When the company which founded Sheffield’s New Era Square development in 2013 was formed it attracted the majority of its funding from Chinese investors. Possibly because of this the architect, David Wei (of Hatch Architects), included, within the design, some remarkable public art in the form of sculptures of giant pandas. In keeping with the city that invented it these popular sculptures are made from stainless steel.

The largest of these sculptures is over 4m high and was originally on the roof of one of the buildings. However, more recently a decision was made to move this to the square itself, making it more accessible to the general public. The public of Sheffield were consulted on the naming of the pandas and the largest of them was named for what must be Sheffield’s third most famous product. After steel and cutlery the people of Sheffield most identify with a unique food product, a condiment known as Henderson’s Relish but locally often referred to as “Hendo’s”. Thus the larges panda was called “Hendo” reflecting the development’s proximity to the Henderson’s factory.

There are two other (smaller) panda sculptures. One is sat on one of the square’s benches and, in the same naming survey (organised by the local newspaper), has been called “Little Mester”. This is the local term used for the artisan master cutlers of the city, of which only a few still remain. The area around New Era Square was once one of the important centres of Sheffield’s famous cutlery industry and the Portland Works, one of the last remaining centres for such operations, is very close to the Square.

The third panda can be seen climbing one of the columns alongside the junction of Bramall Lane and St Mary’s Gate. This sculpture was named “Coe Coe” referencing Sebastian Coe, the famous middle distance runner (with 4 Olympic medals) who, although not born in the city, received much of his secondary education in Sheffield Schools and started his running career in the local track and field club, Hallamshire Harriers (at the age of 12).