Skip to the content
Visitors seen through a doorway with a display of old crucibles on very old wall shelves off to one side. Visitors seen through a doorway with a display of old crucibles on very old wall shelves off to one side.

© Andy Brown

© Andy Brown

Crucible Furnace

Continuing Display

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

The Crucible Steel Furnace at Abbeydale is the only one of its kind still surviving intact in the UK.

 

Built in around 1830, it supplied the works with quality steel for toolmaking. Work here was both strenuous and skilled, with temperatures in the crucible furnace reaching 1600°C.

Explore the Pot Shop, where the clay crucible pots were made for the furnace; the Charge Room, where the raw materials for the steel were prepared and weighed; the Cellar where the 'nipper' or 'cellar lad' removed the furnace ash and controlled the draught on the instructions of the melter; and the Teeming Bay, where steel was poured into ingot moulds with strength and precision.

Free Entry | Please Donate £5

Opening Times

Thu–Sat 10am–4pm | Sun 11am–4pm

Closed Mondays including Bank Holidays

Joni, the Hamlet cafe, is open daily

There will be no access to the lower car park on Mon 15 and Tue 16 Sep while we begin work to improve it and extend its capacity

During this time, free on-road parking is available just along Abbeydale Road South – please avoid parking on the residential roads nearby as this can obstruct access for emergency vehicles.

***There is currently no access to the Manager's House while we make improvements to the Hamlet***

***The All About Abbeydale displays are closed while we introduce a new welcome area at the Hamlet – we look forward to welcoming you to the new space when the redevelopment work is complete***

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

Abbeydale Road South

Sheffield

S7 2QW

Crucible Furnace

© Ian M Spooner

Donate today – and see your donation doubled!

A donation from you could supercharge children’s learning, help people unlock their creativity and see visitors embark on journeys of discovery that last a lifetime. 

Donate today and your donation will be doubled – making twice the difference, at no extra cost to you!

 

Donate Today
An adult and a child smiling at each other and holding hands in front of museum displays

 

 

Stay up-to-date with what’s on

Subscribe to our e-newsletter to find out about upcoming exhibitions, events, activities and more

Plan your visit

Find out everything you need to plan your visit, from getting here to onsite facilities.

Find out more

More to see and do at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

View all

Support Us

Sheffield Museums is a charity. Your support helps keep your museums open and free for everyone to enjoy.

Read more

See Sheffield’s knife grinding history brought to life at Shepherd Wheel Workshop.

Experience the working waterwheel and machinery in action, see the tools of the trade and hear stories about the grinders who worked here over the centuries.

Find out more