Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers

[cheawa 10]

Can't help with spoon knife request but can some help me. Little Mesters are now almost forgotten many of the younger generation haven't even heard of them, we owe them so much, such a pity. I don't now live in Sheffield but know it from younger days. Can anyone tell me "are any of the buildings used by the Little Mesters still standing. I want to visit Sheffield and film them, thus saving them for "posterity " as it were. I am aware of Portland Works which I understand has been purchased by "the friends of Portland Works". Also Sipalia Works. Are there any other buildings any help would be much appreciated.

[lazarus 68]

This forum doesn't seem let me post pictures. Can I email a picture to you please?

You can but you will have to contact me via a personal message, as I don't want to put my email address on here.

[Jweiland66 10]

I have this message from the forum.

"Sorry but you cannot send a private message until you have at least 5 posts on the forum. This has been introduced to help reduce the amount of private message spam."

Can you send me a private message I could respond to please?

[vanner18 10]

There was an uproar in the 1960's when a Sheffield cutler was importing finished cutlery from Japan and then just stamping 'Made in Sheffield' on the items. If I remember correctly, a village in Japan had been named 'Sheffield' in order to confuse ! I forget the company, but that was the start of the decline. Can anyone confirm this ?

 

Don`t know if anyone is still looking at these posts, but when I started working at Viners, September `61, it wasn`t long before I noticed they had huge amounts of "Blanks"; forged solids ready for pickling and processing etc down in the cellars under the firm.

[or-b-son 10]

Hi Dunedin Star,I am contacting you for my cousins husband who does not have enough posts'He has an interest in the people you mention the TWIGGS and the DARLEYS off bridge street,He is David Blood and his e-mail address is david.blood@virginmedia.com

He looks forward to hearing from you to compere notes

OR_B_SON

[lazarus 68]

William Twigg was listed as a table knife manufacturer in Westbar in 1839 by the 1850s he was also listed as a cutlery and hardware dealer still on Westbar, by 1840 his address had changed to Bridge Street, in 1860 he had brought his sons into the business, now the firm was William Twigg & Sons and he was still on Bridge Street, it was from these premises where he claimed £140 damages after the flood from the Sheffield flood.

In the 1868 directory he's described as a maker of table cutlery, bread, butchers and cooks knives also steels. In 1871 he was employing ten men and three boys. William died on the 4th of December 1879 aged 71, he was buried in the General Cemetery.

The firm remained on Bridge Street through the 1880s & 1890s, with William Jnr as a partner in 1898, after 1903 the business just disappeared from directories, so it seems it just ceased trading and shut up shop. They don't seem to have had a trade mark.

In the 1879 directory it seems the family are living on the premises of 55 Bridge Street, so they are working and living on the firm, this area of Sheffield has been changed so much if William came back today he wouldn't recognise it.

 

---------- Post added 06-07-2018 at 09:13 ----------

 

Williams flood claim 1864

 

Search results for ‘William twigg’

 

The following 3 claims include the term ‘William twigg’. Click on the claim number to see details of the claim. (Where the search term occurs within the particulars, the line from the particulars is shown). For more details on using the search, see the Search Notes.

 

Claim Claimant Description Address Award

421 William Twigg Cutlery Manufacturer 96 Bridge Street Sheffield £140

 

5499 (appx) The Proprietors of the Soho Grinding Com... Wheel Proprietors Bridge Street, Sheffield

— 6 Twigg William

 

6507 Thomas Twigg Ivory Cutter Globe Works, Penistone Road, Sheffield; Prospect Cottage, Fir View £5

— Paid to my Assistant, William Twigg, who worked with and for me, 10 days

DETAILS OF HIS CLAIM

Claim Name of Claimant Description of Claimant Address of Claimant

421 William Twigg Cutlery Manufacturer 96 Bridge Street Sheffield

Nature of Claimant’s Interest Particulars of Claim Amount of Damages Claimed

Finished Stock

Table Knives & Forks £50

Carver Knives & Forks £5

Pattern Cards & rolls of Pattern Cards £7

Table & Butchers Steels £4

Scissors £6

Razors & Cases & Combs £5

Spring Knives & Blades £15

Reams of Paper £5

Finished Blades £2

Unfinished Stock

Table & Dessert Forks £7

Carver Forks £2

Handles & Scales £30

Labels & Bill Heads £2

Furniture & Clothes £15

Cleaning the mud away £5

£160

Certificate Granted

6 June 1865 Assessed by Agreement incl costs at

Edited July 6, 2018 by lazarus

[stuart16 10]

I,m searching for info on George ellis and cooper bros,cutlery companies Sheffield and anybody who worked for them,

[jaffa1 10]

If it's the Cooper Bros that was on Arundel Gate then I knew Mr McGrath who was a foreman there but if you ask the same question on the sheffieldhistory site I think you would get a lot of information from there.

[lazarus 68]

Cooper Brothers was on Arundel Street, the building is still in use but ceased making cutlery a long time ago.

[smary 14]

Check this out - lots of info on Cooper Bros.

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Cooper_Brothers_and_Sons:_1893

 

there is also this

GEORGE ELLIS

G. ELLIS LTD

Sheffield (possibly)

Active at 100-102 Charles St. and 8 Albany Rd. Sheffield (c.1905)

Edited September 3, 2018 by smary

[George_ 10]

On 29/03/2009 at 12:50, Tazz070299 said:

 

JH Dickinson's went bust in the early 1980's and were bought out by Lancelot Holdings, who kept the factory in Guernsey Road going. Later JHD were taken over by Jones & Longbottom (a little more can be learned here). http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/search.php?searchid=8919293

 

My father worked for JHDs from 1947 as a toolmaker and die-sinker, after being demobbed until they went bust, apart from a short spell at Ward & Paynes. My grandfather also worked for them on maintenance and if you remember the large steel doors on Guernsey Road they were made by him.

 

tazz

You might be interested in this... https://joescarboroughart.co.uk/collections/george-cunningham-sketches/products/george_cunningham_sheffield_233-h-dickinson-ltd

 

[DUFFEMS 55]

21 hours ago, George_ said:

You might be interested in this... https://joescarboroughart.co.uk/collections/george-cunningham-sketches/products/george_cunningham_sheffield_233-h-dickinson-ltd

 

My grandfather Albert Norton worked at Dickinson's (Dickie's) as a dry stone fork grinder until his death in 1973.

His father Frederick Arthur Norton used to employ men at the Sheffield Union Grinding Wheel Alma Street and I believe he transferred this business to Dickie's, I don't know what year.

I remember going into Dickie's to see my grandfather working astride "his hoss" with sparks flying everywhere, no protective clothing, his arms were always  covered in burns and he often got "motes" in his eyes. The windows at the back of the building where he worked were non existent, just as well because there were no extractors. The floor where he worked was accessed from what you'd describe as a fire escape, open metal treads.

The day of his official retirement aged 65 came and went with no handshake, no bottle of booze just a request for him to continue as before but, with the benefit of working a few days a week which he did. He left on the Friday to go into hospital for an operation on the following Monday and he died some 2 months later on Christmas Eve 1973.

The conditions our grandparents worked in were horrendous, I have no romantic views about the "good old days".

Regards,

Duffems