History Trip to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet!

It was a suitably grey and miserable day to embark on our journey to the dark satanic mills of Sheffield! Thankfully the staff at Abbeydale managed to enliven the history as they took on the various roles of foreman, chief grinder and housekeeper. We were barked at and put to work. At one point, Tom B actually had his "nose to the grindstone" and Sophie J was put to work washing the foreman's shirts whilst Lily H banged the dust mites out of the carpets! We entered into the Victorian houses, ate Victorian style bread and learnt how to pour molten steel out of crucibles. Most importantly we learnt how the industrial processes were conducted using water power and how this affected the lives of ordinary people.

This was "hands on history" at its very best and has encouraged a greater interest in the Industrial Revolution - a period the Year 6 pupils will be studying later this year. My thanks to Mr Wood and Mrs Pryor who were great company and enabled the trip to happen.