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First screened 22 March 2004
For 'Steel City: A Time Team Special', the team followed ARCUS, the Archaeological Research and Consultancy at the University of Sheffield, on some of its excavations into Sheffield's industrial past. Early death, deadly machinery and the worst man-made disaster in British history were revealed as Time Team documented the work of the archaeologists who have spent more than six years digging through the remains of a city that was once the biggest producer of steel in the world.
The 'ugliest town in the Old World'
Sheffield, according to George Orwell in The Road to Wigan Pier, 'could justly claim to be called the ugliest town in the Old World: its inhabitants, who want it to be pre-eminent in everything, very likely make that claim for it … And the stench! If at rare moments you stop smelling sulphur it is because you have begun smelling gas.'
Built on seven hills and five rivers – the Don and its four tributaries, the Loxley, Rivelin, Porter and the Sheaf – Sheffield is the biggest city in Yorkshire and the fourth biggest in England. Its population is around 600,000.
The city's hills provided it with the necessary raw materials for the industry that led to it becoming known as 'Steel City': coal, iron and millstone grit for the grinding wheels of its workshops. And its rivers provided the water power it needed in the days before steam, while its forests supplied it with plentiful supplies of wood and charcoal.
From Chaucer to Defoe
Even before the industrial revolution got under way, Sheffield was renowned for its manufacture of nails, knives, scissors, scythes, razors, axes and other metal products. It had also established its unique reputation and dominant position in the manufacture of cutlery – a virtual production monopoly that continues in Britain to this day.
Sheffield steel even gets a mention in Chaucer, who wrote of the miller of Trumpington: 'A Sheffeld thwitel baar he in his hose.' (See Sheffield steel in Chaucer.) And as early as 1724, Daniel Defoe was able to write that: 'The manufacture of hardware has increased so much that they told us that 30,000 men are employed.'
Revolutionary techniques
Then, in the 1740s, two developments took place that put Sheffield at the head of the new techniques that were to revolutionise steel production and cutlery manufacture:
Benjamin Huntsman, who operated a foundry at Handsworth, four miles to the east of Sheffield, invented the crucible steel process. (See From blister steel to crucible steel.) Huntsman's invention made it possible to produce much harder, high-quality steel in large quantities. The crucible steel process helped to increase production in Sheffield from no more than 200 tons of steel a year under the old method to more than 20,000 tons, or 40% of total European steel production, a century later.
A Sheffield cutler, Thomas Boulsover, devised a means of fusing a thin layer of silver to copper to produce silver plate the famous 'Sheffield Plate' that looked like silver but was far cheaper, and was to take silver-plated cutlery into the dining rooms of almost every middle class family in the land.
Steam and bulk production
By the end of the 18th century, there were 97 recorded water-powered wheel sites in Sheffield, compared with a third of that number at the beginning of the century. But it was the development of steam power and the bulk production of steel that led to the really massive expansion of the industry and the city in the 19th century.
In 1801, 46,000 people lived in Sheffield, a figure that had risen to 135,000 by 1851 and 409,000 in 1901. By this time, Sheffield cutlers counted for 97% of the total nationally. Sheffield's domination of the steel industry was complete.
The 'Sheffield Outrages'
Yet the success of its industry was only achieved at huge cost in human suffering and misery. Steel production involved people working long hours, with little protection, in highly unpleasant and dangerous working conditions. So much so, indeed, that Sheffield became one of the main centres for trade union organisation and agitation in the UK.
In the 1860s, the conflict between capital and labour reached new heights in the 'Sheffield Outrages'. These culminated in a series of explosions and murders carried out by union militants. According to an anarchist pamphlet, The Sheffield Outrages: Tracts for the Times:
'Sheffield, then the capital of English trade unionism, was the only town where the decrees of the union were enforced by the blowing up of factories or shooting capitalists. Nor were these outrages the peculiar invention of William Broadhead [secretary of the Saw Grinders Union, who was heavily implicated]. Like machine smashing or rick burning, they were an inheritance of the evil days of oppression and coercion.'
'When strikes are criminal offences, and unions are smashed with all the might of law, what method is there left but outrage?' asked the anarchists.
