Sheffield's story is one of fierce independence and a revolutionary
spirit, its industrial origins having their roots in the same forests as
the legends of Robin Hood. From Huntsman's crucible steel in the
eighteenth century, to Brierley's stainless steel in the twentieth,
Sheffield forged the very fabric of the modern world. As the industrial
age drew to a close the city's reputation for rebelliousness spawned its
popular reputation as capital of the 'People's Republic of South
Yorkshire'. Yet in the wake of the Miners' Strike and the Hillsborough
Disaster, the early twenty-first century has seen Sheffield retain its
unique character while reinventing itself as a centre of education,
creativity and innovation.