Tezden Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Hi … Does anybody have any memories of the HSBC - former Midland Bank - building on Hoyle Street. I think it was built on the site of the former Daniel Doncaster Company? I think (again) it is a call centre now but … when was it built and what was it originally for? Thanks in anticipation Tezden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon26 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 It was British Steel before Midland took it on. Its a long time ago now but I recall it was some type of research and testing facility for iron and steel, possibly similar to Swindin labs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Bynnol Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 One section dealt with internal bank security and internal computer and ATM fraud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpm Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I worked there from 1967 to 1976. It was built for the British Iron & Steel Research Association which was formed in 1944 & operated until 1971 when it was assimilated into British Steel.The Association had its HQ at Buckingham Gate in London & had Laboratories at Battersea & Middlesbrough as well as Hoyle St Sheffield. It was funded by a levy on all the countries main steelmakers who controlled its research programme. The first building on the Sheffield site was a relatively small single storey building put up about 1949 at the side of the car park but the large building you see now was built & officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1953. The Sheffield Lab housed Steelmaking, Mechanical Working & Metallurgy Divisions as well as a Steel User Service & Library. It also had a fully functional pilot plant inc 3t arc furnace, BOS converter & continuous casting plant. In 1976 the site was closed with staff & equipment moved either to Middlesbrough (Steelmaking) or Swinden Labs, Rotherham (Mechanical Working & Metallurgy). John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullerboY Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I worked there from 1967 to 1976. It was built for the British Iron & Steel Research Association which was formed in 1944 & operated until 1971 when it was assimilated into British Steel.The Association had its HQ at Buckingham Gate in London & had Laboratories at Battersea & Middlesbrough as well as Hoyle St Sheffield. It was funded by a levy on all the countries main steelmakers who controlled its research programme. The first building on the Sheffield site was a relatively small single storey building put up about 1949 at the side of the car park but the large building you see now was built & officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1953. The Sheffield Lab housed Steelmaking, Mechanical Working & Metallurgy Divisions as well as a Steel User Service & Library. It also had a fully functional pilot plant inc 3t arc furnace, BOS converter & continuous casting plant. In 1976 the site was closed with staff & equipment moved either to Middlesbrough (Steelmaking) or Swinden Labs, Rotherham (Mechanical Working & Metallurgy). John Wasnt Dr Barraclough there then and did they also test springs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grappler Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 I worked for the company that had the contract for looking after the telephone systems at BISRA. We had a room under the building with the telephone exchange system in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpm Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Wasnt Dr Barraclough there then and did they also test springs? There were separate Spring Reseach & Cutlery & Allied Trades Research Labs. located nearby in seprate buildings as far as I remember. Dr Barraclough was at Brown Firth Research Labs & Firth Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon26 Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 When I worked for British Steel in the mid 80's they struggled to find a use for Hoyle Street. At one point it was let to someone renting out sun beds, after that the police used it to train their dogs at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbeard Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Sitting in the car park at the back is a listed Cementation Furnace. "The furnace was built in 1848 to produce steel by the cementation process by the local steel firm of Daniel Doncasters and Sons, a firm which had been established in Sheffield in 1778.[2] By 1860 there were 250 cementation furnaces in Sheffield capable of producing 80,000 tons of blister steel and the large conical structures were a characteristic feature of the city‘s industrial landscape.[3] The furnace on Doncaster Street is the only remaining example which is undamaged although there are two other sites in the immediate area which have examples which are partially intact, these being at Bower Spring and Millsands. The Doncaster Street furnace operated throughout World War II and a blackout cover was fitted to the furnace outlet as a precaution during air raids, this is still in place today (painted white). The furnace ceased operation in 1951." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cementation_furnace,_Sheffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJRB Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Daniel Doncasters continued to have a Foundry on Hoyle Street until around 1966 producing Heat Resisting castings from crucible furnaces. This small part of their business was then transferred to their Penistone Rd site where melting was in High Frequency furnaces. Some of the old equipment went off to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet as museum items. Bill Spivey was the manager at that time and one of the nicest men I have had the pleasure to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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