Lunchtime Talk: Industry, Steel and Beer

When Sheffield’s new canal was completed in 1819, it transformed the industrial landscape, opening up new opportunities for businesses to connect with wider markets and sources of raw materials.

York Archaeology’s excavations along the canal revealed a cluster of industrial works that developed around this new waterway. While a small works owned by George Parker already existed, the much larger Fitzalan Works was constructed after the canal, taking full advantage of this new transport link.

Between these two classic examples of Sheffield’s steel-making history was a smaller industry that was nonetheless vital to the daily lives of local inhabitants: a malt house – essential for the production of the beer that sustained the unquenchable thirst of an ever-growing workforce.

The archaeological investigations revealed that the site was remarkably well preserved, including one of the better-preserved examples of a fully integrated steelworks excavated in Sheffield in recent years, which is considered of regional significance.