Historic Sheffield museum Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet has closed this week as it begins a two-year, £235,000 redevelopment project.
The grant, from National Lottery Heritage Fund, alongside further support from Sheffield City Council and the J G Graves Charitable Trust, sees work commence on a number of improvements.
A new welcome area and shop will be created in its Workers’ Cottages, and restoration and conservation will begin on the site’s buildings, including its Boring Shop and the Blowing Engine Waterwheel, which historically provided air for the Hamlet’s forges.
Also to be added are a suite of new accessible interpretative materials, including film and audio, and new learning resources including a bespoke playground area, subject to listed building consent.
New resources are to be added to support volunteers recruited for their woodworking, metalworking and maintenance skills, who will work with the staff team to support the upkeep of the waterwheels, the machinery and wider site.
The funding will also be used as the attraction works with a specialist business advisor, who will develop ideas and plans for currently underused buildings as part of a business plan for the next decade.
In the coming months, repairs will also begin to the Hamlet’s historic dam, carried out by Sheffield City Council, in consultation with the Environment Agency, Historic England and Sheffield Museums.
Kim Streets, Chief Executive at Sheffield Museums said: “Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet is a real jewel in Sheffield’s heritage crown and this vital funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund will see it shine.
“The Hamlet offers an unparalleled opportunity to celebrate the city’s making history, provide an immersive visitor experience and deliver a fantastic resource embedded in the local community.”
