Sheffield, England Attractions

Visitors to the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet (Abbeydale Road, Sheffield 7; 3.5mi/6km southwest of the city), an 18th century Victorian village, can learn about the traditional production of scythes. The site features workshops, warehouses and workers' cottages.

The Sheffield City Museum, founded in 1874 and now housed in a building erected in 1937, contains a unique collection of British and European cutlery from the 16th century to the present, together with Bronze Age finds.

Kehlham Island Industrial Museum in Alma Street (Sheffield 3) exhibits steel and silverware dating from three centuries. Craftspeople can be seen at work in the "Little Mesters" workshop. A 1,200-hp steam engine is another of the museum's special attractions.

To the east of Abbeydale is Beauchief Abbey, which combines the remains of a Premonstratensian abbey founded about 1175 and a chapel built in 1660.

Construction of the small wooden Bishop's House began in the 15th C and was continued in the 16th/17th centuries. Its building history is explained in two rooms, other exhibits concern the Sheffield's history during the Tudor and Stuart periods.

The new Bus Museum in Sheffield Road (Sheffield 9) displays old means of transport, including typically English double-decker buses and pre-war milk floats.

This annual festival takes place in mid-May.

Surrey Street extends west as Barker's Pool and leads to the Sheffield City Hall. Designed by Vincent Harris and opened in 1932, its concert hall seats 2,700.

Opposite the cathedral is Sheffield's Cutlers' Hall, built in 1832 in the neo-Classic style, the headquarters of the Company of Cutlers. Founded in 1624, it is authorized to grant trade marks for articles reaching appropriate standards of quality; the foundation date continues to be celebrated every year. It has a fine collection of silver dating from 1773 to the present day, made up of one master work from each year, all stamped with the recognized seal of quality awarded by the Sheffield Assay Office.

The Tapestry Room is of particular interest in this 17th century home.

The Lyceum Theatre and the Crucible Theatre, both reopened in 1990 after extensive restoration, stand opposite the Graves Art Gallery. They mainly stage modern plays.

Adjoining the Sheffield City Museum is the Mappin Art Gallery which has an excellent collection of 18th and 19th century English art from the Pre-Raphaelites to Turner.

Millennium Galleries houses four individual galleries featuring visual arts, craft and design.

Old grindstones, once used in the production of knives, can be viewed in idyllic Whiteley Woods off Hangingwater Road (Sheffield 11).

Built at the turn of the century, the South Yorkshire Fire Museum (West Bar, Sheffield 3) houses a collection of old fire engines, uniforms and equipment.

Eight old locomotives belonging to the South Yorkshire Railway await enthusiasts of historic trains in this museum in Barrow Road (Sheffield 9).

Excellent changing photographic displays, mainly dealing with local themes, can be seen in the Untitled Gallery in Brown Street (Sheffield 1).