Transformation of listed former cutlery works takes shape

The team behind the restoration of a historic Sheffield building have revealed more details of the project as the first new homes in the property hit the market.

Since 2021 developer Capital&Centric has been transforming Eyewitness Works, a former cutlery works in Milton Street dating from 1852.

The building was once the home of Taylor’s Eyewitness Ltd. The company set up in 1820, before moving into Milton Street in 1852, where it manufactured and exported cutlery across the world.

The first 24 homes are now available to rent in the property. But when the whole project is finished Eyewitness Works will feature 97 loft apartments and town houses – with a mix of five different architectural styles.

Residents will also have exclusive access to three gardens in the internal courtyards – one featuring a giant friction screw press as a reminder of the building’s past – as well as a residents’ lounge, a mini cinema, co-working space and private dining.

Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said: “This is the culmination of years of painstaking work to turn Eyewitness Works from an industrial relic into what is now, hands down, one of the city’s best addresses.

“It’s such a privilege to be showing people what we’ve done with the place and opening the doors to the first residents.

“The nature of the building’s past meant we had a real responsibility to do it justice. We’ve retained as many of the original features as we could, with homes boasting big windows, imposing original features and exposed brick walls.”

Capital&Centric has previously brought Channel 4 to Sheffield, with Eyewitness Works featuring weekly on The Big Interiors Battle fronted by AJ Odudu earlier this year.

The £25m restoration and accompanying new build, Brunswick – named after the former Brunswick Hotel which closed its doors in 1964 – has been backed by funding from the South Yorkshire Pension Fund and Homes England.