Museums Sheffield: www.museums-sheffield.org.uk
BACKGROUND
Museums Sheffield is the trading name of Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust (SGMT) and
was created in 1998 as an independent charity to take over the running of the city’s non-industrial
museums and galleries from Sheffield City Council.
The first major project was the launch of the newly-built Millennium Gallery in 2001, a cornerstone of
Sheffield’s Heart of the City regeneration project. The Millennium Gallery set the tone for our work
over the following decade; fundraising for and delivering major improvement projects to enhance the
city’s galleries and museums.
Major successes have included:
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The £19m redevelopment of Weston Park museum, culminating in nomination for the
Gulbenkian Prize and winning the Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award 2008
Achieving ‘Designated Collection’ status from the Department of Culture, Media & Sport for
the city’s unique metalwork collection
Fundraising for the acquisition of significant artworks and historic objects for the city,
including the Bill Brown cutlery collection and The Kiss by Marc Quinn
Fundraising for large scale refurbishments and redisplays of the Graves Gallery, Ruskin and
Metalwork Collections
Becoming an Arts Council Major Partner Museum for the period 2015-2018
Securing a £650k HLF grant to improve Weston Park museum in 2015-17
Welcoming over a million visitors annually across all sites
As we look to the future, it’s clear that museums and galleries across the country face tough
economic challenges in the coming years. We hope to meet these challenges head on, and will
continue to champion the culture which now forms an essential part of the life of our great city.
Museums Sheffield: MILLENNIUM GALLERY (S1 2PP)
The Millennium Gallery is an outstanding venue for the visual arts, craft and design, right in the
heart of Sheffield. Both elegant and innovative, the gallery breaks with the traditional institutional
image of an art gallery and is a welcoming and vibrant place to be for pleasure, education and
business.
History
Opened in 2001 and featuring over 1,800 square metres of exhibition space, the Gallery is the
permanent home of Sheffield’s unique Metalwork Collection and Ruskin Collection of art and
artefacts and plays host to major temporary exhibitions of art, craft, fashion and design. The gallery
is a welcoming space and is a far remove from the often foreboding and institutional appearance of
traditional galleries. The building was designed by architects Pringle Richards Sharratt.
With four individual galleries under one roof, there are all sorts of wonderful things to see and enjoy.
Be inspired by treasures from the past, admire masterpieces from Britain's national collections and
discover new creations by artists and makers working today.
Built on two levels, the Galleries has an internal 'avenue' which leads from the entrance on Arundel
Gate to the Winter Garden, and off which the four galleries are located.
Winter Garden
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External and Internal views
Millennium Gallery - Special Exhibition Gallery
This is where a wide range of major blockbuster exhibitions takes place, giving visitors the
opportunity to enjoy all sorts of national and international masterpieces from places like Tate and the
Victoria & Albert Museum. The gallery shows four exhibitions a year.
Millennium Gallery - Craft and Design Gallery
The Craft and Design Gallery is the largest exhibition space of its type in the region. It showcases
exciting new work by contemporary makers and designers and shows superb exhibitions by masters
of the past. Work by both local and regional makers, and the best national and international
designers is shown and often for sale.
Millennium Gallery - The Metalwork Gallery
The Metalwork Gallery celebrates Sheffield's international renown as a world leader in the
production of domestic and decorative metalwork and silverware. The metalwork is recognised as a
nationally designated collection. Designation Challenge Fund (DCF) have sponsored this collection.
Here visitors can discover the fascinating story of the city's metalworking trade from the 14th century
to the present day and see over 1,000 items from the city's unique and internationally important
collection.
Amazing one-off pieces such as a large Old Sheffield Plate turtle soup tureen from the early 19th
century and the newly made Millennium Punchbowl, commissioned by Sheffield Assay Office, can
be seen alongside examples of the mass produced cutlery for which Sheffield is famous and objects
by famous designers including David Mellor and Christopher Dresser.
Millennium Gallery - The Ruskin Gallery
The Ruskin Gallery, which is in the Millennium Gallery, contains a unique
Collection of minerals, paintings, drawings, ornithological prints, Medieval
manuscripts, books and architectural plastercasts assembled by John
Ruskin. The collection is known as the Ruskin Collection. It is owned by
the Guild of St. George and cared for by Museums Sheffield.
Items on display range from the small to the large. The jewel like colours
in a single peacock feather are picked up in watercolours displayed
alongside. Detailed drawings of architectural features and landscape
views illustrate the skill of the craftsman and the beauty of nature. The
front of Rouen Cathedral is recreated in large panels enlarged from
photographs taken by Ruskin.
History
John Ruskin was one of the most eminent figures of the Victorian Age. His writings on
natural history, art, architecture, social and economic matters helped shape British cultural
life and had a significant impact on a wide range of other countries. His influence is still felt
today and his ideas are as relevant to the twenty-first century as they were to the
nineteenth.
In 1875 John Ruskin founded the Ruskin Gallery (originally called the Museum of St
George) in a small cottage in the suburbs of Sheffield. He intended it as an educational
resource for the benefit of the people of the city. The collection of items that Ruskin
gathered for the museum belonged to the Guild of St George, an organisation set up by
Ruskin in 1871.
In 1890 the Museum of St George moved to a new Ruskin Museum in Meersbrook Hall.
This remained open until the 1950s when the collection was relocated to the University of
Reading, eventually to be housed in a new museum. This never materialised and the
collection was returned to Sheffield. In 1985 a new Ruskin Gallery opened on Norfolk Street
in the city centre. A small Craft Gallery was added to the building in 1988. In April 2001 the
Ruskin Gallery moved once more into the Millennium Gallery.
