At the edge of Sheffield town centre, Portland Works is a survival of the old tenement factory style of premises. Built round a central courtyard, once housing a steam engine, the three storey buildings now house a variety of craftsmen and manufacturers. The Master and Mistress visited Wigfull Tools and were shown round by Andrew Cole, who explained the processes of making chisels, slate rippers, etc. The Master also visited Stuart Mitchell, a cutler making high-quality hunting knives. (Stuart also made the sword blade for the Millennium Sword, which was presented to the Company by Douglas Liversidge, Master Cutler, 1998).
The Master was introduced to the people at Portland Works by Company Freeman, Herbert Housley, who started his working life at the cutlery firm of R.F Mosley’s, which occupied the building before the Second World War. He expressed his worries to the Master, and those of the Works’ occupants, about the site’s possible closure and redevelopment for apartments.
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