Zest

Lizzie the Elephant must have had people rubbing their eyes in disbelief when they first saw her pulling a heavy cart of steel through the streets of Sheffield during the First World War.

But folk got used to the idea and Lizzie soon became a local hero as people saw her transporting scrap metal and munitions around Kelham Island and the streets of Philadelphia in Sheffield more than 100 hundred years ago.

The elephant with her own blue plaque

Lizzie recently earned her own blue plaque for her contribution to the country’s war effort. Now she has been remebererd again with a place on a new mural on Wynsors shoe shop on Infirmary Road.

The mural  commemorates the history of Infirmary Road and is the second large piece of street art completed by local artist Ethan Lemon in the area. It neatly ties in with his first creation situated right opposite on what was the old police station.

People travelling in either direction will now be treated to a visual feast celebrating the themes of home and nature.

The Arts Trail

The murals are part of the Walkely and Upperthorpe Arts Trail a Sheffield City Council’s Economic Recovery Fund initiative targeted with encouraging shoppers back to the high street.

Instead of graffiti and unsightly tags blighting neighbourhoods the programme aims to brighten up places and make people feel good about the areas they live, work and shop in.

The Arts Trail includes more than 30 pieces of street art adorning the sides of buildings, shop shutters and utility boxes throughout Walkley and Upperthorpe.

Find out more

You can find out more about Lizzie by reading this article from the Yorkshire Post in 2023.

And read more about Ethan’s mural on the old police station here