(Source: Chemical Engineer)
It seems as though quite a lot of major economies have a 'Steel City', which is known for being the centre of steel production (either today or in the past). Canada has Hamilton; Australia has Newcastle; and the USA has both Pueblo and Pittsburgh (among others). Well, our "Steel City" here in the UK is Sheffield, which is located in the county of South Yorkshire. Sheffield itself has an estimated population of 577,800, while the county of South Yorkshire (which also includes the nearby towns of Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham) is home to around 1,393,400 people in total.
In common with some of the other cities I've covered already, Sheffield started out in life as a market town based around a castle. However, there's not really anything left of the castle today: it was destroyed in the mid-17th century, leaving no visible ruins. However, by this time, Sheffield's modern identity as the 'Steel City' had already begun to emerge: even in the 1600s, it was already a major centre of cutlery production. This drew numerous craftsmen to the region - some of whom invented new techniques which would revolutionise the manufacturing process. For example, in the 1740s, Benjamin Huntsman became the first person to successfully smelt iron in a crucible - thus introducing one of the technologies which would drive the Industrial Revolution. From here, the growth of steel manufacturing brought about rapid growth in the city's population - which soared from 60,095 in 1801 to 451,195 in 1901. However, when much of the steel production was outsourced in the second half of the 20th century, Sheffield was hit hard: its population peaked at 577,050 in 1951, and entered a slow decline from there. Essentially, this part of the country became our 'Rust Belt', suffering from the post-industrial decay that has afflicted many manufacturing centres across the developed world.
However, over the past 30 years or so, the city has staged a comeback. There's been a major project to regenerate the city centre, with run-down areas being renovated or rebuilt entirely. As this happens, the major industries in the city are changing: there is still some steel production (mainly of the specialist, high-quality kind), but these days, it's also becoming increasingly important as a cultural and creative centre. Most notably, several well-known bands - including The Human League, Pulp, and more recently the Arctic Monkeys, have hailed from there. It's also home to the Crucible Theatre - which, in addition to its artistic and musical performances, has hosted the annual World Snooker Championship since 1977. That's not to say snooker's the only sport, though: it's also home to the Steel City Derby (one of the biggest rivalries in English football, contested between the city's two main football clubs: Sheffield City and Sheffield Wednesday). These cultural attractions are sure to be joined by more in the coming years, as the city's renaissance continues apace.
So, has anyone ever been there - and, what were your experiences of it?
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