Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust

Last updated

The Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust (SIMT) is an independent charitable trust based in Sheffield, England, that runs the Sheffield City Council-owned Kelham Island, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, and Shepherd Wheel museums.

The trust was created from a partnership between the City Council, Sheffield Hallam University and the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire as Kelham Island Museum Ltd. in November 1994, and reconstituted as the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust in 1998 when the City Council passed to them control of the recently closed Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet.

See also


Related Research Articles

South Yorkshire County of England

South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county and metropolitan county in England. It is the southernmost county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region and had a population of 1.34 million in 2011. It has an area of 1,552 square kilometres (599 sq mi) and consists of four metropolitan boroughs, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. South Yorkshire was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972. Its largest settlement is Sheffield.

River Sheaf River in South Yorkshire, England

The River Sheaf in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, flows northwards, past Dore, through Abbeydale and north of Heeley. It then passes into a culvert, through which it flows under the centre of Sheffield before joining the River Don. This lower section of the River Sheaf, together with the River Don between the Blonk Street and Lady's Bridges, formed two sides of the boundary of Sheffield Castle.

Kelham Island Museum

The Kelham Island Museum is an industrial museum on Alma Street, alongside the River Don, in the centre of Sheffield, England. It was opened in 1982.

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet Industrial museum in South Yorkshire, England

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is an industrial museum in the south of the City of Sheffield, England. The museum forms part of a former steel-working site on the River Sheaf, with a history going back to at least the 13th century. It consists of a number of dwellings and workshops that were formerly the Abbeydale Works—a scythe-making plant that was in operation until the 1930s—and is a remarkably complete example of a 19th-century works. The works are atypical in that much of the production process was completed on the same site. A more typical example of water-powered works in the area can be found at Shepherd Wheel.

Millhouses Neighbourhood in Sheffield, England

Millhouses is a neighbourhood in the City of Sheffield, England. It is located in Ecclesall ward; in the south-western portion of the city on the northwest bank of the River Sheaf. Its origins lie in a small hamlet that grew around the Ecclesall Corn Mill. It has a population of 4,424.

Shepherd Wheel

Shepherd Wheel is a working museum in a former water-powered grinding workshop situated on the Porter Brook in the south-west of the City of Sheffield, England. One of the earliest wheels on the River Porter, it is one of the few remaining—and effectively complete—examples of this kind of enterprise, one that used to be commonplace in the Sheffield area. Its 5.5 m (18 ft) diameter overshot water wheel is powered from a large dam stocked with water diverted from the Porter Brook. The workshops, dam, goit and weir are Grade II listed, and the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

City ward, Sheffield Electoral ward in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

City ward — which includes the districts of Highfield, Kelham Island and the city centre — is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It covers the central area of the city. The ward was created following the 2015 local government boundary review out of part of the old Central ward, which, with a population of 36,412, was the largest ward in the UK. City is one of the wards that make up the Sheffield Central constituency.

Areas of Sheffield

The areas of Sheffield, a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England, vary widely in size and history. Some of the areas developed from villages or hamlets, that were absorbed into Sheffield as the city grew, and thus their centres are well defined, but the boundaries of many areas are ambiguous. The areas of Sheffield do not play a significant administrative role, but the city is divided into 28 electoral wards for local elections and 6 parliamentary constituencies for national elections.

River Don Engine Preserved stationary steam engine

The River Don Engine is a 1904-built steam engine used for hot rolling steel armour plate. It is a 3-cylinder simple engine of 40 inches (1.0 m) diameter, 48 inches (1.2 m) stroke. At its operating steam pressure of 160psi, it developed 12,000 horsepower (8.9 MW), and was able to reverse from full speed in 2 seconds. The rapid reverse was an essential feature of an engine used for rolling, as delays would result in cooling of the workpiece. This engine was one of four built to the same design, one going overseas to the Japanese Government, one to John Brown's Atlas plant, and the destination of the final one being William Beardmore of Glasgow. It is claimed to be one of the most powerful steam engines ever built, and the most powerful remaining in Europe.

Abbeydale, Sheffield

Abbeydale is an area in the City of Sheffield, England that follows the valley of the River Sheaf. It covers many districts of Sheffield in the south-west of the city running roughly from Heeley Bridge in the district of Heeley to Dore Road between Beauchief and Totley. It is named for the Abbey that existed at Beauchief from the 12th century to 1537.

Listed buildings in Sheffield

There are about 1,000 listed buildings in Sheffield. Of these only five are Grade I listed, and 42 are Grade II*, the rest being Grade II listed. The buildings vary from a listed facade to the largest listed building in Europe.

Economy of Sheffield

In 2008, Sheffield ranked among the top 10 UK cities as a business location and aims to regenerate itself as a modern technology and sports based city. Sheffield has an international reputation for metallurgy and steel-making. It was this industry that established it as one of England's main industrial cities during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. This industry used Sheffield's unique combination of local Iron, Coal and water power supplied by the local rivers. This fuelled a massive growth in the city's population that expanded from 60,995 in 1801 to a peak of 577,050 in 1951. However, due to increasing competition from imports, it has seen a decline in heavy engineering industries since the 1960s, which has forced the sector to streamline its operations and lay off the majority of the local employment. The steel industry now concentrates on more specialist steel-making and, despite appearances, currently produces more steel per year by value than at any other time in its history. The industry is now less noticeable as it has become highly automated and employs far fewer staff than in the past. However a small number of skilled industrial automation engineers still thrive in it. Today the economy is worth over £7 billion a year.

Sheffield Tramway

Sheffield Tramway was an extensive tramway network serving the English city of Sheffield and its suburbs.

A blade mill was a variety of water mill used for sharpening newly fabricated blades, including scythes, swords, sickles, and knives.

Buildings and structures in Sheffield have been constructed over a time-span ranging from the 13th century to the present day. The majority of Sheffield's older buildings were built during the Industrial Revolution, with many medieval buildings demolished in the 19th century; some older buildings were lost during the Sheffield Blitz. Sheffield can only lay claim to five Grade I listed buildings, two of which are in the city centre.

Beauchief Gardens Small area of formal parkland in south-west Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Beauchief Gardens is a small area of formal parkland in south-west Sheffield. The gardens lie between Abbeydale Road South to the north-west, the River Sheaf and the railway line to the south and Beauchief Dam to the east. The gardens were donated to the city by the J. G. Graves Trust in 1935, following the earlier donation, two years previously, of Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. The gardens had always been well kept and had their own gardener. The level of care had declined until the 1990s, when the Friends of Millhouses Park accepted the challenge of restoring the gardens. Clean-up events were organised in November 2004 and March 2005 to bring back the gardens to an acceptable level, which is the state the gardens are in now.

Kelham Island Quarter

Kelham Island is one of Sheffield's eleven designated Quarters. Formerly an industrial area, the island itself was created by the building of a goit, or mill race, fed from the River Don to serve the water wheels powering the workshops of the areas' industrial heyday. The quarter was named after the island, however, the boundaries extend beyond the physical island created by the river and goit.

Kelham Island may refer to:

Abbeydale may refer to: