Beehive Works
Encyclopedia
The Beehive Works are a purpose built cutlery works located on Milton Street in the Devonshire Quarter
area of Sheffield
city centre. The works were built in stages in the second half of the 19th century and are designated as a Grade II* listed building with English Heritage
stating that they are of special architectural and historic interest as an examples of buildings associated with Sheffield's metal manufacturing and metal working trades. The works stand next door to the Taylor's Eye Witness Works
and together they make Milton Street one of the best places to gain an impression of Sheffield’s former cutlery
industry.
, becoming a registered company on the stock exchange in 1897.
Atkinson Brothers were resident at the Beehive Works well into the 20th century. Later the works were taken over by the cutlery manufacturers Gregory Fenton Ltd, a company established in 1968 by the amalgamation of the Gregory Brothers and Joseph Fenton firms. Gregory Fenton Ltd are still resident at the Beehive Works although in a much reduced capacity, there name is still displayed extensively on the frontage of the building (see photograph). Today the works have been divided up into small offices, workshops and storage areas which are rented out. Among the businesses using the Beehive Works at present (in addition to Gregory Fenton Ltd) are: Exposed Magazine (an entertainment and listings guide for Sheffield), Hardy Transactions Ltd (corporate finance advisors), the Brunch Box (take away food outlet) and P. Hobson Ltd (metal finishing services).
roof. The windows are mostly 12 pane sash
. There is a painted sign reading "Beehive brand / Gregory Fenton Ltd. / knives and tools" between the first and second floors. This continues round the corner onto Headford Street and read "Gregory Fenton Ltd. / Beehive Works". An arched doubled door cart entrance with the words “Beehive Works” above leads off Milton Street into the internal courtyards. The courtyards include four and three storey workshop ranges with large casement windows on the lower floors. Steps from the courtyard give separate access to the first floor workshops and indicates that they were intended for use by a number of little mester
s.
Devonshire Quarter
The Devonshire Quarter is an area in the centre of Sheffield, England. It is based around the Division Street and Devonshire Street shopping areas, known for their small independent shops and variety of pubs and bars...
area of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
city centre. The works were built in stages in the second half of the 19th century and are designated as a Grade II* listed building with English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
stating that they are of special architectural and historic interest as an examples of buildings associated with Sheffield's metal manufacturing and metal working trades. The works stand next door to the Taylor's Eye Witness Works
Taylor's Eye Witness Works
Taylor's Eye Witness Works is an industrial building situated on Milton Street in the Devonshire Quarter area of Sheffield city centre, South Yorkshire, England. The works are a Grade II listed building which since their foundation in 1852 have always specialised in producing kitchen and pocket...
and together they make Milton Street one of the best places to gain an impression of Sheffield’s former cutlery
Cutlery
Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
industry.
History
It is thought that the first phase of building took place in the late 1850s or the early 1860s, the buildings were initially known as the Milton Works with B. Mathewman and Sons being the first known occupants. The Works expanded quickly during the 1880s and 1890s with the addition of more grinding wheels and forges, the steam power plant was also enlarged to drive this extra machinery. By 1888 the Atkinson Brothers had taken over the works as manufacturers of steel, cutlery, files and electro plate products. The Atkinsons had considerable success as a company using the trade mark “In Mind”. They exhibited at the 1894 Antwerp World's fairExposition Internationale d'Anvers (1894)
Exposition Internationale d'Anvers was a World's Fair held in Antwerp, Belgium between 5 May and 5 November in 1894.It covered , attracted 3 million visits and made a profit-Participating Nations:There were several participating nations:Germany,Austria,...
, becoming a registered company on the stock exchange in 1897.
Atkinson Brothers were resident at the Beehive Works well into the 20th century. Later the works were taken over by the cutlery manufacturers Gregory Fenton Ltd, a company established in 1968 by the amalgamation of the Gregory Brothers and Joseph Fenton firms. Gregory Fenton Ltd are still resident at the Beehive Works although in a much reduced capacity, there name is still displayed extensively on the frontage of the building (see photograph). Today the works have been divided up into small offices, workshops and storage areas which are rented out. Among the businesses using the Beehive Works at present (in addition to Gregory Fenton Ltd) are: Exposed Magazine (an entertainment and listings guide for Sheffield), Hardy Transactions Ltd (corporate finance advisors), the Brunch Box (take away food outlet) and P. Hobson Ltd (metal finishing services).
Architecture
The works frontage stretching along Milton Street is eighteen bays long and three storeys high with some cellars beneath street level. The building is constructed from red brick with ashlars dressing and a slateSlate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. The windows are mostly 12 pane sash
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
. There is a painted sign reading "Beehive brand / Gregory Fenton Ltd. / knives and tools" between the first and second floors. This continues round the corner onto Headford Street and read "Gregory Fenton Ltd. / Beehive Works". An arched doubled door cart entrance with the words “Beehive Works” above leads off Milton Street into the internal courtyards. The courtyards include four and three storey workshop ranges with large casement windows on the lower floors. Steps from the courtyard give separate access to the first floor workshops and indicates that they were intended for use by a number of little mester
Little mester
A little mester is a self-employed cutlery worker who rents space in a factory. The term is used almost exclusively to describe the craftsmen of the Sheffield area, and is mostly archaic as this manner of manufacture peaked in the 19th century and has now virtually died out...
s.