Editing Stocksbridge (section)

==Steel industry==
[[File:Samuel Fox buildings at Stocksbridge Steelworks - geograph.org.uk - 2637941.jpg|thumb|right|Buildings of Samuel Fox's works. The large structure in the background is the original cotton mill.]]
The valley bottom today is almost entirely occupied by [[steel]] works. [[Samuel Fox (industrialist)|Samuel Fox]] acquired the old cotton mill in 1842, at first renting it from its then owner, Joshua Newton. Nine years later, in 1851, he purchased the mill outright from Joshua's son, Thomas Newton. Fox converted the place to use as a wire mill, and built much of the infrastructure of Stocksbridge, primarily to house his new workforce and to supply their needs. The wire was initially for textile pins, but around 1848 the business expanded to include wire for [[umbrella]] frames which led to Fox developing the “Paragon” umbrella frame in 1851.

The business continued to expand, and extended into different products, but underwent a major change in direction in the early 1860s when Fox realized that he could save large amounts of money by making his own steel for the wire, rather than buying it in. Furnaces and a rolling mill were installed, which in turn allowed the production of railway lines and springs. The business was incorporated into a limited company in 1871.

Between 1872 and 1877 a railway line was built to link the works with the [[Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway]] at [[Deepcar railway station]]. This was the [[Stocksbridge Railway]], which existed as a subsidiary company until 1992. Although the Sheffield to Manchester route via the [[Woodhead Tunnel]] was closed to traffic in 1981, a single-track section from Sheffield to Stocksbridge via Deepcar remains to serve the steel works.

Samuel Fox & Co joined [[Steel, Peech and Tozer]] at [[Templeborough]] to form the United Steel Companies (USC) following the [[World War I|First World War]]. From then on the products of the USC sites were coordinated so that each works specialised in set products. Fox’s specialised in special steel produce such as spring steel and stainless steels. This developed into the manufacture of high-quality steel for the aviation industry. One specialised department assembled and tested springs for [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] cars.

During the Second World War, 'Sammy Fox's' Steelworks was kept busy as part of the war effort. During the [[Sheffield Blitz]] by the Luftwaffe, the bombers used the dam at the end of Stocksbridge as a turning point for their run back toward Sheffield.

Following nationalisation in 1967, the [[British Steel Corporation]] split the stainless steel departments off into a separate business which by 2004 had become part of [[Outokumpu]].

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Stocksbridge works was part of the United Engineering Steels group (a joint venture between British Steel and GKN) and was known as "Stocksbridge Engineering Steels".

In 1999 the works were taken over by [[Corus Group|Corus]] and are part of the Corus Engineering Steels (CES) group. Although for several years Corus ran at a loss, it returned to profit, in part helped by a rise in demand for steel caused by Chinese economic activity.

Steel manufacture in Stocksbridge had always been by melting iron and steel firstly in [[crucible]]s (from 1860), then [[Bessemer converter]]s (from 1862) and Siemens Open Hearth Furnaces (from 1899 until 1968) and lastly [[Electric arc furnace]]s (from 1939 until 2005). Iron has never been produced from iron ore at Fox's, by any method.

In October 2006, Corus was taken over by the [[India]]n company [[Tata Steel|Tata]]. Corus Engineering Steels (Stocksbridge site) was renamed Tata Steels Speciality. During the 2008 recession Stocksbridge works reduced its workforce and output, focusing on producing lower quantities of high-value product for the aerospace and oil and gas markets. After the recession the company returned to profitability and began investing once again. In 2011 £6.5&nbsp;million was invested in boosting the site's ability to produce aerospace steel, and further developments were planned for 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blmforum.net/en/blm/headline/1888/%C2%A365-million-investment-trials-to-begin-in-Stocksbridge--Home-rest.htm |title=Business Link Magazine |first=Ljuba |last=Rankovic |work=blmforum.net |access-date=2 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202195042/http://www.blmforum.net/en/blm/headline/1888/%C2%A365-million-investment-trials-to-begin-in-Stocksbridge--Home-rest.htm |archive-date=2 February 2015 }}</ref>

In December 2015 Tata came under investigation by the [[Serious Fraud Office (United Kingdom)|Serious Fraud Office]] in connection with the alleged falsification of certificates guaranteeing the quality of its speciality steels. This was then followed in early 2016 by an announcement from Tata that they would be selling their entire steelmaking interests in the UK, due, they said, to crippling electricity prices in the UK which are more than double the price in the [[European Union]] and in other competing countries, and to large volumes of cheap steel which are being  exported to the west by China. If a buyer could not be found, then steelmaking in the Stocksbridge valley would finally end, after almost 160 years.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian |date=8 April 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/08/tata-steel-crisis-senior-staff-suspended-sfo-probe |first=Graham |last=Ruddick |title=Tata Steel crisis deepens with senior staff suspended amid SFO probe |access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian |date=30 March 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/08/tata-steel-crisis-senior-staff-suspended-sfo-probe |first1=Graham |last1=Ruddick |first2=Heather |last2=Stewart |title=Tata Steel to sell off entire British business |access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref>

On 9 February 2017 it was announced by Tata and by the [[Liberty House Group]], that the latter had purchased Tata's entire UK steelmaking operation for GBP 100 million. This has secured the continuation of steelmaking in the Stocksbridge valley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-tata-steel-agrees-to-sell-speciality-steel-biz-to-liberty-house-2317615|title=Tata Steel agrees to sell speciality steel biz to Liberty House – Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|date=9 February 2017|website=dnaindia.com|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libertyhousegroup.com/news/liberty-closes-deal-to-acquire-tata-speciality-steels/|title=Liberty closes deal to acquire Tata Speciality Steels – Liberty House Group|website=www.libertyhousegroup.com|access-date=12 April 2018}}</ref> In May 2021 Liberty Steel Group put the Stocksbridge business up for sale, a consequence of the collapse of [[Greensill Capital]] in March 2021.<ref>{{cite web|last=Casci|first=Mark|date=24 May 2021|title=Liberty Steel Group confirms it is to sell its Stocksbridge business placing future of 1,500 jobs in doubt|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/liberty-steel-group-confirms-it-is-to-sell-its-stocksbridge-business-placing-future-of-1500-jobs-in-doubt-3247885|access-date=25 May 2021|website=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pratley|first=Nils|date=24 May 2021|title=Liberty Steel wants to buy time, but who will want to snap up its assets?|url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2021/may/24/liberty-steel-wants-to-buy-time-but-who-will-want-to-snap-up-its-assets|access-date=25 May 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref>