The Club
A House
Shaped by Time
This page traces the layers of history that have shaped the building and its setting - from its earliest civic role to its place within the city today. Rather than a single moment of origin, what follows reflects a continuity of purpose: a site defined by discretion, craft and quiet importance, adapting over time without losing its character.
The Mulberry Club
An Address with Heritage
Mulberry Street has long been the lesser-seen approach to the building, familiar to those who know it, unnoticed by those who don’t. It felt natural to let the club take its name from that threshold rather than invent one.
Our History
Established in 1914
The building that now houses the club was constructed between 1913 and 1914 as the Sheffield offices of the Alliance Insurance Company. Designed during a period when civic architecture was built to last, it was intended to project stability, trust and permanence, qualities that shaped both its structure and detailing.
For much of the 20th century, the building played a quiet role in the commercial life of the city, later becoming home to charitable organisations before falling vacant in recent years. Situated within the Sheffield City Centre Conservation Area and adjacent to some of the city’s most historic institutions, it remains an important part of George Street’s architectural story.
Today, the building enters a new chapter. Its original purpose, as a place of discretion, reliability and considered business has been respected and reinterpreted, allowing its history to continue rather than be overwritten.
While researching the history of the building an early print of the site came to light, offering a glimpse into the building’s past life.
Before the current structure stood here, the site was occupied by the offices of the Sheffield Fire Insurance Company. Following its acquisition in 1864 by the Alliance Insurance Company - the open space in front of the building was regularly used by the Sheffield Fire Brigade for training and drills. A compact horse-drawn fire engine, designed to navigate the city’s narrow streets and alleyways, was housed on the ground floor.
In 1912, the original building was demolished to make way for new offices for the Alliance Insurance Company, constructed between 1913 and 1914 - the building that stands today.
Although the structure changed, elements of the original site were carried forward. Two stone urns and the Sheffield coat of arms were carefully transferred to the new building and remain in place to this day, set into the stone pediment above the entrance - a quiet link between the building’s past and present.
The Arts Quarter
In the Company of Culture
The club sits within Sheffield’s "Arts Quarter", a part of the city shaped as much by ideas as by buildings. Within a short walk lie the Crucible, the Lyceum, the Montgomery Theatre and the Millennium Gallery - places long associated with craft, performance and considered work. It is an area defined not by noise, but by intent.
Mulberry Club belongs here naturally, taking its place among institutions where time, attention and culture have always mattered.
