The Sad Demise of Sheffield's Old Cutlery Factories

Jack Black

Jack Black

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A few weeks ago, while on a visit to Sheffield, with the bribe of a pub lunch, I dragged my daughter down to one of Sheffield’s old industrial enclaves, with the intention of taking some photographs of the former factories. It’s not long since I was last at Kelham Island, but the continuing deterioration of Sheffield’s industrial heritage left me shocked, particularly the state of the once impressive frontage of the Green Lane Works. I was left so depressed by the experience I haven’t posted these pics until now, but in searching out links to the old factories, I came across a lot of internal shots posted by ‘urban explorers’. I’ve included links to some of these sites, others can be found by a simple internet search. I hope the photographs and links are of interest.

Jack

Green Lane Works as it was:

574px-Green_Lane_Works_1860.jpg


And as it stands today





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Lane_Works

The Globe Steel Works:



And in the past:

s09916.jpg


http://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic/11685-globe-steel-works-alma-st/

Wharncliffe Works







http://www.flickr.com/photos/sqwasher/sets/72157627092286579/comments/

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums...heffield-miscellany-june-november-2011-a.html

Looking back to George Barnsley & Sons’ Cornish Works



http://www.whateversleft.co.uk/tag/george-barnsley

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=25624#.UYpsDqLCaSo

http://www.ukurbex.com/index.php?/topic/2401-wharncliffe-works-sheffield-visited-august-2010/

Alfred Beckett & Sons



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Works

Globe Works





7802390420_6132fffa9b_o.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Works
 
Sigh... Unfortunately, these pictures hit home pretty hard for me. Akron, Ohio was once the king of tire manufacturing as well as other prominent industries. Now, driving through downtown, it looks a whole lot like what you pictured above. Depressing, indeed.

-Dan
 
Sorry to hear that Dan. This is Sheffield's heritage area, most of the other factories were flattened years ago sadly.

Jack
 
Jack Black said:
Click to expand...

Thanks for another thoughtful thread, Jack.

Any notion if the film The Full Monty was shot on location in Sheffield?

fm4.jpg


Looking through your pictures and reading your impressions (as well as those of Parke1), I feel much as I do after beholding the remnants of the Amoskeag factories of Manchester, NH (the city of my birth; while we moved north when I was an infant, oh how those skeletal buildings on the waterfront left an impression on my young eyes as we traveled back and forth to my grandparents-- especially at night), or even the Hamilton Watch Factory building(s) now nearby in PA.

A view when I was three years old:
exhibitimg.ashx


It can be hard to wrap one's mind around the transition from that level of industry and production to... nothing.

~ P.
 
That's a thought-stirring post P :thumbup:

I've only seen The Full Monty once, some years ago (thought it was dreadful), but it was filmed on location in Sheffield - even if they managed to make the place look like it did years ago - but not in a good way! :D

In the mid 80's here, there was a TV commercial that was supposed to portray some grim East European police state - they actually filmed it on some of Sheffield's high-rise flats! :eek:
 
Its the upped and left look of these places that strikes me.

Sad, but at the same time, a little bit intriguing. The links have some nice photography.

Thanks Jack.
 
similar things have happened to textile mills where i am from. frequently they just tear the old buildings down, though.
 
scruffuk said:
Its the upped and left look of these places that strikes me.

Sad, but at the same time, a little bit intriguing. The links have some nice photography.

Thanks Jack.
Click to expand...

Yes mate, a lot of them closed down at the same time. Tn the mid 80's the whole city was full of empty factories. Firms often closed down almost overnight, with workers made redundant with barely any notice. I went in a few of the old factories back then, and some of them were almost like the Marie Celeste.

wouldestous said:
similar things have happened to textile mills where i am from
Click to expand...

It's like that where ScruffUK lives too, sometimes beautiful and very solid buildings lining the canals, some have been re-occupied in various ways, but many have stood empty for decades.
 
Thanks for this thread, Jack. It´s sad that this happens - but it happens everywhere it seems. In the US, UK and Germany... my hometown was once a big railroad town - even the Orient Express stopped here. Nowadays all the buildings are abandonned and trees are growning on the railroadtracks... depressing as well.

But to the pics you have shown it seems to be a little better than in Sheffield. This is really sad. As much as I like the "Good-Old-Day-Pics" reality isn´t that nice as it seems...
 
A sad state of affairs.
This overall deterioration seems to be a world-wide phenomenon.
You should see how buildings and parks have been allowed to deteriorate in South Africa.
 
