Tucked away in Loxley Valley, just outside Sheffield is a large cluster of derelict factories. Industry first came to the Loxley area in the middle of the 17th century when the first mills were set up on the fast-flowing River Loxley. Steel and iron forging and rolling mills were established and became the main manufacturing processes with the Loxley Steel Works, the Green Wheel Steel Works, the Little Matlock Rolling Mill and the Olive Rolling Mill all becoming established industries by the river. Many of the mill ponds associated with these mills are still present on the river and provide a haven for fish and wildlife. During the 1800s the Loxley Valley became an important producer of refractory bricks for the expanding Sheffield steel industry. The bricks were used to line the furnaces and were made from ganister, a sort of sandstone which was prevalent in the Loxley area. Many ganister mines existed in the area supplying the local firms of Thomas Wragg, Siddons Bros., Hepworth’s and Thomas Marshall which sprang up in the district and produced the bricks. Refractory production ceased in the area in the 1990s.
The site was then purchased by the house building company, Bovis Homes Group, in 2006. They intended to build 500 homes on the site. However, the plans have met with stiff opposition from the Loxley Valley Protection Society, the Loxley Valley Design Group, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and Bradfield Parish Council. Bovis have not received permission to go ahead with the development and the site is still a derelict industrial site.
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