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© Ian M Spooner

© Sheffield Museums

Bessemer Converter

Continuing Display

Kelham Island Museum

Standing at over 20 feet tall, the towering, egg-shaped Bessemer Converter is the first thing you see when you arrive at the museum.

 

Invented and patented by Henry Bessemer in 1856, the revolutionary Bessemer process converted iron into steel. This converter was used by the British Steel Corporation in Workington until it was decommissioned in 1974 and was the last working example in the UK.

Sheffield was at the forefront of Bessemer steel production – by the 1880s it was producing 10,000 tons of Bessemer steel every week, a quarter of the country’s total output at the time. 

Free Entry | Please Donate

Opening Times

Tue-Sat 10am-4pm | Sun 11am-4pm

Sheffield School Holidays & Bank Holidays

Mon-Sat 10am-4pm | Sun 11am-4pm

See the River Don Engine in steam

12pm & 2pm, Thu-Sun

The museum will be closed for events on

Wed 19 – Sat 22 Oct

Sat 5 Nov, Sat 12 Nov, Sat 26 Nov

Thu 1 Dec, Fri 2 Dec, Tue 6 Dec, Thu 22 Dec

Also closed 25 Dec – 2 Jan for the festive period

Victorian Christmas Market

Sat 3 & Sun 4 Dec, ticketed entry to the museum only

Kelham Island Museum

Alma Street

Sheffield

S3 8RY

Bessemer Converter

© Joe Horner

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Step back in time at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

Explore the industry that shaped Sheffield and immerse yourself in life at home and at work at this rural scythe and steelworks,  just a 10 minute walk from Millhouses Park. 

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