Royal Commission on Trade Unions
In 1866, the Conservative government of the day set up a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in response to the outrages. It was given 'extraordinary powers. They could give a free pardon to anyone who made a full confession, and send any man to prison who refused to answer questions or committed perjury.'
The Commission came out strongly against the unions and prompted a major clampdown on union activity. Ironically, though, it was the Commission's more pro-union Minority Report that prevailed just a few years later, leading to the trade union reform legislation introduced by the new Liberal government in 1871.
The Great Flood
The 1860s in Sheffield also witnessed the worst-ever man-made disaster in Britain: Sheffield's 'Great Flood'. On Friday 11 March, 1864, the Sheffield Waterworks Company's Dale Dyke dam, which was approaching completion after five years' construction work, collapsed.
Some 650 million gallons of water poured in a great torrent down the Loxley valley and into Sheffield, leaving an eight-mile trail of destruction in its wake. At least 240 people died in barely half an hour, and more than 100 factories and shops, 400 houses and 64 other buildings were destroyed.
Squalid terraces
While factory owners did well out of their insurance claims following the flood, ordinary workers got little or no compensation. And the houses that were built to replace those destroyed were squalid back-to-back terraces, which sprung up everywhere to accommodate Sheffield's still burgeoning population.
As George Orwell was to write in his account of Sheffield in the 1930s, 'It has a population of half a million and it contains fewer decent buildings than the average East Anglian village of five hundred.'
That, as much as anything else, was an integral part of Sheffield's industrial heritage.
The 'Steel City' Time Team Special saw Phil Harding and various experts attempting to recreate the production processes and steel-working techniques used in Sheffield in the past in order to make a knife. Their attempt – to produce 'blister steel' – was only partially successful, illustrating just how difficult and skilled a process this was.
Until the mid-18th century, the quality of steel was unreliable. Steel was made by heating iron bars, covered with charcoal, for up to a week. The end product was called 'blister steel'. Blister steel was then turned into 'shear steel' by wrapping blister steel bars into a bundle and re-reheating them before forging the bundle. The heat and action of the forge hammer welded the bundles together to the required size.
Although this steel was used to make razors, files, knives and swords, the process was extremely laborious and no more than 200 tons a year were produced in Sheffield in this way. Benjamin Huntsman's invention of the crucible steel process changed all of that. He was the first person to cast steel bars, producing tougher, high-quality steel in large quantities.
In 1846, the French metallurgist Monsieur le Play wrote of Huntsman: 'His memorable discovery advanced the steel manufactures of Sheffield to the first rank, and powerfully contributed to the establishment of the industrial and commercial supremacy of Great Britain.' Within 100 years, Sheffield was producing 20,000 tons of crucible steel per year a staggering 40% of total European steel production at this time.
At first, Sheffield cutlers refused to work with crucible steel because it was much harder than they were used to. French cutlers had no such reservations, providing a ready market for the new steel and producing higher-quality cutlery that began to challenge Sheffield's dominance. When the British government refused the Sheffield cutlers' demand that Huntsman's exports should be banned, the cutlers were forced to start using his steel for their own products.
Demand for the new crucible steel grew dramatically, and Huntsman moved to a vast new site at Attercliffe – an area that became the main location for specialist steel making in Sheffield.
With thanks to the Tilt Hammer website Time Works Project. For a description of the crucible steel process, see www.tilthammer.com/timeworks/crusteel.html
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
The secret of crucible steel production developed by Benjamin Huntsman (See From blister steel to crucible steel) was so important to the industry that industrial spies tried to infiltrate the factory to steal it. One story about these attempts involves an iron founder called Walker, who had a foundry at Grenoside, on the northern outskirts of Sheffield.
It has been written that Walker disguised himself as a tramp and arrived outside Huntsman's works pretending to be ill. It was a very cold night and snow was falling. Walker pleaded with the workers to let him in so that he could warm himself.
The workmen allowed the beggar to take shelter and sleep in a corner of the workshop. While he pretended to sleep, Walker watched all the operations of the crucible steel process. He discovered that part of the secret was in the flux. He saw the workmen break up some old green bottles, which were then put in the crucibles on top of the steel.
