A community-owned heritage building, birthplace of stainless steel, growing craft skills and jobs.
Portland Works is a unique Grade II* listed building, which was the birthplace of stainless steel cutlery in 1914 and is home to two dozen small businesses including metal workers, artists and musicians. It is now in community ownership: over 500 people are the shareholders of a Community Benefit Society which owns the works and manages it as a social enterprise on cooperative principles. We are still fundraising to carry out urgent repairs and bring new areas into productive use.
Why the community needs usBringing this fine iconic building back into full use to become an asset to the community, and promoting traditional crafts and creative activities in the City
Our impact on the community
We are always looking for people with a wide range of skills: accounting, web design, marketing as well as practical skills - we own and manage a wonderful old building which needs a lot of maintenance and repair.