Guest Gunner3 Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Hi i'm new on here and i've been living in Sheffield for about six years and also happen to be fascinated by steelworks and their history. I have found that in general industrial history is horribly neglected. Buildings that were once alive with activity are destroyed with *** abandon. Does anyone have any info and/or pictures of sheffield steelworks and factories past and present? I am particularly interested in the Union Carbide site on Claywheels lane and the former steel peach and tozer plant at Templeborough, part of which is now magna, and generally most of the Don valley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tsavo Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Welcome to the site, Gunner3. Try 'Picture Sheffield' for old pics, we use it a lot. It's well worth a visit and a good place to start.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffield History Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Picture of Union Carbide from Middlewood Hospital Clock Tower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunner3 Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Ahah cheers all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffield History Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I've asked a friend who's got pictures of the place to get his backside on here and post em too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SteelCity2Another Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Speaking of steelworks. Here is some footage shot at Firth Rixson Bessemer Road works. I appear on this footage too.....about 3 mins in. http://www.vidilife.com/index.cfm?f=media....91B-415F-A54D-3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffield History Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 Right Let's start with the Union Carbide plant There's currently plans to flatten the place and replace with a housing development so the guys that took the time to get in there and photograph the place are owed our gratitude. Union Carbide is a funny old site really. There has been some buildings demolished, and the rest of the shop floors seem to be used for various purposes, including a machinery breakers yard. As the main factory building was plastered with ball cameras, we made our way to the companies welfare and engineering buildings. Aside from the cameras there is also pikeys in one of the buildings and a white van that patrols around the waste ground around the buildings. While we were there we saw a group of young lads stealing something or other in a canvas sack, and a shifty bloke with a hacksaw who ran at the site of us! Before we reached the welfare block we attempted the companies concrete water tower, but found the first flight of stairs had been gas cut, and was lying on the floor. There seemed no quick way to climb the gap in steps, and we were right in view of the pikeys, so we continued to the welfare block. All of the buildings at this end were built in the 1960's. It seems the company was really prospering in that era. The welfare block consisted of the fantastic retro main hall, used as a canteen and function room, locker and shower rooms and the medical centre. The whole building was full of air soft pellets... the site is used as an air soft course once a month. In the kitchen of the main hall the companies records were stacked up in various cabinets, some dating back from the 60's. The hall had a projection room, but unfortunately it had been stripped. The names of long serving employees decorated the walls. The shower room was unusual. There was a row of "dirty" lockers, which led to the showers and then a row of "clean" lockers. The room was vast, and the amount of lockers gave an idea of how many people once worked in the factory. The engineering dept was very intact, still fitted with 1960's laboratories complete with X-ray machines and fume cupboards. I would have liked to explore further in here, but we were so close to the pikeys we did not want to push our luck. The chimneys were climbable, the metal rungs almost reaching to the floor... but unfortunately I still cant find the bottle to climb a chimney!! As usual, there are plans to demolish the whole site for housing. All text & images copyright © Dweeb 2006 - our sincere thanks to his team for use of images and text http://www.lightingthedarkness.co.uk/Union%20Carbide.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SteelCity2Another Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 When I worked at Rixsons there was a fella there who had worked at Union Carbide, or British Acheson as it was before, and he kept telling me he was only working there (at Rixsons) til they called him back......he'd been there 15 years by then, and shortly afterwards UC was 'mothballed'. Sadly, I left too not long after that, and my old mate is now passed away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gunner3 Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 I used to work at the APW factory at the end of Claywheels lane, deep in Beeley woods, and i used to cycle past UCAR every day. Hence my interest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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