Kelham Island Museum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Categories: Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust | Industry museums in the United Kingdom | Museums in Sheffield | United Kingdom museum stubs
The Kelham Island Museum is an industrial museum in The City of Sheffield, England. It occupies the site of a former electricity generating station (providing power for Sheffield Tramways) beside the River Don. The museum houses exhibitions on science and Sheffield industry, including examples of reconstructed little mesters' workshops and England's largest surviving Bessemer converter (Henry Bessemer's original converter is on display at the Science Museum (London)). The museum gives tours to local schools and has regular demonstrations of the 1905 River Don Engine, a 12,000 horsepower (9 MW) steam engine, which originally powered a local armour plate rolling mill. The engine is remarkable for its ability to change direction very quickly, a facet that was necessary for the efficient rolling of heavy steel. The engine rolled steel for nuclear reactors towards the end of its life (it was last used in production in 1974 at the River Don Works). The museum is operated by the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust. It is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. Also incorporated is an interactive science area — Scope. The Kelham Island Museum is situated next to the well-known Fat Cat public house, which is one of two public houses owned by the independent Kelham Island Brewery. FloodingIt is reported that the museum will be closed for a significant amount of time following the June 2007 flooding See also'Kelham Island' is also the name of an instrumental track by Sheffield's Richard Hawley, a B side to the single 'Coles Corner' released in 2005 on Mute Records. External links
|