Museums Sheffield: GRAVES GALLERY (S1 1XZ)
The Graves Gallery is the home of Sheffield’s visual art collection. Situated above the
Central Library, away from the noise and traffic of the city centre, the Gallery is a
peaceful haven for visitors to enjoy the city’s art and a programme of temporary
exhibitions.
Famous names on show at the Graves include Turner and Sisley, while more recent
artists include Damien Hirst, Bridget Riley, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Marc Quinn. Local
heroes include George Fullard, Derrick Greaves and Stanley Royle.
Graves Gallery – Floor Plan
History
The Graves Gallery opened in 1934 thanks to the financial support of local
business man John George Graves, who made his fortune out of one of the
country’s first mail order businesses. Graves also presented his wide ranging
and important art collection to the city. This went on display in the gallery.
The Graves Gallery has always shown temporary exhibitions alongside the
permanent displays, a policy established by the first Director John Rothenstein,
who later went on to become Director of the Tate Gallery.
In 2001 the Graves Gallery was refurbished and the galleries restored to their
original condition. The gallery’s 1930s splendour continues to provide a perfect
setting in which visitors can enjoy the permanent displays and temporary
exhibitions.
Museums Sheffield: WESTON PARK MUSEUM (S10 2TP)
At Museums Sheffield: Weston Park you can explore the world and its past,
from millions of years ago to the present day.
In December 1940 the Mappin Art Gallery suffered a direct hit in the Sheffield
Blitz, destroying a significant part of the building and damaging much of the rest.
During the 1950s and 1960s the City Museum remained open to the public,
whilst the Mappin Art Gallery was left in its partially demolished state after the
structure had been made safe.
In 1965 funding for the rebuilding of the art gallery was made available. Under
direction of Lewis Womersley (also responsible for the Park Hill housing estate),
Sheffield City Council architects saw the three galleries which best survived the
bombing restored to their original design, whilst the original main gallery and the
adjacent gallery were rebuilt as a combined single modern space.
Piecemeal alterations took place during the 1970s and 1980s, but by 2003 both
the Museum and Gallery were in a poor state, leading to a major £19m
refurbishment programme led by Museums Sheffield. As a result, the Mappin Art
Gallery and City Museum were consolidated into a single entity; Weston Park
museum, so named because that’s what the majority of visitors had called the
building for years previously.
The renovated museum, which now sits proudly in its namesake park (also
restored to former glory in recent years) has retained the best of its existing
architecture with additional features to create a building fit for its modern
purpose. As well as bricks and mortar, many of the much-loved former
residents, such as Snowy the Polar Bear, have been kept as part of the new
museum.
Since re-opening in 2006, Weston Park museum has surpassed all visitor
targets and now welcomes almost 300,000 visitors each year. As well as the
permanent galleries which tell the story of Sheffield from pre-history to the
present day, a temporary exhibition space welcomes shows from partners such
as the British Museum and the V&A Museum of Childhood.
Throughout 2016 we’ll be making lots of improvements to Weston Park,
including a complete revamp of the museum’s archaeology and art galleries,
and the introduction of new displays in Sheffield Life & Times and What on
Earth. The changes have been made possible thanks to a major grant from the
Heritage Lottery Fund, support from a range of trusts and foundations, and the
incredible generosity of our visitors, which all see us well on the way to our £1m
I Love My Museum fundraising appeal target.
Work has already begun, with a new-look picnic space making its debut in
September 2015. From January 2016, it’s full steam ahead as the
transformation of the galleries gets underway. And you don’t need to miss the
museum for a moment – Weston Park will remain open as the changes take
place.
Weston Park will continue to transform throughout 2016 with further changes to
Sheffield Life & Times beginning in April, along with major updates to the What
on Earth gallery starting in June.
From Egyptian Mummies, to a traditional butchers shop. From Snowy the
polar bear, to living ants and bees. The citys amazing collections of
beautiful, varied and unusual treasures will be brought to life by
fascinating histories, incredible facts and hands-on interactives.
Museums Sheffield: OFF-SITE STORAGE FACILITY (Acres Hill, S9 3LR)
This is the final site managed by the organization but is a key support for all our other activity. It is
located in a light-industrial area on the outskirts of Sheffield.
The warehouse building is owned by SCC and MS shares the facility with SCC Libraries and
Records Management. In 2000-3 it was the subject of a successful £534,000 HLF project to
upgrade the site (below) to provide high-specification museum-grade storage for primarily the art
collections not on display. The project also allowed MS to create access, storage, systems and all
facilities independent of the SCC tenants on the site.
As part of the Weston Park Museum project the site was built upon further with the addition of a new
£500,000 warehouse facility built onto the existing structure. This provides storage for the vast
‘museum collections’ (archaeology, natural history and decorative arts).
Access to the collections held in store for researchers and others is provided via a controlled
appointment system administered by curators and collections management staff.
Museums Sheffield: THE COLLECTIONS
A Range of Collections
The permanent collections in the care of the Trust are owned by Sheffield City Council. These
collections have been developed over a period of more than a century and are now grouped into
three key areas: Visual Arts, Humanities and Natural History.
Visual Arts Collections
The Visual Arts Collection
The nucleus of this collection was gifted by Dr J G Graves, a local business man and benefactor,
who compiled a large and varied collection between 1900 and 1940 which he presented to the city
in a series of gifts from 1933 to 1945. Purchased largely from auction houses the collection is
remarkably varied ranging from Victorian artists Sir Edward Burne-Jones, James Collinson and
Arthur Hughes to the Spanish 17th Century Esteban Murillo and the contemporary Roger Fry.
