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Fox Valley History

Fox Valley History

 

Liberty Steel neighbours the Fox Valley development site and over the years the changing face of the steel industry has shaped the development and population growth of Stocksbridge.

Samuel Fox first established a steel works in the town in 1842 and built up much of the infrastructure of the town which was at that stage a small settlement.

Fox took over a disused cotton mill near to the current Fox Valley site and adapted it to making wire for textile pins. The business soon expanded to include wire for umbrella frames and in 1851 the company developed the famous Paragon umbrella frame.

The business continued to expand and started producing different products and by the mid-1860s the works included furnaces and rolling mills. A railway line was built to link the steel works with the wider region.

After the First World War the company became part of the United Steel Companies and in the 1960s the Stocksbridge works was part of the nationalised British Steel Corporation.

Now the steelworks is part of Liberty Steel and employs around 800 people.

The site of the Fox Valley development was once part of the larger steelworks complex. The names of the new roads and buildings and even the artwork for the completed scheme have been designed to reflect the area’s rich industrial heritage

Here at Fox Valley, we have our very own history timeline erected by Dransfield House offices, which tells the story of the Valley's history.