Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is one of Britain’s most atmospheric industrial heritage sites. It was a water-powered works for making steel scythes – essential tools for cutting crops by hand. The site was used for 500 years until it closed in 1930. The present buildings date from between 1714 and 1876. Above the works is the reservoir to supply waterpower. Steel was made in a crucible furnace. Four waterwheels powered tilt hammers for shaping the steel into blades and grindstones for sharpening them. The site also includes workers’ cottages and a manager’s house, a blacking shop for finishing the scythes, a drilling shop for making holes to fix the blades, a steam engine and stables. Displays tell visitors about how the works operated and the lives of the people who worked there. The site also has a new learning centre, café and craft workshops.

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet
Abbeydale Road South
S7 2QW Sheffield
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 114 - 2722106
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