January is often seen as a chance for reflection on the past year as well as a chance to look ahead to the promise of a New Year. You may have made your plans for the year. The Friends of Portland Works have also been planning for the future and we look forward to sharing our plans with you.
2025 Heritage Fair
Once again the Friends of Portland Works will be having a stall at the popular Heritage Fair. This will be at the Millennium Galleries in the centre of Sheffield.
It’s a great opportunity to meet with the public and showcase the valuable work done by our volunteers.
On the subject of volunteers, Peter De Lange, the Chairman of Portland Works (Little Sheffield) Ltd, the Community Benefit Society which runs owns and manages the building, paid a glowing tribute at the 2024 AGM.
“They’ve done at least £50,000 worth of work and overall, I’d roughly estimate that since the volunteers started this, they’ve done at least half a million pounds worth of work, which is absolutely amazing and we’re so grateful to them.”
Work has now started on projects funded by the Friends of Portland Works to the tune of 50%,which include re-roofing a small storage area and improving safe access via external staircases. Friends has allocated £7,000 in grants to contribute to this and other “minor works.”
The D block windows project is nearing completion – most of the work has been carried out by volunteers and Friends has paid just over £2,500 towards the costs of glass, putty, paint and replacement woodwork where casements proved to be beyond repair. Nearly all the window frames are now freshly painted in “Portland Green.”
Further updates will follow in due course.
Portland Works on the BBC Website!
Glancing at the local news on the BBC Website shows an article about Portland works. It includes pictures of Peter de Lange (mentioned above), David Riley (model maker) and Emma Hardy, the violin maker, restorer. and now a Tenant Director of Portland Works Little Sheffield Ltd (pictured above).
Our popular lecture series continues in 2025
Dates for your diary.
One of the benefits of being a member is that of receiving first chance to book tickets for our ever popular lecture series which starts again in March, not to mention the member’s discount. The exciting programme of talks on a variety of subjects is now in an advanced stage, and we can reveal the dates to keep free: March 19th, April 16th, May 21st, June 18th, July 16th, N.B. No meeting in August, September 15th and the series concludes for 2025 with 15th October.
