What Do We Collect - Heavy Industries
The Extraction and Refractories Industries Collection
Both the extraction industries and refractories industries were important to the development of industrial
Sheffield. The area provided the raw materials and natural resources required for industries to develop.
Water power and timber were key to the early development of industry but the extraction of iron ore,
coal, millstone grit, clay for crucible pots and heat resisting materials used in lining furnaces, moulds
and pipes. The collection of approximately 600 items comprises samples of refractory material,
documentary material and company catalogues from companies involved in the refractory industry such
as J & J Dyson Ltd, along with the tools, equipment and products of the industry.
The extraction industry concentrates on coal mining and as well as books and documents, consists of
items such as a winding engine, coal samples, dynamite detonators, coal wagons, wagon tracks, drill bits
and pit props as well as small trade samples of tools such as pick axes. There is also an important
collection of miners lamps which is a comprehensive collection of safety lamps - some acquired from the
Safety in Mines Research Establishment based in Sheffield. The collection includes rare examples and
ranges in date from the early 1800s to the 1940s.
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