What is There to See?
As an integrated water-powered works, there are many different features to Abbeydale. Water from
the dam powered four waterwheels, which drove massive tilt-hammers, bellows for the forger's hearth,
giant grindstones and a boring lathe. Almost all the processes used in the production of blades were
carried out here on one site. The only process carried out off site was rolling crucible steel bars flat
before they were forged. This was done at Totley Rolling Mill.
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.
You can find out more about the buildings and stories of Abbeydale by taking an audiotour around the site,
visiting the Works Gallery, or spending some time imagining the heat from the furnace and the hammering
from the forge.
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