Enterprise works revisited

[MysTique 10]

Hello lazarus, yes that helps a great deal! It fits in with what my mum said, that he worked on his own (we don't know where the Richmond came from) in a workshop which she seems to remember you had to go up some outside stairs to get to. Were there many firms within Enterprise Works?

I will certainly look out for the Back to the Grindstone book.

 

I'm not sure what happened to the firm after my grandad died in 1959 - we believe it was sold the following year, but whether the new owner kept the name and moved on I've yet to find out.

 

Strix - you were right about Don Alexander, they've a large selection of cutlery displayed in the shop. I had a good chat with the owner who was very helpful and dug out the 1954 Kelly's directory in which the firm was still listed. He also looked up hallmarks and trademarks but we didn't find D&R.

He did advise that the flatware still in circulation is mainly the big names - Wolstenholme, Rogers etc and that I'm probably unlikely to find something my grandad made, if so it would be through charity / second hand shops

Had a trawl through some on Ecclesall Rd today. There's baskets full of knives and forks so took me a while! M x

[wendygs 10]

You might also like to ask some of the remaining cutler firms in Sheffield, eg Viners, Grunwald (I think etc), museums, Sheffield Local HIstory Service at the City Centre library are also very helpful. They may even have fiche of newspapers that far back which may have some useful info

[lazarus 68]

Originally posted by wendygs

You might also like to ask some of the remaining cutler firms in Sheffield, eg Viners, Grunwald (I think etc), museums, Sheffield Local HIstory Service at the City Centre library are also very helpful. They may even have fiche of newspapers that far back which may have some useful info

 

Im afraid that you have got it wrong Viners has not exsisted for over thirty years, the name still exsists but the cutlery that carries the name VINER is made in Japan, so dont think its made in Sheffield. The only time it reaches any Sheffield workers is when comes to Saynors Silver Platers on Egerton St, where it is either plated or re-packed into different boxes and by a quirk of fate the Saynors building is the last bit of VINERS factory that survives. Lots of firms do this, even the firm I work for and I am disgusted at the practice.

The Sheffield Shop on Ecclesall Rd has some Japanese knives on display but they dont know that they are Japanese, its true because our firm sells them to them.

[lazarus 68]

Hi Mystique, The Enterprise Works was full of Little Mesters all doing their own things.The main tenant of the works was a company called THE ROCKINGHAM PLATE & CUTLERY COMPANY which was owned by two brothers called Cyril & Percy Potter. This is not my own recollections its from the Herbert Housley book, you really should make a point of buying the book.

One of the reasons that you cant find any cutlery with your Grandads name on it maybe because whenever any cutlery was ordered by a retailer they usually had their own mark put on. Harrods or even Sheffield Wednesday are a couple of examples.

I dont know if your Grandfather was an outworker that means doing work for a bigger cutlery manufacturer or whether he was a manufacturer in his own right, if he was an outworker, there will be no cutlery with his name on it Im afraid.

As for the Enterprise Works I think the Council put a compulsary purchase order on it in the late fifties because they had St Marys ring road in mind but it was not demolished until the late sixties.

[MysTique 10]

Hello Wendy - thanks for your suggestions. Yes I will be heading off to the Library as soon as schools go back ( 4 weeks and counting )

 

lazarus - great information. My husband had also said the same as you, that firms nowadays put the customers names on, not the manufactuers, which I think is a real shame! ( He works for a well established knife blade firm - funny how things come full circle! )

 

I'm pretty sure my grandad manufactured in his own right. My mum remembers the company name being on the cutlery, she also says he travelled to Birmingham to purchase the canteens for his knives and forks. I also know he would sometimes go abroad to sell his products.

 

I realise I'll be hard pushed to actually find something he made, but I'm a woman on a mission and won't give up.

I'll nip in to Sheffield Scene tomorrow for that book.

 

Thanks again for all your replies. M x

[wendygs 10]

Firstly to clarify my post re Viners & Grunwalds. Specifically I understand Viners exists even if owned by another company and their high-end cutlery is still finished/packed in the UK which I think is of little relevance or interest to your enquiries.