One thing though. It seems that in Europe the old buildings are generally held in higher esteem than in the US where typically they are destroyed to make way for strip malls. I would say that someone should form some sort of orgainization to preserve that heritage.
 
Reminds me of Utica and especially Rome NY. I'm not sure Rome is worse, but we drive by an awful lot of empty factory buildings. You'd think something could be done with them, but who's got enough artists to fill that many lofts?
Anyway, the Sheffield derelict factories are handsomer.
 
If it were Toronto, they'd not be able to knock em down. Anything over 100 years old had gotta stay....well, the facade anyway.

Maybe we should do a tour of Kirklees dereliction sometime Jack? I better start swatting up though, I'm not a local.
 
Thanks for the comments fellers, sad to hear of the worldwide neglect of our industrial heritage, once it's gone, it's gone forever. The speed with which history is allowed to disappear is alarming :(



Not too far away from the Kelham Island area is Aizlewood's Mill, once home to James Dixon & Sons, silversmiths. It's been much better preserved, and provides offices to local businesses. I once did a business course there myself when setting up Jack Black Knives.

Below is Sheffield's most famous listed building, no not the genuine Tudor wood-timbered pub, but the high-rise flats on the horizon.

 
Jack a couple of weeks ago I rented some DVDs of Callan -the guy told me many of the original tapes/films were destroyed by fire at the BBC. Some remain however and are a gripping view of Britain in the cold war late 60s early &70s.
Callan (he doesn't make friends and all his enemies are dead) was the thinking mans Bond.

Classic.

Uuurg! those flats are what we get when we let architects out of the shed.
meanwhile getting back on track -this pic is of John Player Tobacco Radford Notttingham
My grandmother worked there for years and lived in a terrace house in the adjacent streets.this is where my Dad grew up. I remember playing there as a little kid and I will never get the smell of the tobacco out of my nostrils(i can smell it now as I type). With the advent of automation they moved to a much larger factory.
14975491.jpg














.
Jack Black said:
That's a thought-stirring post P :thumbup:

I've only seen The Full Monty once, some years ago (thought it was dreadful), but it was filmed on location in Sheffield - even if they managed to make the place look like it did years ago - but not in a good way! :D

In the mid 80's here, there was a TV commercial that was supposed to portray some grim East European police state - they actually filmed it on some of Sheffield's high-rise flats! :eek:
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I know little about Englnd, but I know that Sheffield is where many knives and axes used on the American frontier were manufactured. Does Sheffield have any museum or exhibits that show the Sheffield knives use in the early United States?
 
meako said:
Jack a couple of weeks ago I rented some DVDs of Callan -the guy told me many of the original tapes/films were destroyed by fire at the BBC. Some remain however and are a gripping view of Britain in the cold war late 60s early &70s.
Callan (he doesn't make friends and all his enemies are dead) was the thinking mans Bond.

Classic.

Uuurg! those flats are what we get when we let architects out of the shed.
meanwhile getting back on track -this pic is of John Player Tobacco Radford Notttingham
My grandmother worked there for years and lived in a terrace house in the adjacent streets.this is where my Dad grew up. I remember playing there as a little kid and I will never get the smell of the tobacco out of my nostrils(i can smell it now as I type). With the advent of automation they moved to a much larger factory.
14975491.jpg
.
Click to expand...

Hi Meako,

Callan is GREAT! :cool: I have a DVD of the film, but it's been a few years since I saw the TV series.

That's a great pic of the John Player factory. I've got a mate whose lived in Nottingham since the 50's (spoke to him on the phone yesterday by coincidence). He lives near where John Player moved to.

Faiaoga said:
I know little about Englnd, but I know that Sheffield is where many knives and axes used on the American frontier were manufactured. Does Sheffield have any museum or exhibits that show the Sheffield knives use in the early United States?
Click to expand...

Hi Faiaoga,

I've posted a few threads with pics from the Sheffield museums, and one of knives from the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Hopefully there'll be one or two things of interest there :)
 
It's interesting that comments from the world over mention the decay of old industrialization. Either the old buildings are left to rot or turned into some kind of luxury apartments/office space like the old Hamilton Watch factory that Sarah mentioned.

The industry here was all underground, as such all we have left of it are piles of coal slag and out of control mine fires. I just found out this week that one is burning a mile from my home and has been doing so for 30 years :( Others, like in Centralia, PA, have being burning longer and have caused the evacuation of the town above. My Dad used to talk about the house he grew up in, and as a kid I asked to see it. It was no longer there, as a mine cave-in took the whole neighborhood above.

Z
 
Am I the only one to notice the similarity between the windows at Globe and the tombstones in the foreground?

As always, an interesting post Jack.
 
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