Sheffield in England is known as the Steel City, and it has been famous for its steel industry for a long time. The city of Sheffield was built in a natural amphitheatre nestled among seven hills, with five rivers running through it – the Sheaf (in which the city is named), the Loxley, Don, Rivelin and Porter rivers. It is the hills around the city that provided Sheffield with the raw materials that were necessary for its steel industry to thrive. These geographic features were the building blocks that powered the steel industry in Sheffield. The hills provided coal, iron and millstone grit; while the rivers provided the water power that ran the city. The forests in the surrounding area also provided the city with the timber and charcoal that also helped the fueling process.
In times way before the industrial revolution had begun, Sheffield was still known for the manufacturing of tools and building materials. Nails, knives, scissors, axes and many other work related tools were made in Sheffield before the times of the industrial revolution. This meant that when the technology became available tor the steel and manufacturing industries to grow, Sheffield was already in the dominant position, with the history and knowledge to become the leader in its field. In the 17th century however, a couple of developments took place which really put the city of Sheffield on the map, and paved the way for the future of the city in the coming decades and centuries. Steel production and tool and cutlery manufacture in particular were to benefit from the introduction of these new techniques.
The crucible steel process was the first and most important new development of this time, as it allowed a much stronger and harder quality of steel to be produced. Steel was now able to be produced in much larger quantities, making modern projects like Prefabricated Garages (Fertiggaragen) a reality. The crucible steel process was invented by Benjamin Huntsman, and his new technique helped to increase steel production in Sheffield in a dramatic fashion. From an already existing steel output of around 200 tons a year, the crucible method now allowed 20,000 tons to be developed. One other important discovery at this time was due to Thomas Boulsover who managed to invent silver coated cutlery, opening up the market in silver related cutlery to the middle classes and increasing the production in a huge way.
The modern day steel industry in Sheffield is still strong, with innovation in steel still taking place in the city in the 19th century. Stainless steel was invented in Sheffield by a man named Harry Brearley in 1912, and even later developments in the latter part of the century saw the development of modern low-alloy, high-strength steel. It is this kind of material that is still used in the construction of twin garages (Doppelgaragen IBK-Villingen) , and keeps the prefabricated garage industry alive through the production of related products for them like door motors (Torantriebe) and locking mechanisms. A lot of research into the technologies that may drive the steel industry into the future is still going on in Sheffield today. It is not all about steel however, and there are a number of churches and other buildings that make Sheffield the city that it is today.
There are a number of churches in Sheffield, new and old, along with many listed buildings all over the city. The Church of St. Thomas a Becket is a grade 1 listed building built in the period from 1276 to 1283 and restored by Edward Pegge. Broomhill Church is a grade 2 listed building, as is the Cathedral Church of St Marie and the Sacred Heart Church in Hillsborough. St Johns Church was built in 1888, and lies in the suburb of Ranmoor near Sheffield. Although there are not many famous churches in the city of Sheffield, there are a number of listed churches which are great examples of their time. Sheffield steel may always be what this region is known for, and rightfully so. There are however many churches and other spots that have also been important in making Sheffield the city that it is today.