Crucible Workshop at Former Williams Brothers

Reasons for Designation

The crucible furnace at Williams Bros, Nos. 33-35 Green Lane, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is one of only approximately 18 examples surviving of a specialist building type once prevalent in C19 urban Sheffield and crucial to its pre-eminence in reputation for quality goods * It clearly expresses a regional specialism, and is highly significant as a rare survivor of this industrial building type * Despite suffering a degree of alteration, the building retains its plan form and most important features, namely the stack, melting holes and cellar * The retention of the melting holes and cellar is of special note, as a significant number of remaining crucible furnaces have had these features concreted over * It was used for the casting of a non-ferrous metal, unlike the majority of surviving crucible furnaces, which were used for steel alloys, though it has the same form

Details

784-1/0/10186 GREEN LANE 17-APR-08 33-35 Crucible Workshop at Former Williams B rothers

II Crucible furnace, also known as a `melting shop'. 1864-8. Brick with modern tile and corrugated asbestos sheeting roof.

PLAN: Rectangular with single stack to SW gable and undivided casting floor originally lit by four openings in NE gable wall. Five melting holes in floor in front of stack, and L-shaped cellar with steps against NW side wall.

EXTERIOR: Single storey with double pitched roof with two skylights to each side and central ridge louvre. Tall, wide gable stack. Segmental arched doorway to left of NW, yard elevation. Separate building abutting rest of elevation. Most of NE gable wall originally faced yard, now completely covered by later buildings. That part facing yard had four closely-spaced, tall segmental-arched windows, the lower sections of which have been removed to form a large opening with an RSJ over. Top of two SE arches remain open, but two NW arches are blocked.

INTERIOR: SW gable stack, stepped to both sides and diminishing slightly in width from base to top. Three horizontal rows of metal ties. Five wall flues and melting holes set in the floor in front. Wall flues have sandstone lintels with refractory bricks to sides and bases. Some melting holes retain metal grate bars. Right-hand melting hole later widened to hold two crucible pots. In front of melting holes is cellar reached by narrow flight of stone steps (cellar partially filled with rubble). To stack side are individual ash pits for melting holes, with horizontal iron tie band just below cellar ceiling. Opposing cellar wall constructed of roughly coursed sandstone rubble. Cellar ceiling formed by large metal plates resting on iron cross girders. Pipe work in cellar suggests later conversion to gas. Doorway inserted to right of stack. NE gable wall opened up with RSJ cutting through original windows. Blocked doorway in E corner. Wide, segmental-arched window with small pane glazing in apex of gable wall. Large section of NW side wall opened up into adjoining building, with RSJ supporting upper wall. Blind SE side wall. Floor partially covered with iron plates. Roof has single, central kingpost truss with raking struts and single purlin to each side. Softwood kingpost retains a Baltic timber mark., and notch for a ridge board. Later small travelling crane set on two RSJs running between the two gable walls. Working load of 12 hundredweight.

HISTORY: In 1868 the site was occupied by F Binge, 'brass caster'; the previous owner was listed in 1864 as a joiner. Williams Brothers was established in 1870 and subsequently took the complex over, being listed in 1883 as 'nut and bolt manufacturers', and later as 'brass founders'. The crucible furnace is shown on the 1890 OS map standing in the S corner of a yard complex. Over the course of C20 the company expanded, taking over neighbouring buildings to the SW and SE. It vacated the premises in 1997.

SOURCES ' 'One Great Workshop': The Buildings of the Sheffield Metal Trades', English Heritage (February 2000 - unpublished analysis of research), 8-11. ARCUS report 1155(1), 'Interim Statement - The Crucible Furnace, William Bros, Green Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire' (February 2008).

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The crucible furnace at Williams Bros, Nos. 33-35 Green Lane, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is one of only approximately 18 examples surviving of a specialist building type once prevalent in C19 urban Sheffield and crucial to its pre-eminence in reputation for quality goods * It clearly expresses a regional specialism, and is highly significant as a rare survivor of this industrial building type * Despite suffering a degree of alteration, the building retains its plan form and most important features, namely the stack, melting holes and cellar * The retention of the melting holes and cellar is of special note, as a significant number of remaining crucible furnaces have had these features concreted over * It was used for the casting of a non-ferrous metal, unlike the majority of surviving crucible furnaces, which were used for steel alloys, though it has the same form

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

504915

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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