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- Dec 2, 2005
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I posted this thread some years ago. Like many of the old threads here, it has effectively been destroyed, the text mangled, the photos obliterated*. I thought I'd re-post the photos, I hope they're of interest. If you have an old Sheffield knife, you may come across the place where it was made (please do your own research). Since I took these photos, many of the old factories have, sadly, been lost to the bulldozer 
* - As of 7-10-22, some of the images appear to be back in the original thread.
For what it's worth, here's the original introduction:
During my own lifetime, the City of Sheffield, once the world's foremost steel and cutlery producer, has changed massively. Most of the steel works which once dominated the entire 'East End' of the city are long gone, as are most of the old cutlery factories and workshops which were spread across the entire town. The vast majority were demolished in the 1980's, with the wrecking ball and the bulldozer transforming the city, but some remain, either as derelict buildings, or transformed into city centre apartments and bars. The best of those still standing are now covered by preservation orders, but little effort seems to be put into actually preserving them, and they are crumbling into ruins. A few firms still exist, rare survivors in this once industrial city. I thought I'd share a few photos of some of the remaining old factories, you may even see one where your old Sheffield Penknife was made in a far-distant time. The loss of industry has had many negative effects on the town, but it has certainly meant for cleaner air and cleaner rivers, as the last photo [now below] shows. Trout, and even Salmon, have returned to the River Don, where only a few decades ago, nothing lived.
Where factories are unnamed, I may edit in a name when I have the time to recollect/research it
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet/Abbeydale Scythe Works
Trevor Ablett
(Reg Cooper on the right)
Jack Adams
Aizelwood's Mill
Albert Works
Alpha Works
Anglo Works
Atlantic Works (Brookes & Crookes)
Atlas Steel Works
* - As of 7-10-22, some of the images appear to be back in the original thread.
For what it's worth, here's the original introduction:
During my own lifetime, the City of Sheffield, once the world's foremost steel and cutlery producer, has changed massively. Most of the steel works which once dominated the entire 'East End' of the city are long gone, as are most of the old cutlery factories and workshops which were spread across the entire town. The vast majority were demolished in the 1980's, with the wrecking ball and the bulldozer transforming the city, but some remain, either as derelict buildings, or transformed into city centre apartments and bars. The best of those still standing are now covered by preservation orders, but little effort seems to be put into actually preserving them, and they are crumbling into ruins. A few firms still exist, rare survivors in this once industrial city. I thought I'd share a few photos of some of the remaining old factories, you may even see one where your old Sheffield Penknife was made in a far-distant time. The loss of industry has had many negative effects on the town, but it has certainly meant for cleaner air and cleaner rivers, as the last photo [now below] shows. Trout, and even Salmon, have returned to the River Don, where only a few decades ago, nothing lived.
Where factories are unnamed, I may edit in a name when I have the time to recollect/research it
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet/Abbeydale Scythe Works
Trevor Ablett
(Reg Cooper on the right)
Jack Adams
Aizelwood's Mill
Albert Works
Alpha Works
Anglo Works
Atlantic Works (Brookes & Crookes)
Atlas Steel Works
Last edited:
Thanks for reposting these 
