Globe Works

Globe Works is a factory in Kelham Island with a Classical Revival facade of coarse square stone and brick, pronounced entrances and large windows across multiple floors. The building today contains office spaces of various sizes and conference rooms for businesses.

The building was constructed as the world's first factory purpose-designed for cutlery manufacturing and became a center for steel processing in Sheffield. The complex emerged during a period when new production methods were reshaping industry.

The factory stands in Kelham Island, where workers shaped the character of this industrial neighborhood through steel and metalwork. The site speaks to the daily labor that once defined this part of the city.

The building is not open for casual visits inside, but you can view and photograph the exterior and architecture from the surrounding streets. The best views come from the public walkways around Kelham Island that run freely around the site.

The complex integrated the original owner's residence directly into the factory building, an unusual feature showing how owner and workers once lived and labored under one roof. This mixing of home and workplace was rare in the earliest phase of industrial manufacturing.