Art and industry on Green Lane
Kelham Island has developed a bit of a reputation over the last few years for its street art, but it also has some lovely much older art if you know where to look. One of my favourites are the two bronze plaques mounted on the facade of the archway of the former Green Lane Works just next to the restaurant Stew & Oyster which now forms one of the entrances to the Little Kelham development.
Green Lane Works archway and clock tower, Sheffield
This is probably one of Kelham Island’s most distinctive landmarks and was restored fairly recently after years of neglect. There’s more to say about this archway, not least how it came to be there in the first place, but that’s a subject for another post. But high up on both sides of the top of the arch you’ll see two bronze plaques. These have been there since the arch was built back in 1860 and are thought to have been designed by sculptor Alfred Stevens who worked at Green Lane Works before going off to seek his fortune in London. These plaques include two figures of Greek gods - Hephaestus and Athena.
The Greek god Hephaestus on the archway of Green Lane Works, Sheffield
The plaque on the left is Hephaestus, better known in Sheffield under his Roman name Vulcan - the same figure whose statue can be seen on the top of the tower of Sheffield Town Hall. Hephaestus was the Greek God of blacksmiths hence the anvil and the fire in the sculpture, but became a general symbol of industry hence his association with Sheffield.
The Greek god Athena on the archway of Green Lane Works, Sheffield
The plaque on the right is Athena, who is a symbol of art as can be seen from her holding a brush and an artist’s palette. The palette gives away who commissioned this work, the reason why, and its age, as it includes the words ‘Henry E. Hoole. Mayor. 1860’.
The combination of both of these figures on the archway gives a clue to the attitude of Hoole and many other industrialists in the city who saw the work they were doing as both industry and art. Hoole himself also employed students from the Sheffield Institute of Arts, now a part of Sheffield Hallam University, in his factory to help develop the artistic designs of the ornamental grates, fenders and stoves that were made there. This helped build the reputation of Hoole & Company to become one of the most prestigious firms in the city.
Although it isn’t known for certain whether the design was by Alfred Stevens, it is widely thought that it is. Stevens’ best known work is the memorial to the Duke of Wellington in St Paul’s Cathedral in London. And certainly if you look at the bronze figures that flank that memorial you get a similar feel to the figures at Green Lane Works which was started around the same time as Wellington’s Memorial.
