Sydney Works or Sidney Works is a building on Matilda Street in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It has seen a variety of uses, and occupies a prominent site beside the

Porter Brook The Porter Brook is a river which flows through the City of Sheffield, England, descending over from its source on Burbage Moor to the west of the city to its mouth where it joins the River Sheaf in a culvert beneath Sheffield railway statio ...

, surrounded by car parks. The site was originally occupied by the City

Saw Mills A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. It was occupied by four back-to-back buildings used until the 1970s by various small

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

businesses, most prominently Deakins

Silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

s, later renamed Sydney Silversmiths. The rear wing of the building was constructed in 1902. In the 1970s, the building was used by a

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

. From 1982 it was home to Yorkshire ArtSpace, which converted much of the space into

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s, becoming the first cultural organisation in what later became the

Cultural Industries Quarter The Cultural Industries Quarter is a district in the city centre of Sheffield, England, and one of the eleven Quarters designated in the 1994 City Centre Strategy. It is roughly triangular in shape, and is bound by Howard Street, Sheaf Square ...

. In 2001, Yorkshire Artspace moved to purpose-built premises at Persistence Works, and the building stood largely empty, other than a small part used by a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

. In 2005, the Works were used as a convergence centre for opposition to the G8

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

s' meeting in Sheffield. Renamed the "

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

", it was then developed as a squatted

social centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, including gig spaces, artists' studios, exhibition space, IT facilities, a cafe and several meeting spaces. In June 2006,

Yorkshire Forward Yorkshire Forward was the regional development agency (RDA) for the Yorkshire and the Humber region of the United Kingdom. It supported the development of business in the region by encouraging public and private investment in education, skills, ...

, who had acquired the building, secured a court order demanding the eviction of the occupants. In Autumn 2012 work has begun for a "New build and refurbishment of existing Sidney Works buildings to form a new university technical college, with associated external works including flood lit rooftop multi-use games area"

References

Yorkshire Artspace - About Us

Sheffield Social Forum - Matildatory

Matilda

2012 Planning Detail
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