Steel City
This steel footbridge in Sheffield, England, carries pedestrians from Park Square to Ponds Forge International Sports Centre - a modern development on the site of a former steelworks. Sheffield – aka "Steel City" – was once the steel-making capital of the world and has a rich history of technological development and expertise.
Sheffield's steel production began around the 14th century and was very small scale at first, with self-employed craftsmen making cutlery, tools and other smaller items from start to finish. By the 18th century, demand was growing fast and production needed to change to keep up. With the invention of the crucible steel process in 1742 by local manufacturer Benjamin Huntsman, production was revolutionised and Sheffield went from small township to leading European industrial city. In the 100 years that followed, its annual steel production rose from 200 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes; almost half Europe's total production.
In 1856, Henry Bessemer's converter furnace took things further, enabling mass production of cheap refined steel for railway parts, armour plating and construction. The "Bessemer boom" sent Sheffield steel global. In 1871, America was importing over three times as much rail track from Sheffield as it made domestically.
Sheffield-based chemist Harry Brearley invented stainless steel in 1912. In 1924, Dr W. H. Hatfield, from the same laboratory, created "18/8" – probably today's most commonly used stainless steel.
During both World Wars, Sheffield played a central role in arming the military, its strategic importance making it a bombing target. With men away fighting, women took over the city's steelworks, including munition production – something commemorated by Sheffield's "Women of Steel" statue, unveiled in 2016.
During the 1970s, market downturn caused several Sheffield steelworks to close. The Thatcher years had a devastating impact, with further recession, warring between government and unions, and ultimately British Steel's second and final privatisation. Sheffield lost more than 50,000 steel and engineering jobs between 1980 and 1983. The industry suffered further since the 2008 crash owing to lower demand, rising energy prices, a strong pound and China's alleged "steel dumping". Amid a flurry of high profile plant closures, Forgemasters, currently Sheffield's biggest steel employer, announced 100 redundancies from its 630-strong workforce in 2016.
These days, Sheffield's steel industry (employing around 2,600 in 2016) focuses largely on specialist trade. Despite the loss of much of the heavy engineering and large scale production, in 2005, the industry produced more steel per year by value than at any other time in its history. International buyers – particularly from the US – are still drawn to the quality and heritage of tools and cutlery made from Sheffield steel.
Steel City
This steel footbridge in Sheffield, England, carries pedestrians from Park Square to Ponds Forge International Sports Centre - a modern development on the site of a former steelworks. Sheffield – aka "Steel City" – was once the steel-making capital of the world and has a rich history of technological development and expertise.
Sheffield's steel production began around the 14th century and was very small scale at first, with self-employed craftsmen making cutlery, tools and other smaller items from start to finish. By the 18th century, demand was growing fast and production needed to change to keep up. With the invention of the crucible steel process in 1742 by local manufacturer Benjamin Huntsman, production was revolutionised and Sheffield went from small township to leading European industrial city. In the 100 years that followed, its annual steel production rose from 200 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes; almost half Europe's total production.
In 1856, Henry Bessemer's converter furnace took things further, enabling mass production of cheap refined steel for railway parts, armour plating and construction. The "Bessemer boom" sent Sheffield steel global. In 1871, America was importing over three times as much rail track from Sheffield as it made domestically.
Sheffield-based chemist Harry Brearley invented stainless steel in 1912. In 1924, Dr W. H. Hatfield, from the same laboratory, created "18/8" – probably today's most commonly used stainless steel.
During both World Wars, Sheffield played a central role in arming the military, its strategic importance making it a bombing target. With men away fighting, women took over the city's steelworks, including munition production – something commemorated by Sheffield's "Women of Steel" statue, unveiled in 2016.
During the 1970s, market downturn caused several Sheffield steelworks to close. The Thatcher years had a devastating impact, with further recession, warring between government and unions, and ultimately British Steel's second and final privatisation. Sheffield lost more than 50,000 steel and engineering jobs between 1980 and 1983. The industry suffered further since the 2008 crash owing to lower demand, rising energy prices, a strong pound and China's alleged "steel dumping". Amid a flurry of high profile plant closures, Forgemasters, currently Sheffield's biggest steel employer, announced 100 redundancies from its 630-strong workforce in 2016.
These days, Sheffield's steel industry (employing around 2,600 in 2016) focuses largely on specialist trade. Despite the loss of much of the heavy engineering and large scale production, in 2005, the industry produced more steel per year by value than at any other time in its history. International buyers – particularly from the US – are still drawn to the quality and heritage of tools and cutlery made from Sheffield steel.