Aberdeen Works

Aberdeen Works

A purpose-built silver and electro-plate works dated 1883, constructed in the late 19th century. The complex is built in red brick with stone dressings, brick chimney stacks, and slate roofs.

The building is arranged in a U-shape around a narrow courtyard accessed from Division Street to the north. The main range faces west onto Trafalgar Street, with workshop ranges forming the south and east sides of the yard.

The principal west-facing elevation is three storeys over a basement, with twelve bays on the top floor and nine bays on the ground and first floors. The brickwork is laid in Flemish bond. There are two gable chimney stacks. Stone capping marks the basement plinth, with stone sill bands and stone quoining throughout. The north end bay features a tri-partite window on the first floor with a stone surround incorporating a central pedimented lintel carved with the date and initials "1882 FH". This window has a central 2-light glazing bar frame and single-light side frames, all with top-opening lights. The ground floor of the same bay has a tri-partite window with segmental arched brick heads and brick piers, with 6-pane central frame and 3-pane side frames, also with top-opening lights. Other windows across the elevation have segmental arched heads. Ground and first-floor windows have 6-pane frames with top-opening lights, while second-floor windows have 2-light glazing bar frames with top-opening lights. The basement contains three windows, now blocked, with iron grilles. A doorway in the second bay from the left of the north end has a stone surround with cornice and a four-panelled door with overlight. Above the first-floor windows is an embossed name plaque reading "ABERDEEN WORKS". Various ventilation grilles are located in the window piers and above the ground and first-floor windows, some now blocked.

The yard elevation descends under an outshut to two storeys, eight bays wide, with three chimney stacks. Windows are closely spaced with segmental arched heads and stone sills. The first-floor windows in the 6th, 7th and 8th bays from the left at the south end have six-over-six pane hung sashes; the remainder have two-light glazing bar casements with top-opening lights. Ground-floor windows are modern multi-pane casements, and three doorways are present, with those in the 1st and 4th bays formed from former windows.

The south workshop range is two storeys, three bays wide, with a double-pitched slate roof abutting the main range. The first floor has three large windows with stone sills and lintels. Windows in the 1st and 2nd bays from the left at the east end have multi-pane casements with top-opening lights, while the 3rd bay has an eight-over-eight pane hung-sash frame. The ground floor has three windows with modern multi-pane casements. A recessed doorway and stone steps at the west end lead up to the first floor.

The east workshop range is two storeys, eight bays wide, with a straight joint between the 1st and 2nd bays from the left at the north end, and between the 6th and 7th bays. The 7th and 8th bays are more recent infill replacing the original engine and boiler house. A mono-pitch slate roof is built against the rear walls of blind-back houses facing Canning Street. The first-floor windows of the five central bays have stone sills, segmental arched heads, and multi-pane frames with top-opening lights. Bay 1 has a wide multi-pane window, with the 7th and 8th bays containing two two-light glazing bar windows. The ground floor of bay 1 has a window with stone sill and segmental arched head with modern multi-pane casement, and an adjacent doorway. Bays 2 to 6 have three wide multi-pane windows and two doorways, while bays 7 and 8 have a doorway and wide multi-paned window.

Interior

The interior of the main west range was inspected. The main entrance doorway on Trafalgar Street opens into a narrow hall and stairwell. The staircase has stone steps, square balusters, and a moulded wooden handrail with turned newel post. Notable features include fireplaces with moulded cornices, gas brackets, and a safe incorporating storage cupboards and drawers in the first-floor office, which features the dated and initialled window surround. Work benches are positioned beneath the workshop windows. Original four-panelled doors and plain plank doors survive throughout. A hand forge stands at the northern end of the yard elevation.

History

The main range is dated 1883. The complex was constructed within an already developed urban landscape that included a narrow pre-existing yard accessed from Division Street and six early 19th-century blind-back houses on Canning Street. The initials "FH" on the main range refer to Francis Howard, an electro-plate and silver manufacturer who occupied the building from its construction into the early 20th century. The complex remains owned by the Howard family, who continue in a similar line of business.

Aberdeen Works is a largely intact example of a purpose-built metal works from the height of prosperity in Sheffield's metal trades. Despite alterations and the loss of its original power plant, which stood at the south end of the east range, the complex retains sufficient architectural and historical integrity. The visually prominent unaltered main range on Trafalgar Street serves as a reminder of the originally industrial character of this central Sheffield locality.