About three months after this cold night, it is claimed that Walker's foundry in Grenoside was also making crucible steel.
With thanks to the Tilt Hammer website Time Works Project: www.tilthammer.com/timeworks/
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Phil Harding, who helped to make a knife for this programme using traditional steel-working techniques, is only one of the more recent owners of a blade from Sheffield. Reference was even made to a similar knife in Chaucer. In The Reeve's Tale, written in the 1380s, he tells of the miller of Trumpington possessing a 'Sheffeld thwitel baar' in his hose:
Ay by his belt he baar a long panade,
And of a swerd ful trenchant was the blade.
A joly poppere baar he in his pouche;
Ther was no man, for peril, dorste hym touche.
A Sheffeld thwitel baar he in his hose.
Round was his face, and camus was his nose.
In modern English, that translates as something like:
Always in his leathern belt he did parade
A sword with a long trenchant blade.
In his pocket he carried a pretty knife;
No man who dared to touch him, on loss of life.
A long knife from Sheffield he carried in his hose;
Round was his face and turned-up was his nose.
No comparison with Phil then …
Sheffield's 'Great Flood'
By the mid-1800s, Sheffield was firmly in the grip of the Industrial Revolution. An increasing number of people were moving into the area to take advantage of the employment prospects in the giant, pioneering steel works, and the town was generally expanding. There was a growing, desperate, need for a continuous, and greatly improved, water supply; and increasing pressure was being applied to the Sheffield Waterworks Company to undertake whatever developments were necessary.
The company had established itself in 1830, and now, in response to the pressure, devised the ambitious 'Bradfield Scheme': a plan to built four large reservoirs in the hills surrounding Bradfield, about eight miles north west of Sheffield. The first was to be the giant (by those days' standards) Dale Dyke dam, and construction work commenced on 1 January 1859.
Between 1859 and 1864, work continued on the dam, and by late February 1864, only a few finishing touches were required to complete the embankment. (Work on the second dam, the Agden, had already commenced.) The reservoir was now almost full, the water level being just a few feet below the overflow weir.
On Friday 11 March 1864, at around 5.30pm, one of the 'navvies', William Horsefield, who had been working on the dam, was crossing the embankment on his way home after finishing work. The weather was quite stormy, as it had been for most of the day, so he crossed a little way down the embankment slope to avoid the heavy winds, and the spray that was being whipped over the top of the dam.
A little way along, he noticed a crack running across the embankment. The 'crack' was only wide enough to enter his fingers, but it was of such a length as to cause him some alarm. He immediately scurried off to inform some of his work colleagues, and the Waterworks Company's chief engineer, John Gunson, was sent for.
Gunson, who lived next door to the company's offices in Division Street, near Sheffield city centre, some eight miles away, collected one of his contractors, John Craven. It was around 10pm when they eventually arrived at the dam.
After an initial inspection, Gunson concluded that the crevice was merely a surface crack probably brought about by frost damage, or slight settlement of the new embankment. But to be on the safe side he decided to lower the water in the reservoir until such time as a more extensive investigation could be carried out.
He discovered that the navvies had already opened the drain valves in an attempt to achieve this. But it was evident that this method would take several days to lower the water to a 'safe' level, so he instructed them to place some gunpowder, and blow a hole in the side of the by-wash, thus quickly draining off a large amount of water. Several attempts were made with the gunpowder, but the rain and persistent spray thrown up by the increasing winds prevented its ignition.
By now it was 11.30pm and water was being liberally blown over the top of the dam. Gunson made his way back across the embankment to inspect the crack once more. It did not appear to have worsened, but as he glanced up to the top of the dam he was shocked to see 'water running over like a white sheet in the darkness'. He later declared that it went 'right under my feet and dropped down the crack'.
Gunson edged his way down to the valve house, located near the bottom of the embankment, to see if he could get some idea of the quantity of water passing over, which initially was 'no great current'. As he arrived, though, one of his colleagues, suspecting something was seriously wrong, called down to him to 'get out of the way'.
