City of Sheffield

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Region: Yorkshire and The Humber
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

Sheffield was granted city status by letters patent in 1893 after transforming from a market town into a global centre of steelmaking and cutlery. Local government shifted in 1974 to the metropolitan City of Sheffield within South Yorkshire; since 2014 the area has been served by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, with a directly elected mayor since 2018 and, from May 2024, the mayor also holding Police and Crime Commissioner functions—adding a stronger strategic layer over transport, regeneration and skills alongside the city council.

City Council Status

Sheffield City Council is a metropolitan district council within South Yorkshire; strategic functions are coordinated by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

Civic Honours: Lord Mayors & Lord Provost

Sheffield first had a Lord Mayor in 1897, the year its lord mayoralty was conferred.

In the UK, city status and the dignity of Lord Mayor (or Lord Provost in Scotland) are separate honours, each granted by the monarch via letters patent. Of the 76 cities, 28 have a Lord Mayoralty and 4—Scotland’s four cities—have a Lord Provost; these titles don’t automatically follow from city status. A Lord Mayoralty exists in 24 cities in England, 2 in Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland.

Only 24 cities in England have Lord Mayors: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Coventry, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, the City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the City of Westminster, and York.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in Yorkshire and The Humber