The most important acquisitions made included works by artists such as: Paul Nash, Edward
Bawden, Sir Stanley Spencer, Christopher Wood, Augustus John, William Roberts, Eric Ravilious,
Henry Moore, Claude Rogers, David Bomberg, Frank Auerbach, Keith Vaughan, John Minton,
George Fullard, Prunella Clough, Alan Davie and Bridget Riley. In addition significant additions
were made of continental works including paintings by Matisse and Cézanne with help from the
National Art Collection Fund and the Victoria & Albert Museum purchase scheme.
The other important gift to the city came from Sir John Newton Mappin, who was a wealthy local
brewer with an eye for an anecdotal picture. Mappin bequeathed to the city his collection of 154
works and £15,000 to found an art gallery. The Mappin Art Gallery opened in 1887 and was the first
public art gallery to be opened to the public.
Mappin had purchased contemporary paintings predominantly from the Royal Academy summer
exhibitions supplemented by purchases from studio sales by deceased artists like Sir Edwin
Landseer. Mappin's favourite artist was Scottish painting John Pettie (1839-1893) from whom he
acquired 11 works. Mappin's taste was for narrative paintings of popular and established artists.
Significant purchases, gifts and bequests have been acquired with the help of the National Art
Collections Fund, the Maleham Bequest and the Contemporary Arts Society. Most recently, a major
early painting by Sir Stanley Spencer of Zacharias and Elizabeth has been jointly purchased with
the Tate Gallery with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, National Art Collections Fund and private
benefactors.
The collection, including works on paper and paintings comprises some 6000 items.
Collection of the Guild of St George
Formed by John Ruskin (1879-1900) as an educational collection for the working people of Sheffield
in 1875, it comprises minerals (2,000), ornithological prints (6,300), painting, plaster casts, drawings
and water-colours, photographs, books and a small number of mediaeval illuminated manuscripts.
Ruskin intended to create similar museum collections in other industrial centres but these never
happened leaving the Sheffield collection as the unique realisation of his educational ambitions.
The collection is owned by the Guild of St George and on loan to Sheffield City Council for 99 years.
It is of national and international significance and attracts interest from visitors across the world.
Humanities Collections
Decorative Arts Collections
Previously referred to as 'Applied Art', these collections principally comprise metalware, ceramics,
horology and some local glass. When the City Museum was founded in 1875, the aim was to collect
these items on a world-wide basis, so that the skilled craftsmen of Sheffield could study the designs
and the manufacturing techniques of other cultures and periods. The world-wide scope of the
collecting policy existed into the early part of the 20th century, but since about 1920 financial and
other resource limitations have led to a reassessment of the policy and collecting is now
concentrated mainly on metalware.
The Metalware Collection
The outstanding aspect of the Decorative Arts Collections is the internationally renowned
metalware collection, which not only contains the most extensive collection of Sheffield made
Cutlery and Hollowware in existence, but also an important comparative collection of the
finest examples of the cutler's art from Europe and from many parts of Africa and Asia. The
collection contains some 8000 items comprising 256 Silver items, 1000 Old Sheffield Plate,
105 Electroplate, 204 Pewter and Britannia metal, 225 Iron and Steel and 60 brass. The
majority of the remainder of the collection comprises cutlery.
The Cutlery Collection
The earliest Sheffield knife in the collection was excavated from the Sheffield Castle and
dates from the 14th Century. In 1624 the Worshipful Company of Cutlers' in Hallamshire
was established and a continuous record of cutlers' marks exists from that date. The knives
made in Sheffield are quite different from the surviving 17th Century knives made by London
cutlers and were obviously made to sell much more cheaply. By 1700 Sheffield was making
new products like spring folding pocket knives, razors and forks. The earliest pocket knife in
the collection was made by Hugh Fenton around 1684.
The Hollowware Collection
The Hollowware Industry developed in Sheffield in the mid 18th Century when enterprising
cutlers began to manufacture tableware from Old Sheffield Plate. Within a few years the
same firms began to produce silver and later Britannia Metal, an improved type of pewter.
The collection of Hollowware in the museum is representative including silver, electroplate,
Britannia Metal, and Old Sheffield Plate dating from mid 18th century to the present day.
The Ceramic Collection
The Ceramic collection consists of approximately 1,450 examples of British pottery and
porcelain, and 294 examples from other parts of the world, mainly comprising 18th export
teawares from China. The British collection is representative of ceramic production from the
17th century to the early 20th century with good groups of slipware, tin-glazed earthenware,
salt-glazed stoneware and Worcester porcelain. Some of the best of the pottery came from
the collection of Dr R S Marsden which was purchased in 1899. More recently the policy has
been to concentrate on the products of factories in the region, and there is an important
collection of Rockingham pottery and porcelain and lesser collections of Don Pottery,
Midhope pottery (from the collection of Joseph Kenworthy,1927)and Chesterfield salt-glazed
stoneware. The collection of Pinxton porcelain has been built up since 1968 and is now the
finest in Britain on public display.
The Horology Collection
The Horology collection comprises 123 watches and 29 clocks. The watch collection
consists mainly of British and Continental verge watches made between about 1660 and
1850, and a few more recent watches with lever and cylinder movements. Some of the
watches are by Sheffield Makers. The main part of this collection was given by Evan
Roberts (1916) and J G Graves (1924). The clock collection contains a very unusual group
of clocks with novelty movements made between the late 18th century and the present. The
quality ranges from a superb French Orrery clock to a modern Black Forest cuckoo clock.
The Glass Collection
The glass collection comprises some 250 items mainly of local origin. The nucleus of this
collection of South Yorkshire glass was formed by Joseph Kenworthy who acquired many
pieces in the Bolsterstone area. It has been augmented by the acquisition of examples from
Catcliffe and glasshouses around Barnsley. There is also a group of 18th and early 19th
century British wineglasses and a few fine pieces of German glass of the 17th and 18th
century.