 

I think you are far more likely to be interested in the fact that Viners for sure used to have a museum which may now be part of the Cutlers Hall museum. I also think it probable Grunwalds, which also still exists, may have similar records because steel is just totally part of Sheffield's essence.

 

When I mentioned this to my neighbour, they suggested you may want to see what information the Town Hall has in their archives assuming this has not already been passed over to the Library.

 

Don Alexander on Ecclesall Road is definitely worth a visit and are always extremely helpful. There is also a shop on West Street which could also help. Both have been in the industry for years and what they dont know is probably not worth knowing.

[lazarus 68]

Hi again Mystique, A good bet is to contact Ashley Carson at the Assay Office on Portobello St regarding your Grandfathers Etchmark, they may have a register of trade marks and Etchmarks. I used to have one myself but someone borrowed it and it ended up in a Museum in France.

 

Wendygs--- a firm ceases to be when all that is left is a Name.

Viners Cutlery was very good quality, but now most of it is cheap 18/10 stainless steel made in Japan and Korea and it isnt a patch on real Viners ware.

[wendygs 10]

Originally posted by lazarus

Hi again Mystique, A good bet is to contact Ashley Carson at the Assay Office on Portobello St regarding your Grandfathers Etchmark, they may have a register of trade marks and Etchmarks. I used to have one myself but someone borrowed it and it ended up in a Museum in France.

 

Wendygs--- a firm ceases to be when all that is left is a Name.

Viners Cutlery was very good quality, but now most of it is cheap 18/10 stainless steel made in Japan and Korea and it isnt a patch on real Viners ware.

 

lazarus I dont see the relevance of a company's existence (eg Viners or even the equally defunct Avco Trust to accessing and exploring research resources for information.

 

As I understand this request ideas, would be appreciated on how to find products + any additional ideas on how to access relevant information. I therefore suggested some possible resources for this research to include archived information that may be accessible perhaps by appointment with the relevant archivists, ie Town Hall, Cutlers, other City museums/companies etc. That is all I suggested and with your very kind permission, I prefer to avoid an off-topic discussion on Company Law.

[MysTique 10]

Wendy - please forgive me if I'm wrong - but I think you're taking lazarus' posts the wrong way. In my original post I asked for information not only on tracing my grandads cutlery, but also about Enterprise Works and the cutlery trade in general. Both through his posts and the PM's we've exchanged lazarus has been more than helpful and given me a great deal of relevant information on something he knows a great deal about.

 

I'm grateful to everyone who's contributed to this thread, and have taken on all the suggestions, as I need all the help I can get.

 

I'm finding the problem is that as there were obviously so many cutlery manufacturers, whether outworkers or traders in their own right, my grandad was a small fish in a big pond, so to speak, and very difficult to trace.

 

As I've said before though - I'll keep trying.

[gales 10]

Hi, Has anyone come across cutlery with the Trademark Edley Bros. Sheffield. My Gt Grandfather and Granfather were Silver Comb manufacturers, later Tool & Saw maufacturers. They then went on to Cutlery. They Patented the Yureeda Knife Sharpeners. Pretoria Works Sidney St. I believe its a nightclub now. I recently obtained a Cake Knife & Cheese Knife which they had patented with the trademark on them. Interested to know if anyone has come across any items bearing the Edley Bros trademark. I understand they had places on Arundel St, [Potter St, this was Chumley & Edley] Shoreham St. There are a couple of other addresses in the directories I don't remember. They existed in the 1800s and into the 1900s, my Grandfather died 1933, his brother continued in business. What happened after that ??. Any clues out there?

[levans44 10]

Sorry to send this message but I need to discuss an early post regarding Cuneo ice cream - please reply

[lazarus 68]

I can remember the name EDLEY BROTHERS in the seventies they were at No 87/91 Sidney St and as you say there is a night club there. A great pity that a very good manufacturer went.It could be that somebody may still own the trade mark, one name does spring to mind and that is British Silverware in Windsor St down Attercliffe, it does go under the other name of the Solpro Group. When I worked for them they had lots of old trade marks of companys long gone.