Council lease secures future of Sheffield steel heritage site

Sheffield Museums Trust said the site offered visitors the chance to learn about the processes and people that helped earn Sheffield's reputation as the "Steel City"

The future of a key piece of Sheffield's industrial heritage has been secured after councillors approved a 25-year lease.

Members of the Sheffield City Council's charity trustee sub-committee granted the lease for the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet to Sheffield Museums Trust.

The preserved scythe and steelworks, which dates back to the 1700s, is situated near Ecclesall Woods.

It offers visitors the chance to learn about Sheffield's industrial heritage.

A report presented to the council committee said the lease would allow the trust to improve its offer to visitors and boost the hamlet as a tourist destination.

According to Sheffield Museums Trust, the attraction houses the last complete surviving crucible steel furnace in the UK, along with the waterwheels that powered the works machinery.

Visitors can also see inside the manager's house and a worker's cottage, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Hamlet will be closed from 1 November until spring next year while improvement works take place. The café will be open as usual.