The Foundry, the Sheffield wall that helped change British climbing

When The Foundry Climbing Centre opened on 16 December 1991, its founders were not sure anyone would come. "I really thought we had blown it, and that people wouldn't pay for climbing," co-founder Jerry Moffatt later admitted of a rainy, quiet first week. Climbers soon found their way in, and the centre went on to shape the sport in Britain.

The idea took root in 1991. Moffatt, then a sponsored professional climber, visited climbing walls in Belgium and was so impressed that, in his words, "I was so excited I brought an early video camera and filmed what I saw." His partner in the project, Paul Reeve, had seen climbing walls in Hong Kong back in 1987.

Paul and Jim Kelly found the perfect home: an old foundry in Neepsend, close to the city centre, then being used as a carpet warehouse. "When I first saw it, I thought it was absolutely perfect, the right height, the right space, and the right price," Moffatt recalled. Funding came from Sheffield City Council, Sport England, NatWest Bank and private investors.

The original centre had The Wave, The Main Wall, a café, a bar and a climbing shop run by Outside. The Foundry was the first in Britain to use graded set problems and helped pioneer training tools such as campus boards and steep wooden boards, now standard in walls everywhere.

Its walls have hosted national and regional competitions, including the Foundry International Bouldering Competition, won by a young Chris Sharma. Shauna Coxsey, Alex Megos, Margo Hayes and Jakob Schubert have all competed there, and Alex Honnold and Adam Ondra have climbed there. Moffatt, Ben Moon and Steve McClure trained on its walls and pushed standards at home and abroad, and McClure still trains there.

The centre has evolved with the community it serves. In 2018 it became a non-profit Community Interest Company run by climbers for Sheffield, and in April 2020, with Sport England support, it upgraded its reception, bouldering areas and training facilities.

Today it offers bouldering, auto-belays, top rope and lead climbing, alongside junior, adult and family learn-to-climb sessions and outdoor climbing.

The Foundry is at 45 Mowbray Street, Sheffield S3 8EN, and memberships and sessions can be found on its website.