TV - Workshops in Sheffield heritage show (Sheffield)

HISTORIC workshops in Sheffield have been hailed as a ‘one-off’ by TV presenter Jules Hudson , who was speaking after visiting the 135-year-old Portland Works on Randall Street, near Bramall Lane.

And the presenter of Britain’s Heritage Heroes – a new show championing the work of people dedicated to saving historic places, products or skills – backed a campaign to save the mesters’ workshops from being transformed into flats.

The Grade II*-listed building, the birthplace of stainless steel cutlery, is currently up for sale. Campaigners have successfully blocked a bid to turn the building into apartments and have been given an extra four months to raise the remaining £250,000 needed to buy the complex.

Jules, who presents the show with veteran Countryfile presenter John Craven, said: “The country is awash with new flats that are proving difficult to sell and it’s not difficult to build flats quite frankly.

“There are lots of other brownfield sites in the city that can be used. I think it’s absolutely right to have the Portland Works campaign – it goes to the heart of what heritage heroes is all about.”

The presenters tried their hands at steelworking when they visited Portland Works as part of an episode on the Pennines.

And they were blown away by the building and the workers trying to keep their trades alive. Jules said: “It is interesting, it’s one of those places where many people may go past without realising what it is.

“Once you get inside, the whole place transforms. The idea of these people in there beavering away to continue these fantastic crafts and to try to keep the building alive is really exciting.

“Portland represents one of the key bits of Sheffield’s history. It is a one off.”

Portland Works was the first place in the world where stainless steel was produced and remains home to highly-skilled and creative tenants – small manufacturers, independent artists and crafts people.

The campaign to save it aims to raise £400,000 from offering shares, plus donations and loans, but only £150,000 has been raised so far. For details, visit www.portlandworks.co.uk

* Britain’s Heritage Heroes is on BBC2 on Thursday, at 6.30pm.

Portland Works were built in 1877.

The building was awarded Grade II-listed status by English Heritage in 1995 and upgraded to Grade II*-listed status in 2003.

Tenant RF Mosley & Co, a manufacturer of cutlery and silverware, was the first firm in the world to produce stainless steel cutlery and continued to operate on the site until the late 1950s.

The building is one of the city’s last remaining examples of a purpose-built light metal trades works. Many similar buildings and associated working class housing were demolished within the city centre throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Campaigners need £400,000 to buy the building and keep it open as little mesters’ workshops.

From: http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/listings/talks-courses-and-workshops/workshops_in_sheffield_heritage_show_1_4218762

TV - Pressure building up over threat to old cutlery works (Britain’s Heritage Heroes)

CAMPAIGNERS trying to save a historic Sheffield cutlery works are stepping up their campaign in the face of new concerns over its future.

Pressure is mounting as they aim to raise £250,000 in five months to stave of the threat to Portland Works, the first building in the world where stainless steel cutlery was made.

After plans to turn the Victorian complex into housing were blocked, a campaign, including a community share issue, was launched by the local community and with support from all political parties to try to ensure it remained a home for small manufacturing businesses, independent artists and craftspeople.

It will be highlighted next week as part of a BBC2 TV series, Britain’s Heritage Heroes, as the share campaign tries to reach a national audience.

While the immediate threat to Portland Works was lifted, supporters said this week it remains in commercial ownership and under threat and the future for tenants is still bleak. Moreover, the building, built in 1877 off Randall Street, near Bramall Lane, needs substantial repairs.

The largest community share offer in the UK aims to buy the building. Planning to raise £400,000 through a mixture of share purchase, donations and loans by June, campaigners still need £250,000.

They say investors will see sufficient interest on their shareholdings to protect them from inflation but the principal return will be the knowledge that they are contributing towards preserving jobs, skills and a historic industrial building.

Derek Morton, who chairs the committee, said: “Portland Works represents much to be proud of in Sheffield – traditional skills, innovation, creativity and an iconic building with a unique history.

“Add to this a community project that will restore the building, retain the workshops as commercial enterprises and add educational and visitor facilities, and the result will be a fine resource for the city and a tribute to the cutlery industry. Our volunteers have raised £150,000 locally and we are now appealing nationally to achieve our target.

“Buying shares in Portland Works will give people a say in the project and a social return on their investment. We want to support and sustain small local businesses in this splendid building”

Stuart Mitchell, a tenant, whose family business has been making knives at the works since 1980, said “This is a one-off chance to save something special from Britain’s industrial history while still keeping working space for local businesses and artists.

“We need to restore the building to share not only with the people of Sheffield but with the people of the UK.”

Portland Works will be featured in a 15-part series, Britain’s Heritage Heroes, next Thursday at 6.30pm. The programme is presented by Jules Hudson and John Craven.

From: 

News - Sheffield's Portland Works in bid to raise £500,000

 

Portland Works was the first factory where cutlery craftsmen worked together under one roof 

The first place in the world to produce stainless steel cutlery could be lost forever if £500,000 cannot be raised by the end of January.

Portland Works was built in the 1870s near Bramall Lane, south of Sheffield city centre, and the Grade II*-listed building is now a workspace for specialist Sheffield trades.

