Globe Works
Encyclopedia
The Globe Works are a former cutlery
factory situated in the City of Sheffield
, South Yorkshire
, England on Penistone Road in the suburb of Neepsend
. The Works are a Grade II* Listed Building which in the late 1980s were renovated to provide modern office space. It is part of the Kelham Island
Conservation Area.
.
The Works has an ornamental façade
frontage built in coarse square stone and brick in the Classical Revival
style. The façade has two storeys with nine windows on each storey, the middle section is pediment
ed and this gives an additional half a storey to this section. Behind the ornamental façade were furnaces, a manager’s residence and a courtyard which was surrounded by many small workshops in which numerous Little mester
s were employed. The owner had a house integrated into the design at the southern end of the Works and this is the probable reason for the grandness of the façade. The entrance to the house was on the side wall and had a pillared porch, today this is the main entrance and reception for the entire building.
Eminent industrialist Charles Cammell worked at the Globe Works for Ibbotson Brothers between 1830 and 1837 before leaving to set up his own firm of Johnson, Cammell and Company with Thomas Johnson, this firm later became part of the Cammell Laird
group. Another well known industrialist William Edgar Allen worked at the Globe Works as a young man before setting up the Edgar Allen and Company
steelworks in 1867. The Globe Works received considerable damage during industrial unrest between employers and unions in 1843 when a bomb was planted by two members of the Saw Grinders Union. In 1852 John Walters moved his business from the city centre to the Globe Works, his factory made table knives, spring knives, steel and tools and specialised in making Bowie knife
s for the American market. Between 1865 and 1910 the Works were occupied by Unwin & Rodgers. The Works later became an all-purpose factory and warehouse.
The entrance to the factories surrounding the courtyard was under an enormous archway to the right and below the portculis of the original house. This was originally built to allow horses and carts/carriages into the cobbled courtyard. The upstairs packing rooms and office had to be accessed by an outside staircase. As well as producing cutlery, scissors and silverware, Thomas Bishop was granted his own assay mark in 1830 to produce Old Sheffield Plate (copper coated with silver by fusion). From 1840 - 1860 nickel silver gradually superseded the use of copper, and articles were produced by the aid of both processes; though the bodies of the larger pieces continued to be constructed of fused plated metal, the other parts were subjected to the process of electro deposition. "Guide to Marks of Origin on British and Irish Silver Plate from Mid 16th Century to the year 1950 and Old Sheffield Plate Makers' Marks 1743 - 1860" compiled by Frederick Bradbury F.S.A.(1950). This was done within the Globe Works premises. The business was eventually transferred to his son George Bishop and became George Bishop and Sons. The 1939 - 45 war intervened, George Bishop retired and when his sons returned from war duties and rejoined the firm it was called Sanders and Bowers, Globe Works, and along with silverware, produced "Friar Edge" knives to complement the forks and spoons which were sold in sets of six or canteens. The firm was then run by George Bishop's sons - Cyril Bishop and Ron Bishop, along with Albert Sanders and Ron Sanders. Ron Bishop eventually left and one of the Sanders died. By this time a large percentage of contracts were exported to Australia and US. The firm continued until 30 June 1976 when Cyril Bishop died. At this time it was under negotiation to be compulsory purchased by Sheffield City Council. Arthur Price of Birmingham bought the patent to "Friar Edge" knives.
, European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), English Tourist Board
, English Heritage
and the Arts Council
. The work retained as much of the original fabric of the building as was possible after the fire and created a building with a floor space of approximately 30,000 square feet. Now known as the Globe Business Centre, the office space is managed by Velocity Estates and provides various sized offices suitable for micro, small and medium sized businesses.
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...
factory situated in the City 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...
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
, England on Penistone Road in the suburb of Neepsend
Neepsend
Neepsend is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, it stands just north east of the city centre. The main area of Neepsend covers the flood plain of the River Don from Lady's Bridge at the Wicker up to Hillfoot Bridge...
. The Works are a Grade II* Listed Building which in the late 1980s were renovated to provide modern office space. It is part of the Kelham Island
Kelham Island Quarter
Kelham Island is one of Sheffield's eleven designated Quarters. Formerly an industrial area, the island itself was created by the building of a goit, or mill race, fed from the River Don to serve the water wheels powering the workshops of the areas' industrial heyday...
Conservation Area.