The Grice Chinese Ivories
An unusual element of the Decorative Arts Collections is the unique gift of the Grice Chinese
Ivories which was purchased for the city by Dr J G Graves in the 1930's. This forms one of
the few collections of Eastern art in the North of England and has prompted the acquisition of
a small but important group of non-European art and artefacts, encompassing Japanese
woodcuts, Indian miniatures, Indian and Greek sculpture and African sculptures. All of these
collections were previously part of the Visual Arts Collection but following a reorganisation of
the curatorial responsibilities, these collections are now part of the Decorative Arts
Collections
The Social History Collection
The Social History Collection aims to present the everyday and exceptional lives of the people of
Sheffield from around 1500 to the present. Since 1976, Bishops' House has provided the main
venue for the display of temporary exhibitions on local and social history themes. There are now
plans to display more of the collection at the City Museum both in permanent displays and in
temporary exhibitions.
The Social History collection offers a rich and varied representation of everyday life from 1600 to the
present day, and the collection amounts to around 25,000 items. The collections date from the late
medieval period to the present day and include a vast range of items such as a timber-framed
building, relics from the Sheffield Flood of 1864, a complete Prefab, and CD recordings and
ephemera produced in the 1990's by local bands. The collection also includes over 1500 local
topographical pictures dating from the 18th century to the present day, a small collection of 16th and
17th century furnishings, ephemera, and locally made oak furniture acquired to furnish the parlour
and new chamber in Bishops' House. The collections can be categorised under the following
categories:
The Archaeology Collection
The Archaeology Collection is of major regional importance and comprises around 500,000 items
and has been an essential part of the museum since its inception in 1875. The core of the
collection, which is the Bateman Antiquities, comes from the Peak District. The Bateman Collection
came on loan in 1876 and then permanently in 1893.
For the past 120 years the museum has fulfilled a regional role in providing an archaeological
service and depository for the Sheffield area and the Peak District.
The majority of the collection consists of bulk accessions of small archaeological fragments derived
from excavations. The strength of the collection is Neolithic, Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon grave
groups from the Peak District. The most significant collection comes from the Derbyshire Peak
District collected by Thomas Bateman (1841-1861). The Bateman Collection comprises just over
1300 artefacts or small assemblages excavated from around 200 Bronze Age and Anglo-Saxon
burial mounds in the 1840's to 1861, whilst the contents of approximately 200 others came via
Bateman's two proxy diggers, Samuel Carrington (Staffordshire) and James Ruddick (N. Yorks).
The Bateman Collection is of primary importance for the interpretation of prehistoric landscapes in
the Peak District. In addition, the Anglo-Saxon burial assemblages of the Bateman collection are
also of great significance especially the Benty Grange Helmet being the first Anglo-Saxon helmet to
be found in Britain.
The World Cultures Collection
The Ethnography Collection consists of around 3500 items. These are historic collections
that represent the material cultures of different societies from around the world. Most were
acquired before the Second World War by people from Sheffield who were travellers,
missionaries or colonial officials from the 1820s to the 1940s.
The Coins, Medals and Tokens Collection
The Numismatics collections owes its origin to the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical
Society and numbers around 8000 items including Roman coins, British coinage from PreRoman Iron Age to the 20th century and trade tokens, checks, passes and other quasinumismatic material of local and particularly Sheffield significance.
The Arms and Armour Collection
The collection is small but varied and, excluding ethnographic pieces, comprises around
1000 items. It covers mainly European military, practical and sporting pieces from the late
17th century, but is strong in late 18th and 20th century examples, including locally made
guns from Ashover and Sheffield.
Natural History Collections
The Natural History collections are of major regional importance and comprise: Geology (40,000
items), Vertebrate Zoology (c.6,000), Entomology and Invertebrate Zoology (70,000), Osteology
(2,000) and Botany (10,000), totalling some 125,000 specimens. The oldest collections originate
from the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society which formed the basis of the museum in 1875.
The Botany Collection
The collection is relatively small but important amounting to 10,000 specimens and include some of
the oldest material such as Jonathan Salt's plant collection dating back to the 1790s comprising
some 5,000 specimens, Margaret Gatty's collection of marine algae and bryozoans from the mid
19th century and the J.S. Herbarium of 2000 plans collected in the Victorian period from most of
Britain. Another important collection is Charles White's collection of 1500 plants mainly from
Yorkshire and Derbyshire collected in the 1940s and 1950s.
The collections are used mainly for historic reference, identification, study and demonstrations and
less frequently for display. The lack of a curatorial member of staff specialising in botany has
resulted in little modern material being added to the collection and any collecting is therefore
passive rather than active.
The Geology Collection
The collection comprises 25,000 specimens, of which there are 20,000 fossils, 4,000 minerals and
1,000 rocks. Principal strengths are the Coal Measure plant fossils from South Yorkshire,
Limestone fossils from Derbyshire, Pleistocene mammal remains from Derbyshire and minerals
from the South Pennine orefield.
Most of the wealth and variety of fossils in the museum collection largely results from the collections
acquired during the Victorian period when geology was being advanced as a new science. These
collections vary from those collected in the region such as the Thomas Bateman and the Reverend
Urban Smith collections of Derbyshire Fossils (around 2500 and 1500 specimens respectively), to
more broadly based collections, such as the collection of 1000 British fossils by Sheffield's pioneer
scientist Henry Clifton Sorby. Other important fossil collections acquired during the post Victorian
period include the world-wide collection of 3000 fossil bryozoa by G.R. Vine and W.R. Barker's
collection of 1000 local Coal Measure plant fossils.
