Hollis Croft, Sheffield

Hollis Croft was agricultural land for centuries, first open land – the ‘Town Field’– and then enclosed. However, its character became radically different when it was swept along by the changes of the Industrial Revolution. Historic maps from the late 18th century onwards show steelworks, various toolmakers' premises, workers' housing and pubs appearing and proliferating on the site. Open area excavation revealed well-preserved industrial archaeology comprising steelmaking furnaces and a network of brick-built flues, along with traces of the workers’ housing and their local pubs (The Cock, and The Orange Branch). A wide range of finds were collected, indicative of both the technical details of the industrial processes taking place, but also the everyday lives of Sheffielders who lived and worked at Hollis Croft in the past. Read about one of the site’s more unusual finds - https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/news/hollis-croft-sheffield-cock-public-house-and-mystery-medieval-coin