History and architecture
The Globe Works were built in 1825 by the architects Henry and William Ibbotson for the edge tool manufacturers Ibbotson & Roebank. The Works are one of England’s oldest surviving cutlery and tool factories and were possibly the World’s first purpose built cutlery factory. When opened the Works produced steel, tools and cutlery on the one site in an integrated process driven by steam powerSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
.
The Works has an ornamental façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
frontage built in coarse square stone and brick in the Classical Revival
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style. The façade has two storeys with nine windows on each storey, the middle section is pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed and this gives an additional half a storey to this section. Behind the ornamental façade were furnaces, a manager’s residence and a courtyard which was surrounded by many small workshops in which numerous 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 were employed. The owner had a house integrated into the design at the southern end of the Works and this is the probable reason for the grandness of the façade. The entrance to the house was on the side wall and had a pillared porch, today this is the main entrance and reception for the entire building.
Eminent industrialist Charles Cammell worked at the Globe Works for Ibbotson Brothers between 1830 and 1837 before leaving to set up his own firm of Johnson, Cammell and Company with Thomas Johnson, this firm later became part of the Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...
group. Another well known industrialist William Edgar Allen worked at the Globe Works as a young man before setting up the Edgar Allen and Company
Edgar Allen and Company
Edgar Allen and Company was a steel maker and engineer, which from the late 19th century was based at Imperial Steel Works, Tinsley, Sheffield, South Yorkshire...
steelworks in 1867. The Globe Works received considerable damage during industrial unrest between employers and unions in 1843 when a bomb was planted by two members of the Saw Grinders Union. In 1852 John Walters moved his business from the city centre to the Globe Works, his factory made table knives, spring knives, steel and tools and specialised in making Bowie knife
Bowie knife
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife first popularized by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 19th Century. Since the first incarnation was created by James Black, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although its...
s for the American market. Between 1865 and 1910 the Works were occupied by Unwin & Rodgers. The Works later became an all-purpose factory and warehouse.
The entrance to the factories surrounding the courtyard was under an enormous archway to the right and below the portculis of the original house. This was originally built to allow horses and carts/carriages into the cobbled courtyard. The upstairs packing rooms and office had to be accessed by an outside staircase. As well as producing cutlery, scissors and silverware, Thomas Bishop was granted his own assay mark in 1830 to produce Old Sheffield Plate (copper coated with silver by fusion). From 1840 - 1860 nickel silver gradually superseded the use of copper, and articles were produced by the aid of both processes; though the bodies of the larger pieces continued to be constructed of fused plated metal, the other parts were subjected to the process of electro deposition. "Guide to Marks of Origin on British and Irish Silver Plate from Mid 16th Century to the year 1950 and Old Sheffield Plate Makers' Marks 1743 - 1860" compiled by Frederick Bradbury F.S.A.(1950). This was done within the Globe Works premises. The business was eventually transferred to his son George Bishop and became George Bishop and Sons. The 1939 - 45 war intervened, George Bishop retired and when his sons returned from war duties and rejoined the firm it was called Sanders and Bowers, Globe Works, and along with silverware, produced "Friar Edge" knives to complement the forks and spoons which were sold in sets of six or canteens. The firm was then run by George Bishop's sons - Cyril Bishop and Ron Bishop, along with Albert Sanders and Ron Sanders. Ron Bishop eventually left and one of the Sanders died. By this time a large percentage of contracts were exported to Australia and US. The firm continued until 30 June 1976 when Cyril Bishop died. At this time it was under negotiation to be compulsory purchased by Sheffield City Council. Arthur Price of Birmingham bought the patent to "Friar Edge" knives.
Restoration and present day
The Works became derelict in the 1970s when it was extensively damaged by an arson attack. In 1987 restoration work costing £1.5 million was started by the Allen Tod group of architects alongside Henry Boot as the main contractor with funding coming from Sheffield City CouncilSheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors...
, European Regional Development Fund
European Regional Development Fund
The European Regional Development Fund is a fund allocated by the European Union.-History:During the 1960s, the European Commission occasionally tried to establish a regional fund. Only Italy ever supported this, however, and nothing came of it. Britain made it an issue for their accession in...
(ERDF), English Tourist Board
English Tourism Council
The VisitEngland is the tourist board for England. In 2003 it merged with the British Tourist Authority to form VisitBritain...
, 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...
and the Arts Council
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
. The work retained as much of the original fabric of the building as was possible after the fire and created a building with a floor space of approximately 30,000 square feet. Now known as the Globe Business Centre, the office space is managed by Velocity Estates and provides various sized offices suitable for micro, small and medium sized businesses.