The Vertebrate Zoology
The collection comprises about 6,000 specimens including mounted skins, study skins, freeze-dried
specimens, deep-frozen specimens, wet-preserved material, casts and eggs. There is a large
amount of historical material from the late 19th century and 20th century; numerically most
specimens are European, but African, Indian and Australian birds and mammals are also
represented. Since 1960, most new acquisitions are provenanced specimens from the Sheffield
region.
The Osteology Collection
The Osteology collection of skeletons has grown rapidly in the last 20 years in response to a
growing demand for comparative material. Nearly 2000 specimens include a good selection of
British material, of which the bird osteology collection is a regionally outstanding and well-used.
Older collections include a good range of foreign material which is frequently used for educational
and study purposes. The requirement for original specimens is essential, as text books can only
provide secondary information.
The Entomology and Invertebrate Zoology
These collections amount to 70,000 specimens comprising mainly insects and molluscs and are
growing rapidly by several thousand specimens a year. Collections of British Diptera, Coleoptera,
Hymenoptera and Small Orders are developing well, and are becoming increasingly useful for
reference.
The historic collections include Arthur Whitaker's cabinet of 5,000 British butterflies and moths from
the early 20th century, Henry Clifton Sorby's unique collection of marine specimens preserved as
lantern slides, Douglas Fearnehough's unique collection of British butterflies including scientifically
important described aberrations and forms, collected mainly in the 1950s.
Schedule of specific objects and their valuations
A list of objects with a valuation of over £400,000 (four hundred thousand pounds sterling) is
included (see SGMT agreed values by location)
These valuations have been set since MS took over the management of the collections in 1998.
There has been no systematic valuation of the collections by SCC (as owner of the assets) and
these values have been established by MS as a result of specific works going on loan or on display
and have thus been required for insurance purposes.
While every effort is made to establish valuations for recognised key works in the collections, it must
be recognised that, like many museums, MS does not have enough insight into current market value
to verify or review in a comprehensive way. There is a risk therefore that unlisted or unrecognised
key works in the collection do not appear on this list (as they have not been requested for loan or
fallen into any other valuation review mechanism), and equally that works appearing to be high
value on this list have in fact witnessed a decline due to the current state of the art market.
Security & Fire Protection
Millennium Gallery (S1 2PP)
Intruder Alarm Protection
NACOSS with Central Station Monitoring
Fire Protection
24/7 Off Site Monitored Protection
Ansul Fire Suppression in Kitchen
Physical Security (Doors)
Physical Security (Windows)
External doors protected by 2 Euro
profile locks on each
All windows non-openable, except very
high level windows controlled by BMS
software
None
Physical Security (Skylights)
Physical Security (Display Cases)
Cases supplied by Click Ltd with 11.5mm
laminated glass and 2 Abloy locks
CCTV
Yes
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
21 June 2013
Graves Gallery (S1 1XZ)
Intruder Alarm Protection
NACOSS with Central Station Monitoring
Fire Alarm Protection
24/7 Off Site Monitored Protection
Physical Security (Doors)
All external doors protected by electronic
roller shutters
None
Physical Security (Windows)
Physical Security (Skylights)
Physical Security (Display Cases)
No access to roof/skylights other than via
staff staircase – doors to roof locked at
all times
Cases supplied by Click Ltd with 11.5mm
laminated glass and 2 Abloy locks
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
21 June 2013
CCTV
Yes (8 cameras, 31 day storage, monitor
at reception desk)
Weston Park Museum (S10 2TP)
Intruder Alarm Protection
NACOSS with Central Station Monitoring
Fire Alarm Protection
24/7 Off Site Monitored Protection
Physical Security (Doors)
Physical Security (Windows)
Physical Security (Skylights)
Physical Security (Display Cases)
Access to site via key/fob combination
only. Other external doors can only be
opened from inside. Roller shutters being
installed on all café terrace doors.
No openable windows on lower floors.
Upper floor windows openable only from
inside
Skylights electronically controlled. No
access to roof externally.
Cases supplied by Click Ltd with 11.5mm
laminated glass and 2 Abloy locks
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
21 June 2013
CCTV
Yes
Acres Hill (S9 3LR)
Intruder Alarm Protection
NACOSS with Central Station Monitoring
Fire Alarm Protection
24/7 Off Site Monitored Protection
Physical Security (Doors)
Roller Shutter Doors with Ram Raid
Protection
Physical Security (Windows)
No windows to Museum Sections
(Archive Section windows are grilled)
None
Physical Security (Skylights)
None
Physical Security (Display Cases)
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
21 June 2013
CCTV
Yes - 4 fixed Cameras internal to
museum storage- 31 day storage – no
monitor. 4 external cameras monitored
by Sheffield Monitoring
Flood
SGMT locations were not affected by the flood losses of 2007 save for some items kept in store at
Kelham Island (SIMT): (claim Ref M7ARH000003 - £290,000)
All SGMT collections in storage have now been relocated from Kelham Island to Museum Sheffield’s
off-site secure store at Acres Hill.
Refer to – “claims experience 01 April 2006 to 31 December 2015” for details of other claims at
SGMT locations.
Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust: www.simt.co.uk
BACKGROUND
Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust (SIMT) manages three historic industrial museums in Sheffield:
Kelham Island Museum
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet
Shepherd Wheel
The Trust was formed in 1998, taking over from Kelham Island Museum Ltd, when it adopted
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. Kelham Island Museum opened in 1982 and was owned and managed
by Sheffield City Council, it became an independent organisation in 1994 creating Kelham Island
Museum Limited. In 2012 it took over responsibility for the running of the Shepherd Wheel site
following a successful restoration project.
