Steam Gathering at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet

October 3rd and 4th saw Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet close its most successful summer season yet with thousands of visitors attending our annual Steam Gathering.

On a sunny, but windy weekend, the final event in the calendar welcomed record numbers for a celebration of steam with tractor engines, steam rollers, miniature engines and kids activities.

The Steam Gathering event brought to life the story of the Industrial Hamlet through traditional craft demonstrations, living history characters, live art and a variety of family and children's activities. For the first time an Art D'or exhibition of paintings based around the hamlet and steam were on show with visitors getting involved painting a giant tableau to be displayed at the Industrial Hamlet.

Ridgway Forge invited children to get involved and create a snail to take home demonstrating traditional forgework and William Price the chimney sweep recruited volunteers throughout the day! For those not so interested in getting dirty, Mary Naylor the Victorian housekeeper, was in the Manager's House making hot drop scones over the original stove!

John Hamshere, Chief Executive of Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust said:
"With both steam enthusiasts and families attending, the impact of the introduction of free admission can clearly be seen. We are delighted with the record number of visitors over the 2 days following on from a 40% overall increase over the summer. We hope this rise in footfall will increase next year with the continuation of free admission".