The modern town of Stocksbridge is ten miles from Sheffield, has its own strong identity and is the home of the paragon umbrella frame, developed by the industrialist Samuel Fox.
The town has always found itself on the edge of the centre of administration, which has governed it and has grown from a tiny hamlet at the crossing place of the Little Don River, into an industrial centre.
The river running through the valley, originally known as Hunshelf Water, was later given the name Little Don.
The bridge, which is associated with the ‘Stocksbridge’ name, was a wooden footbridge over the river. It was located at the junction of Ford Lane, Hunshelf Road (leading up Hunshelf Bank) and the continuation from Smithy Hill where the new Fox Valley development can be found.
Though the bridge was later replaced by a stone bridge in 1812, the name Stocksbridge remained.
In 1842 Samuel Fox came from Bradwell and rented an old cotton mill which had been built in 1794 on the former Stocks’ land, which he subsequently developed into what is now the Liberty Steel steelworks.
Samuel Fox developed the paragon umbrella here in Stocksbridge and as the steelworks grew – employing more than 8,000 people at its height – so did the town’s population. The steelworks has shaped the valley and though it now occupies less land in the town, it remains a significant employer in Stocksbridge. The new Fox Valley retail and office development was opened on former steelworks land in June 2016 and has been a significant economic driver to further investment in the town.