The Mission of the Trust is:
"To create an accessible and inclusive experience, which is a tribute to past achievement, is a
showcase for Sheffield industry and innovation and an inspiration for future generations to continue
the tradition of scientific and technological progress"
To fulfil this mission there are a number of objectives, the two key ones being:
"To tell the story of Sheffield from its beginning to the present day"
"To develop and manage the collections, machinery and historic buildings"
Major successes have included:
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7 successful Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bids.
A 4 phase refurbishment of the Kelham Island site including a new gallery for the Hawley
Collection for display and research purposes
The Millowners Arms a new gallery in the form of a pub on the Kelham Island site
£1m HLF bid to complete restoration works and improve the visitor experience at Abbeydale
Industrial Hamlet (see Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet – Project Brochure)
Restoration of the waterwheel and subsequent reopening of Shepherd Wheel in 2012
Secured £428,000 of HLF for Sheffield 1916: Steel Steam & Power. This funding will include
work on the River Don Engine.
Kelham Island (S3 8RY)
Kelham Island Museum is set within a range of buildings that were the power station for the
Sheffield tram system up until the 1930s. The museum opened in 1982 and it houses the objects,
pictures and archive material representing Sheffield's industrial story. The displays at the Museum
tell that story - from the "Little Mester" to mass production, skilled workers, revolutionary processes,
quality products, invention and innovation.
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet (S7 2QW)
Is situated 4 miles south-west of the city centre of Sheffield.
It is a unique eighteenth century industrial works. Originally called Abbeydale Works, it was one of
the largest water-powered sites on the River Sheaf. The main products of the works were
agricultural scythes, but other edge tools were made too, such as grass hooks and hay knives. At
the Hamlet are the waterwheels, tilt hammers, a grinding hull and the only intact crucible steel
furnace surviving in the world today. The site is a Grade 1 Listed building and a Scheduled Ancient
Monument. The site was in use making scythes until 1933 when Tyzack Sons and Turner ceased
production. It was reopened briefly during the Second World War for steel production. In 1935 the
site was purchased by the Alderman J.G. Graves Trust and donated to the City of Sheffield. The
Council for the Conservation of Sheffield Antiquities restored the site to working order and it was
developed as a museum by the City of Sheffield Museums Department before the management of
the site was transferred to SIMT in 1998.
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet – 2 external views of the buildings.
Shepherd Wheel (S11 7FF)
Set in the picturesque valley of the Porter Brook, Shepherd Wheel is a unique working example of
Sheffield knife grinding industry.
It was one of many small water-powered grinding workshops along Sheffield's rivers and is the
earliest complete example of this industry with evidence dating it back to the 1500s.
In this workshop, in dark, damp conditions, skilled grinders produced fine, sharp cutting edges. It
was not until the 1930s that grinding ceased and the Wheel's pivotal role in Sheffield's cutlery
industry ended.
See the restored working waterwheel and machinery in action along with the tools of the trade for
cutlery grinding and hear stories about the grinders who worked here over the centuries at this
Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Shepherd Wheel received £1million Heritage Lottery Funding for restoration of the waterwheel and
site and reopened to the public in April 2012
The Friends of the Porter Valley were instrumental in organising the 2010-12 conservation project,
which involved the dredging and repair of the dam (including installing a liner), repair works to the
buildings, and the restoration of the pen trough, water wheel and all internal machinery.
It also comprised the creation of improved visitor facilities, including an extended courtyard area with
a timber shelter and a range of interpretation and education material.
As part of the project the buildings were surveyed and photographed to provide a complete
archaeological record before restoration. While the dam was dredged the opportunity was taken to
photograph the inside of the retaining wall prior to the new earth retaining bund being constructed.
The SIMT collections
The main areas covered by the collections are: the metallurgical industries, iron & steel making,
cutlery making, tool making, silver and hollow-ware manufacture, mechanical and electrical
engineering, scientific and technological research, and other manufacturing industries around
Sheffield including the extraction of raw materials which support these industries.
The types of material in the collections are the machinery, tools and other items used in the
processes above. Material relating to the working environment such as safety clothing and relating
to worker’s organisational groups is collected. Documents, photographs, original art, commercial
decorative art, merchandising and advertising material, and health and safety equipment relating to
the industries and the products made are also collected.
The scope of collecting is restricted to items that relate to Sheffield’s industries and therefore range
mostly in date from the 1750s to the present. Items older than this will be collected where they relate
to the early development of an industry or specifically to Kelham Island.
However, with relation to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, the collection consists of two main areas,
those of edged tools and those of domestic furnishing items for interpretation purposes. The
collection of edged tools consists of some 450 scythes, sickles, saws – some finished and some
partly made. The other material consists of 600 items of furniture, textiles, ceramics, cutlery and
other social history items. These are displayed in the two cottages and counting house which makes
up part of the site. In addition there are a number of plans and photographs amounting to
approximately 550 items.
At Shepherds Wheel machinery includes tow grinding hulls, grinding wheels and saddles and edge
tools on display.
Schedule of specific objects
There are no individual items within the SIMT collections currently, valued in excess of £500K,
however, there are some individual items worthy of note for their scale, uniqueness and historic
significance.
The River Don Engine
The 12,000 horse power River Don Engine was built by Davy Brothers of Sheffield in 1905. It
was made to drive Charles Cammell’s armour plate rolling mill located at his Grimesthorpe
Works. The engine was one of four all built for the same purpose. The second went to John
Brown’s Atlas Works, the third to the Japanese government, and the destination of the fourth is
unknown.
The River Don Engine ran at Cammell’s mill for almost 50 years. The engine was then
transferred to what was formerly known as the British Steel Corporation’s River Don Works. At
the Works, the engine continued to drive a heavy plate mill, producing products such as
stainless steel reactor shields and steel plates for North Sea oil rigs. In 1978, the engine
ceased production and was transferred to Kelham Island Museum.