The Portland Works Campaign (PWC) group said if £500,000 could not be raised to buy the building by 31 January, it was "only a matter of time" before it became flats and offices - a fate it narrowly escaped in 2009.

In total, 35 people work at Portland Works - artisans and crafts workers, including silver platers and engravers, cabinet makers, a specialist knife maker, artists and musicians. The campaign group wants it to become "a centre of excellence in Sheffield-type crafts".

In six months £130,000 has been raised from the sale of shares, ranging in price from £100 to £20,000. The shares are for sale until the end of January.

The Architectural Heritage Fund will provide a loan of £300,000, which leaves a £70,000 shortfall. The next move the PWC plans is a scheme to ask local businesses to invest in the building and become "Portland Patrons".

'Rustless steel'

In August 1913 Harry Brearley created a steel alloy of chromium and carbon, which he found resisted acid attack.

His employer, Firth Brown Steels, was not interested in the armament potential of what Brearley called "rustless steel" so he suggested it was used for cutlery, which until that point had been made of carbon steel which was liable to rust, or plated with nickel or silver, which eventually wore through to the base alloy.

Brearley's new alloy arguably was the first batch of what became known as stainless steel.

 

A structural survey showed surprisingly little wrong with the fabric of the building 

Stuart Mitchell forges specialist handmade knives, swords and daggers in an upstairs workshop. The family business moved there in 1980 from the nearby Stag Works.

"In 1913 Portland Works was the first place in the world to produce stainless steel. It is very important, not only for Sheffield but for the whole world."

Mr Mitchell said the building was "revolutionary" in its day for the way that cutlery craftsmen worked together under one roof for the first time.

Many of the Portland Works shareholders have a personal connection with Sheffield, while others were inspired to invest after visiting the building or hearing about its uncertain future.

Martin Winterton, from Skipton in North Yorkshire, is one of the shareholders. His great-great-great-grandfather William Willey worked in the Sheffield cutlery industry in 1790.

"Portland Works is so involved with the whole culture of Sheffield," said Mr Winterton. "If this building isn't preserved people will suddenly turn round and realise they haven't got it any more - everybody will wring their hands and say, 'if only'."

'Superficial work'

Shareholder Rob Marston said his interest in Sheffield's industrial history led him to invest in Portland Works. Rather than wanting to see a financial return on his investment, he views the shares as a way to preserve an important place.

"I liked the idea of keeping it working, not preserving it in aspic as somewhere you'd only visit on heritage open days," he said.

"It's living in the real world - they're finding new ways of using the building. It could be an exemplar, rolled out in other industrial areas of the city."

If the £500,000 target cannot be reached by 31 January, the PWC said shareholders' money would be returned.

Derek Morton, chair of the PWC, said for many tenants a move would not be financially viable.

"Half would survive a move but we'd lose something special. Portland Works has a very strong skill set which is special to Sheffield - it's the nature of the businesses."

PWC said it hoped to complete the purchase of the building in early to mid-2012.

Urgent repairs would be done first, although a structural survey showed little wrong with the fabric of the building.

Foliage grows from the brickwork and the wind whistles through broken windows. The portico at the entrance would be restored and the top-floor workshops would be made habitable. Most urgently, the building would be made watertight.

"There are no less than seven places in my workshop where I know I can't leave anything overnight in case it rains," said knife maker Mr Mitchell.

The PWC wants to run the site as a "community enterprise of traditional Sheffield crafts, preserved for future generations".

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-15920738

News - MP buys a slice of city’s manufacturing heritage (Sheffield)

A LONG-running campaign to save a piece of Sheffield’s manufacturing heritage has been boosted by Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield.

The Labour man put his hand in his pocket to buy a share in Portland Works, a complex of little mesters’ workshops where stainless steel cutlery was first ever manufactured.

Craftsmen, artists, musicians and artisans have come together to try to buy the Randall Street works, just off Bramall Lane.

They need £750,000 to purchase the buildings and start the restoration - and have asked members of the Sheffield community to buy a share in the project.

Mr Blomfield has now bought a share in the scheme.

Derek Morton, chair of the Portland Works Committee, said: “We have a six-month window of opportunity to ensure the survival of the works. We’ve had a wonderful response from 150 people, mainly from the Sheffield area, but as far away as Australia and South Africa, to the community share issue.

“We now have £140,000 raised in share sales and donations and need to double this by the end of January.

“Paul has supported this cooperative project from the beginning and has taken an active interest in developments.”

Mr Blomfield added: “Portland Works is a part of Sheffield’s heritage that we can’t afford to lose. The committee have a fantastic vision to develop Portland Works as a community-run social enterprise. Today there are still strong Sheffield manufacturing businesses, artists, musicians and craftspeople at Portland Works, and they need clarity about their future.

“If enough people buy shares then I know that together we can ensure Portland Works remains home to traditional Sheffield skilled jobs and crafts for another century.”

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/mp_buys_a_slice_of_city_s_manufacturing_heritage_1_3900868