Portland Works, Grade II* listed industrial building in Sheffield, England
Portland Works is a Victorian-era industrial building with red brick walls, tall windows, and multiple workshop levels stacked vertically. The structure shows plainly designed industrial architecture from the 1800s, with form following the needs of manufacturing and craft work.
The building was constructed in the late 1800s as a production hub for Sheffield's high-quality cutlery and metal goods. It became the birthplace of an important innovation when stainless steel cutlery was first manufactured there in 1914, reshaping the global metal industry.
The building houses metalworking artisans today who keep Sheffield's tradition of skilled craftsmanship alive. Their workshops occupy the same spaces where generations of metalworkers have practiced their trades.
The building offers guided tours that let visitors watch craftspeople at work in their studios. It is best to check ahead about visiting times, as access can vary depending on the workshop activities happening that day.
This building was where the world's first stainless steel cutlery was made in 1914, a breakthrough that transformed eating habits and metal production forever. That single innovation made Sheffield a global center for a entirely new way of manufacturing metal goods.
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