It is now the most powerful working steam engine remaining in Europe.
The Crossley Engine
The 150 brake horse power Crossley Gas Engine (type GE130 No75590) was made by
Crossley Brothers Ltd of Manchester and supplied to George Clark’s of Penistone Road,
Sheffield in 1915. The engine drove a rod and bar rolling mill at Clark’s until the early 1970s
when it was donated to Kelham Island Museum.
This engine represents the largest single cylinder engine manufactured by Crossley’s and is a
rare survivor of its type.
The Bessemer Converter
The Bessemer Converter at Kelham Island Museum is one of only three converters left in the
world. It was used by the British Steel Corporation in Workington until 1975, and was brought
to the Museum in 1978 as an example of the revolutionary steelmaking process which first took
off in Sheffield.
At Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and Shepherd Wheel, the buildings and their contents are
the collection.
The main industrial features of the site are the crucible furnace, where crucible steel for the
tools was made, the tilt forge where the large hammers forged tools flat, and the grinding hull,
where the blades were sharpened.
The Crucible Furnace at Abbeydale is the only one of its kind in the world which still survives
intact. It was built in around 1830, and supplied the works with quality steel for toolmaking. The
building also houses a Pot Shop, where clay crucible pots were made for the furnace, and a
Charge Room where the ingredients for the steel were prepared and weighed. Temperatures in
the crucible furnace reached 1600°C and the strength of the 'puller out', who lifted the weight of
molten steel from the furnace was legendary. The 'teemer' was also a highly skilled worker,
carefully pouring the steel into ingot moulds with strength and precision.
The Tilt Forge was built in 1785 and houses two massive tilt hammers inside. The hammers
were driven by the site's main waterwheel, and the forgemaster and hammer man sat before
them, making crown scythes. This was done by forge-welding a piece of crucible steel between
two pieces of wrought iron, like a sandwich.
It was in the Grinding Hull that edge tools were sharpened to a fine cutting edge. The Hull was
built in 1817, and originally housed 6 grindstones and 2 glazing stones, all powered by a
waterwheel. The stones were 6 feet in diameter when new, and hung in a trough filled with
water to keep the stone wet when grinding. The grinder sat astride a wooden horsing over the
stone, and held the blade against the stone as it spun round.
The Manager's House was built around 1838. The ground floor has been furnished to show a
lower middle class home from the late 1800s. The manager and his family would have lived in
surroundings of this kind. There are also stables adjoining the house and just opposite,
showing the importance of horse-drawn transport for a works of this size and location.
The row of Workers' Cottages were built between 1786 and 1793 and traditionally housed the
'forgemaster' and his 'heater lad' who worked in the Tilt Forge, amongst other people. One of
the cottages has been furnished to show a worker's living conditions in about 1840.
The Boring Shop was the place for drilling holes in patent riveted scythes. These were
different from the crown scythes forged under the tilt hammers. Patent riveted scythes were
made by riveting the steel blade to an iron back. They were quicker to produce and lighter to
use, but less robust than the crown scythe.
In the Blacking Shop the scythes were painted to protect them from rust. After drying in front
of the fire, they were stored in warehouses on site. Straw rope was used for packing the
blades, ready to be sent around the country and the world.
In the Counting House the Works Foreman and his clerk carried out all the administrative
work for the site. Piece work produced by the workers was counted here, and payments were
made to them.
Also on the site is a Steam Engine, built by Davy Brothers of Sheffield and installed in 1855.
The engine was an additional source of power to the grinding hull, if the water levels fell too low
to run the waterwheel.
The Hawley Collection (SIMT)
The Hawley Collection is an internationally important collection of edge tools, cutlery and measuring
instruments, mainly from Sheffield, but with complementary material from Britain and the rest of the
world. University students can study the Hawley Collection as part of their MA course at the
University of Sheffield.
The Collection is owned by a charitable Trust and is now housed at Kelham Island Museum in
Sheffield in a building specially modified for it. For more information on the history of the collection,
the trust and using the collection, please visit the Hawley Collection.
The Collection has been awarded registered museum status, and has had support from the Heritage
Lottery Fund.
The Hawley Gallery opened in 2010 as the first permanent display space for the Hawley
Collection.
This world-renowned tool collection has been amassed since the mid 1950s by former tool retailer
and champion of Sheffield’s industrial heritage, Ken Hawley, and consists of over 100,000 objects,
all relating to Sheffield’s tool, cutlery manufacturing and silversmithing industry.
The Ken Hawley Collection Trust LINK was formed in 1994 to safeguard the collection and Ken
continues collecting and working with the collection - it is his life and his continuing passion.
This internationally important collection of over 100,000 objects includes edge tools, measuring
tools, tools used for cutlery manufacture and silversmithing, plus related catalogues, photos, films
and oral histories. It is gathered mostly from Sheffield and Yorkshire but also from Britain and the
rest of the world.
Inside the gallery there are lots of things to discover and explore including; a giant saw wall, an A-Z
of Tools and exciting displays including:
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Investigating Design - shows how tools are designed for specific tasks.
Investigating Making - focuses on the stages in the manufacturing process
Investigating Selling - looks at selling Sheffield tools to the world
Investigating More - is a temporary exhibition area with regularly changing displays
This prestigious collection is housed in a building originally known as Russell Works, home to saw
makers by Wheatman & Smith. Many of the original features have been retained in the building and
form a fitting home for the Hawley Collection.
