Industry

Sheffield’s industrial collections celebrate the city’s rich history of industrial innovation as well as the skills of its people. The earliest collecting was undertaken by Sheffield Literary & Philosophical Society in the 1820s. Collecting with a specific focus on industry grew in the 20th century in anticipation of the opening of Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet in 1970 and Kelham Island Museum in 1982.

There are now over 80,000 objects in the collection spanning over 300 years of history, focussing on tools used in manufacturing, and examples of processes and finished products. It covers a wide range of manufacturing, from the tools and cutlery made by Sheffield’s famed ‘Little Mesters’, to the mass industrial production of iron, steel and associated products.

If you want to search for a specific item, phrase or object number, enter your search term in speech marks e.g. "Benty Grange".

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