Waterpower celebration at the annual Mills weekend

On 9 and 10 May 2026. The Shepherd Wheel will be the focus of a weekend of information walks and displays to celebrate the waterpower heritage of Sheffield’s metal industry.  Waterwheels were harnessed to drive cutlery workshops on the Porter Brook from the Late Middle Ages.  With the discovery of steam power came the  Industrial Revolution and so the great Steel City of Sheffield was born …… but its roots lie in the green wooded valleys in the west.

Join the Friends of Porter Valley for a host of activities at Shepherd Wheel Workshop as part of National Mills Weekend.

Saturday 9th May

• Guided Walk: “The Lost Waterwheels of the Porter Valley”                Book online at fopv.org.uk/walks 

• Mills Now and Then’: A display of photographs and pictures depicting bygone life in the Valley. 

Sunday 10th May 

•  Produce sale by Hangingwater Allotment Society
•  Folk at the Wheel: Live music from Bungalow Bliss, 2-4pm  
• Mills Now and Then: A display of photographs and pictures depicting bygone life in the Valley. 

Suggested donation £5 – Please donate if you’re able and help keep your museums open and available for everyone to enjoy.

Shepherd Wheel
Whiteley Woods
Porter Brook trail
Sheffield
S11 2YE