Kelham Island – Flood claim – 26 June 2007
(Claim references M7ARH000001 - £135,000 (SIMT), M7ARH000003 - £290,000 (SGMT)
Note: the items forming part of claim reference M7ARH000003 are no longer stored at this location.
The flood event at this location was not due to the river banks or existing defences being breached,
but rather because the sluice gate which restricts the flow of water to the water wheel used to power
the machinery on site was breached, causing water to flood the goit that feeds the wheel. Water
therefore entered the site from the man-made channel (that feeds back to the river after turning the
wheel) and not from the river bank.
The diagram below indicates the location of the goit in relation to the river and the path the water
took to enter the museum complex.
The method of the water entry was supported by physical evidence of the river wall having been
pushed into the river when the weight of water if the breach had occurred from the riverside would
have pushed the wall inwards onto the site.
The diagram on the next page depicts the site and the location of the goit (blue arrow) in relation to
the location of the Museum (red arrow).
Refer to – “claims experience 01 April 2006 to 31 December 2015” for details of other claims at
SIMT locations.
Flood Wall to Right, Kelham Goit located in front of 3-storey mill building
Douglas Centre – Flood Wall to Rear
Flood works completed
Substantial flood defence works have now been completed at this location to protect the sluice gate
and the goit to prevent a reoccurrence in similar circumstances. The river wall has also been
reconstructed with flood defences built to protect against flood levels taken from a Hydrological
survey undertaken in 2008.
Since the flood some 35,000 tonnes of silt and debris was taken from the River Don, including
substantial removal in the vicinity of Kelham Island.
Further removal of vegetation at this location was undertaken in 2011/12.
Currently a Flood defence scheme is underway on the River Don and is due for completion in 2017.
In addition to the building of physical defences the scheme incorporates a holistic solution including
channel maintenance, treatment of invasive plant species, tree management and litter and debris
removal to ensure flow and capacity issues are continually managed.
For more information about the scheme visit: www.ldvflooddefence.co.uk
Measures to minimise exhibit risk
The Trust acknowledges its responsibility to conserve and preserve the heritage that it manages for
future generations. Equally the Trust acknowledges the need to continue to display, interpret,
provide access for and engage its audiences.
The collections storage and display policy was revised following the flood event with a new risk
based approach adopted in terms of the storage of portable exhibits across the site.
The height at which objects are displayed and stored is zoned. Each object is risk assessed based
on the zone and a number of factors which affect its conservation status, heritage merit and with
reference to the museum access policy.
Zones
Below 1 Metre
Between 1 metre & 1.5 metres
Between 1.5 & 2 metres
Over 2 metres
Risk Rating
Highest Risk
Medium Risk
Low Risk
No significant risk
Object Risk Assessment Criteria
Material Conservation Risk:
To assess the effect that water would have on the object.
How conservable would the object be? Uniqueness: Is the object replaceable? How many are in
storage? Historic merit: What is the heritage merit of the object? For example, Benjamin
Huntsman’s grandfather clock is of greater heritage value than a similar clock with no associations.
Emergency rescue and recovery
Is the object portable in an emergency?
The results of the risk assessment enabled the Trust to make informed decisions regarding the
display and storage of the collections and to respond with individual solutions to minimise risk.
Security & Fire Protection – SIMT
Kelham Island (S1 2PP)
Intruder Alarm Protection
Chubb with Central Station Monitoring
(by RVR) Key holding and first response
by G4S
Fire Protection
Chubb – Redcare -24/7 Off Site
Monitored Protection
Physical Security (Doors)
Physical Security (Windows)
All external doors have mortice, or yale
and mortice or double yale style locks.
All external doors have intruder alarm
sensors which activate on opening or
PIR movement detectors very close
Only ground floor windows that open are
in the café. There are movement PIRs
within the cafe
none
Physical Security (Skylights)
Physical Security (Display Cases)
CCTV
Display cases are either screwed or
locked shut
Yes – recorded. Monitored off site when
intruder system fully set. G4S first
response and key holding
Not part of the scheme
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet (S1 1XZ)
Intruder Alarm Protection
Fire Alarm Protection
Physical Security (Doors)
Chubb intruder alarm – centrally
monitored by Sheffield City Council. Key
holding and first response by G4S
New learning centre has a Chubb fire
alarm system monitored by Sheffield City
Council. No fire system within the
heritage buildings but risk assessed as
low risk
New building external doors – modern
locking mechanisms and intruder
sensors
Heritage buildings – historic keys and
intruder sensors
No low level windows open
Physical Security (Windows)
No skylights
Physical Security (Skylights)
Physical Security (Display Cases)
No display cases – exhibits are
predominantly non collection items
Not part of the scheme
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
CCTV
Limited coverage of key entrances and
areas – not recorded or monitored off site
Shepherd Wheel (S10 2TP)
None
Intruder Alarm Protection
None
Fire Alarm Protection
lockable
Physical Security (Doors)
Covered by shutters
Physical Security (Windows)
None
Physical Security (Skylights)
None
Physical Security (Display Cases)
Not part of the scheme
National Museums Security Advisor
Approval (Government Indemnity
Scheme) Date of last renewal
None
CCTV
Civic Regalia and Silver Collection
Sheffield City Council owns a large collection of silverware in addition to the Mayoral chains
of office and City Mace. This is predominantly located at Sheffield Town Hall, Pinstone
Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH - Some is on permanent display in glass cases in the Town Hall
foyer. Security personnel staff this area during opening hours.
The civic regalia is worn or carried by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress or their
respective deputies at various civic occasions, walkabouts, community events etc. Whilst
most of these are within the UK this can include visits overseas and as such worldwide
cover is required on this collection.
A valuation of the collection was undertaken in 2009 and is included in the submission –
Civic Regalia and Silver Collection – Valuation June 2009.