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.

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