Brooklyn Works


The Brooklyn Works is a former site of steel, saw and file manufacture, it is situated on Green Lane in the Kelham Island Quarter of the City of Sheffield, England. In recent years the works have been converted into residential apartments and offices. The structure is a Grade II listed building because of its importance as an example of Sheffield’s industrial heritage. The works stand adjacent to the listed industrial buildings of the Green Lane Works and Cornish Place in what has been called, “the most coherent stretch of industrial landscape in inner Sheffield”

History

The Brooklyn Works were constructed in the mid 19th century for the firm of Alfred Beckett, a manufacturer of steel, saws and files. The building suffered seriously damaged in March 1864 when the Great Sheffield Flood surged down the Don valley. Alfred Beckett put in a compensation claim of £123 11s 2d for damage to the works, with local journalist Samuel Harrison writing at the time:

Architecture

The building is constructed from red brick, partly rendered with ashlars dressing with a slate roof. It is a series of four ranges of two- and three-storey buildings making a square with an inner courtyard. The northern range of buildings fronts onto the River Don and consists of seven blocks of three storey apartments. These are newly built and replace the original single-storey building which was demolished in the 1990s refurbishment. The old cart entrance has been adapted to allow vehicles access to the inner courtyard where there is parking. The restored building has retained some of the original signage from the days of Alfred Beckett & Sons.