A. R. Heathcote, Sheffield, September 2014

Despite this site being right in the centre of Sheffield and very easy access this place hasn't been done on this forum for a while if at all so thought I'd put a report up.

OK let's do the history first. A. R. Heathcote and Co. Ltd made machine knives, including printers' guillotine knives, shear blades and tobacco and cigarette knives, as well as their signature "Park" brand knives.



Named after its founder Albert Reaney Heathcote in 1881, previously it had been a chisel and edge tool manufacturer. The first sales of tobacco knives were recorded on 5 April, 1881 and between the two World Wars the company’s activities underwent a significant shift as the edge tool business disappeared and business focused on knives for the tobacco industry. This resulted in the factory located on Sylvester Gardens in the centre of Sheffield and referred to as Bernard Works opening in 1934.



Mr Heathcote died in 1941 at the remarkable age of 97 and the company's chairmanship passed to the then Managing Director Mr Percy Osborne. During the Second World War the company threw its weight behind the war effort and it continued to expand and diversify post war. Percy Osbourne died in 1961 and was succeeded by Sidney Osbourne. The company was then sold to Balfour Darwins Ltd in 1969. The company subsequently passed through the hands of a number of owners before ceasing trading in the 1990s. The company filed their last accounts in 1990 and records show the company went into receivership a couple of years later in 1992.

Today the works are pretty much trashed and open access. Sadly there's not much in the way of original features or any traces of the work's past history. It's now used as a hangout for the city's druggies and there are needles littering the site so put on some stout boots and mind how you go. Perhaps the site's main redeeming feature is the glorious street art including some rather nice paintings by Sheffield's premier artist Phlegm.

OK, on with the pictures:


img9401 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6301 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6282 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6285 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6283 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6284 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6286 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9402 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9405 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9408 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img9414 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6293 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6291 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6295 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6294 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6289 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6288 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6290 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img6299 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!

Awesome phlegm pieces!

cuboard said:

Awesome phlegm pieces!

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Good aren't they?! Slowly starting to peel away sadly....

HughieD said:

Good aren't they?! Slowly starting to peel away sadly....

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That's the whole point of urban art, it's transient.

Some great artwork there..

Even though the site is trashed the art work keeps it alive,Awesome shots and you've got some great ones.

flyboys90 said:

Even though the site is trashed the art work keeps it alive,Awesome shots and you've got some great ones.

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Cheers mate.

Trashed makes for a certain beauty I feel?.....and the graff is lovely...nice find and report. Cheers mate

Those Phlegms are fantastic. I went to a show of his in London this summer, where he'd painted rooms and rooms, literally covering every room, it was quite overwhelming on the eyes!
Fantastic shots! Cheers for sharing!

He's amazing. So many of the urbex sites in Sheffield bear his works. Even the Chinese restaurant I went to for a family meal yesterday had one of his massive works on the sidewall.

I done Heathcotes a while back interesting site but the amount of needles there put me off a bit spent more time looking on floor than taking photos.

I'm not a fan personally, while his work is high quality he is a bit of a one trick pony. Such is the way with people with such strong individual styles.

Shame about the needles, it looks like an interesting visit otherwise.

krela said:

I'm not a fan personally, while his work is high quality he is a bit of a one trick pony. Such is the way with people with such strong individual styles.

Shame about the needles, it looks like an interesting visit otherwise.

Click to expand...

I know what you mean - but what a trick! And yes, the sort of stuff you either love or hate.

Looks like all this site will become history soon given the planning notices that have gone up on Sidney Street...

That Myra graffiti freaked me out

nice place to see some urban art I liked it cheers!!