Gunson looked up to see a breach appearing in the top of the dam. Feeling a sudden, violent, vibrating of the ground beneath his feet, he quickly scampered up the side of the embankment luckily just in time, as a few seconds later there was a total collapse of a large section of the dam, unleashing a colossal mountain of water, which thundered down the valley and on to the unsuspecting population below. Six hundred and fifty million gallons of water roared down the Loxley valley and into Sheffield, wreaking death and destruction on a horrific scale.
Individual experiences of the disaster were infinitely tragic, pathetic, and sometimes bizarre. The first to drown was a two-day-old baby boy, the oldest a woman of 87. Whole families were wiped out.
One desperate man, trapped upstairs in a terrace house, battered his way through five party walls to safety collecting thirty-four other people as he went. A would-be suicide, locked in a cell, decided, as the flood poured in, that he no longer wished to die. One poor old man drowned alongside his sleeping companion – a donkey. A husband put his wife and five children on a bed on which they floated until the water went down.
After about 30 minutes the flood gradually subsided, leaving a trail of destruction more than eight miles long: it was later described as 'looking like a battlefield'. In addition to the massive loss of life (250 dead), total or partial destruction occurred to 415 dwelling houses, 106 factories and shops, 64 other buildings, 20 bridges and 4,478 cottage or market gardens.
With thanks to Michael Armitage, whose website The Great Flood at Sheffield 1864 contains a downloadable version of 'A Complete History of The Great Flood at Sheffield' by Samuel Harrison, first published in 1864, together with his own account of the flood and its causes, a photo gallery, maps, bibliography, links to other websites and an online memorial to the victims.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
Sheffield
Industrial archaeology
Sheffield
The historical archaeology of the Sheffield cutlery and tableware industry 1750-1900 by James Symonds, Joan Unwin and Victoria Beauchamp (Arcus Studies in Historical Archaeology No 1, 2002) paperback £17
This is the first in a series of historical archaeology monographs by ARCUS, the Archaeological Research and Consultancy at the University of Sheffield. Although many popular publications have reviewed the history of the Sheffield cutlery and tableware industry, this is the first to apply an archaeological perspective. Written in accessible style, the book brings to life the working practices and conditions of the 18th- and 19th-century industry and how it shaped the character of the city. The authors survey the development of the industry and the organisation of its trades, they explain how cutlery, flatware, forks and spoons were made, and review the architecture and distinctive features of the workshops and factories. Further books in the series will explore the archaeology of Sheffield's industrial buildings and of early steel sites in the city.
A history of Sheffield by David Hey (Carnegie Publishing, 1998)
Beginning in the Bronze Age and finishing with The Full Monty, with many stops in between, this history covers everything from the cutlery industry to the earliest signs of human habitation in the area that became Sheffield.
Giants of Steel by Geoffrey Tweedale (Sheffield City Libraries, 1986)
Ten biographies of key scientists and industrialists who contributed to the development of the Sheffield steel industry.
Abbeydale Hamlet CD Rom (Tilthammer) £17.50
Using this CD Rom you can wander around the site of the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet Museum looking at the processes that took place there, the equipment that was used and the products at each stage of their manufacture. You can even visit the homes of the people who lived and worked at the Hamlet. This CD Rom brings together an extensive range of information, text, illustrations; photographs, animations and videos. It documents the development of the Abbeydale Works from the 12th century to the present day. To order online, see: www.tilthammer.com/contact/index.html
A Complete History of The Great Flood at Sheffield by Samuel Harrison (Evans and Longley Associates, first published 1864, republished 1974) Available online at: www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/
cs1ma/flood/book/contents.html
'A true and original narrative from authentic sources, comprising numerous facts, incidents and statistics never before published, to which are added official lists of the dead and missing … the number of buildings and houses destroyed and injured in each locality; Mrs Rawlinson's report to the government on the causes of the flood; full report of the inquest, measures of relief, the water company and its liability etc.'
Industrial archaeology
Industrial Archaeology: Principles and Practices by Marilyn Palmer and Peter Neaverson (Routledge, 1998) hardback £75.00; paperback £26.00
This book considers how much we can learn about our manufacturing past by using archaeology. The authors discuss how to use documentary evidence and field techniques to discover how ordinary people lived and worked, and how modern landscapes have been shaped by industrial society.
