use the site on a daily basis, and a huge range of activities take place.

Itā€™s a pretty big organisation now, but Burton Street is still run on a not-for-profit basis, and it never lost its soul. Thatā€™s what makes it the special and unique place it is.

Nowadays Burton Street means lots of things to lots of different people....

Around 2500 people use the site every week, forĀ work and for play. We hostĀ countless eventsĀ each year. WeĀ employĀ around 140 people.Ā OurĀ disability servicesĀ have around 250 clients.Ā 14 local businessesĀ are based here, and around 35 charities andĀ community groups useĀ our facilitiesĀ each week.

WeĀ run and maintainĀ 5 buildingsĀ across 3 sites, and we haveĀ the area’s largest indoor community space. We’re mostly based inĀ Hillsborough, Sheffield, but we have a littleĀ getawayĀ in WalesĀ too. We’re a Community Benefit Society (number 28699R) which means weĀ do all this onĀ aĀ not-for-profit basis, and we’ve beenĀ here since 1998.

Old architectural drawings from 1879
Pupils and staff pose for Langsett Road Schoolā€™s last photo before its closure in 1976
Full Monty, now and then, shots including the famous 'dole queue' scenes were filmed at Burton Street.
A younger looking Mark Addy and Tom Wilkinson
This is the Burton building, with the others being called Capel, Bamforth and Langsett

Burton Building

The Burton Building is home to our events and functions facilities.

On the ground floor we have the Undercroft Cafe, and above that we have the lovelyĀ Burton Hall, ourĀ Conference Room, and theĀ Bar. It’s alsoĀ home to our kitchens where chefs Steve and Deborah work their magic, preparing delicious food daily, not just for our cafes but for all our special events.

The Burton Building is used for so many activities over the course of an average week that it’s hard to write it all here! We have tea dances, friendship lunches, professional skills training, meetings and conferences, birthday parties, morris dancing, folk singing, wedding receptions, bistro nights and so much more!

Capel Building

The Capel Building isĀ split into two bits.

TheĀ lowerĀ floor isĀ where you’ll find our mainĀ reception, which is staffed 9.00am – 5.00pm. It’s alsoĀ home to ourĀ admin and management team.

The upper floor is dedicated to our disability services.Ā Capel HallĀ is a large multi-use activity space, and arranged around that is an art room, a music room, a sensory room and a kitchen and activity space.

Outside of the Disability Service’sĀ core operational hours, the Capel Building is used regularly by many community groups for a range of activities, from dancing to music and drama and much more.

The Capel Building is fully wheelchair accessible with level access throughout. There is also aĀ Changing PlacesĀ facility.

Langsett Building

The Langsett Building is dedicated to health and fitness, and to our business tenants.

Most of the upper floor is home to our longest standing tenant, the Sheffield Boxing Centre, run by Glyn Rhodes MBE. We also have a number of tenants who rent our pod offices and bike shed office units. In the centre of the building is a large community sports hall, which is available to rent forĀ activities such as badminton, table tennis, five-a-side football, and martial arts clubs.

The Langsett BuildingĀ is also home to aĀ small but fully equipped, friendly and accessible gym, which is available for public use.

Bamforth Building

The Bamforth Building is the newest edition to the Burton Street Site.

It is a converted kitchen factory located at 110 Burton Street, situated right over the road from our main site.

The main facility isĀ Bamforth Park, the largest indoor community space in the area. It is perfect for parties, conferences, keep fit classes, toddler groups, film screenings, theatre productions, awards ceremonies, pretty much anything! Bamforth Park also hasĀ a cafe, a soft play area, and aĀ Changing PlacesĀ facility.

Around this main space there are a number of rooms used by community organisations, tenants and our own disability services.