Fieldwork in Industrial Archaeology by Kenneth Major (Batsford, 1975) £3.95
Written by an experienced amateur researcher, this little book suggests exactly how to go about studying the industrial past. Everything from photography techniques to field-survey recording standards is covered.
Industrial England by Michael Stratton and Barrie Trinder (English Heritage/Batsford, 1997) £16.99
Absorbing guide to the changes in the economy and in manufacturing in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and their effects on the English landscape, including glassworks, iron works, coal mines, brick-works, car production plants, tin mines and cotton factories. A fresh and fascinating introduction to this important period. Lots of good pictures and discussions of key sites.
Industry in the Landscape 1700-1900 by Marilyn Palmer and Peter Neaverson (Routledge, 1994) £65
Two hundred years of industry have transformed the British landscape. This volume enables the reader to reconstruct the landscape of past industry. The authors are industrial archaeologists of national standing whose concern is to use surviving material evidence and contemporary sources in order to study the former working conditions of men and women. Comprehensive in coverage, the book examines fuels, metals, clothing, food, building and transport. It makes clear the tangible elements which form the basis for recreation of past landscapes and demonstrates both their function and the context in which they should be considered.
Perspectives on Industrial Archaeology edited by Neil Cossons (Science Museum, 2000) £19.95
Today, we are surrounded by the physical legacy of over two centuries of industrialisation: factories, canals, industrial towns and cities. By the 1950s, some of these relics of early industry began to take on a new significance: they were seen as an archaeological and historical reflection that needed to be captured, by recording and occasionally preservation. Industrial archaeology arose out of a widespread recognition of this need. In this book, distinguished authors review developments in industrial archaeology in Britain from the mid-1950s, when the term first appeared in print, to the present and offer some prospects for the future. Publication coincided with the International Congress on the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage held in Britain in 2000.
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites.
ARCUS, the Archaeological Research and Consultancy at the University of Sheffield
www.shef.ac.uk/arcus
Website of Sheffield University's archaeological service, whose excavations Time Team followed in making the Steel City Time Team Special. Includes information on some of the 100-plus projects with which ARCUS is involved every year.
Tilt Hammer; the industrial heritage of Sheffield
www.tilthammer.com/index.html
An extremely well-produced website run by a Time Team Forum regular, this contains a wide range of information about the industrial history of Sheffield, with special emphasis on Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, an 18th-century scythe works, for which there is a virtual tour. It includes a good explanation of the crucible steel process attempted (unsuccessfully) by Phil Harding and various experts for the Time Team Special. There is also a useful links section, which acts as a gateway to local history groups and societies in Sheffield and the surrounding area.
The Hawley Collection
www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/hp/index.htm
The Hawley Collection is an internationally important collection of edge-tools and cutlery, mainly from Sheffield, but with complementary material from Britain and the rest of the world. The collection is owned by a charitable trust and housed at the University of Sheffield in a former steel factory building specially modified for it.
The Great Flood at Sheffield 1864
www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/
cs1ma/flood/flood.html
Michael Armitage's fascinating website on Sheffield's 'Great Flood' contains a downloadable version of A Complete History of The Great Flood at Sheffield by Samuel Harrison, first published in 1864, together with his own account of the flood and its causes, a photo gallery, maps, bibliography, links to other websites and an online memorial to the victims.
Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust
www.simt.co.uk
As well as providing a range of education, reference and archive services, Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust operates three important museums dedicated to the industrial and social history of Sheffield. These are:
Kelham Island Museum
www.simt.co.uk/kel1/index.htm
Kelham Island Museum tells the story of Sheffield and its people. It is the home of the most powerful working steam engine in Europe. There are working craftspeople demonstrating their skills, in reconstructions of old Sheffield workshops.
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet
www.simt.co.uk/ham1/index.htm
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is a unique 18th-century scythe works with water wheels, crucible steel furnaces, tilt hammer and grinding hull restored to working order.
Shepherd Wheel
www.simt.co.uk/shep1/index.htm
Shepherd Wheel is a 16th-century water powered cutlery grinding workshop.
For other websites and organisations dealing with industrial archaeology, see Archaeology websites: Industrial Britain
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