Sheffield Master Cutlers

Founded in 1624, the Cutlers’ Company of Hallamshire has played a crucial role in the history of Sheffield, as supervisor and regulator of cutlery and steel trades in “the steel capital of the world.”

George Barnsley

George Barnsley and Sons Ltd. Was founded in 1836. They were in Cornish Place on the Don, and specialised in forge filing and cutting tools for leather workers and shoe makers. They also made a type of folding metric shoe measure (boxwood & brass). George Barnsley was Master Cutler in 1883.

Their factory was situated on Kelham Island, one of the oldest industrial sites in Sheffield. George Barnsley and Son is listed in the 1837 Sheffield directory as a file manufacture situated on Wheeldon Street, The 1849 listing records a move to Cornhill and the 1852 to Cornesh works Cornesh street they had by this time also increased there product range to include steel files, shoe and butchers knives.

They are again listed in 1944 as manufactures of files and blades shoe knives and leather workers tools.

In the 1948 listing the business had become George Barnsley and Son Ltd

George Barnsley died at his home at No 30 Collegiate Crescent on 30th March 1958, he lived there with his wife Mabel and mother-in-law Elizabeth. He was a partner in the firm which were steel and file manufacturers and the business was converted into a limited company about 10 years before his death.

He had a long army career, joining up in 1896 and serving in the Boer war and two world wars. Colonel Barnsley played a leading part in the development of the Army Cadet Force in Sheffield. He Died Aged 83.

Kelham island was first formed in the 1100s when the goit, or mill stream, was created. This stream was diverted to provide water to the Town Corn Mill, which was located near Lady’s Bridge.

There are no further records of the site until the appearance of the town armourer in 1637. He owned a workshop and the second waterwheel on the island, and his name was Kellam Homer. By 1674, this second wheel was known as Kellam Wheel. The spelling of Kellam had been altered to Kelham by the early 1800s and the island had been given the same name.
Industries sprang up in the early 1800s in the Kelham area. Kelham Island itself became a host for all kinds of manufacturers.

In 1829, John Crowley bought land on the island and built a small iron foundry called Kelham Iron Works. He made all kinds of iron products – bicycles, corn grinders, lawn mowers, as well as decorative iron works. His business was so successful that he acquired larger premises at Meadow Hall in 1870. The Kelham Iron Works continued until the 1890s when the site was bought by the City.

Crowley’s old foundry buildings were demolished and in their place an electricity generating station was built, solely to provide power for the City’s new trams. The power station was in operation until the 1930s, and the buildings were used thereafter as storage space and workshops.

Today the name Kelham Island represents an areas centring on the island and Green Lane and is now a conservation area with many listed buildings. The industrial origins are still evident in the medieval industrial street pattern focused around Green Lane and Alma Street. The area contains a number of Sheffield’s significant early Victorian industrial developments such as the Green Lane Works and Globe Works.
The distinct character areas within Kelham Island are:

A. Mowbray Street. This area contains an important group of operational works and workshops, originating from the mid to late 19th century, and centred on the metal trades.

B. Kelham Island and Green Lane. This is an important grouping of large scale works, comprising one of the last remaining cores of metal trades related buildings within the city. Contained within the Kelham Island Conservation Area, it retains much of its early industrial street pattern. Buildings often have grand frontage or gateway ranges, with courtyards surrounded by workshop and warehouses behind.

The significant buildings in Kelham Island are:
Globe Works
Cornish Works
Wharncliffe Works

Green Lane Works

The Kelham Island Industrial Museum
Mowbray Street works and workshops
Brooklyn Works
Cornish Place
List of Subscribers to 1889 reprint of
A Directory of Sheffield,
first published by Gales and Martin in 1787

Barnsley George, 33 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire is a trade guild of metalworkers based in Sheffield, England.

It was incorporated in 1624 by an Act of parliament. The head is called the Master Cutler. Their motto is Pour Y Parvenir a Bonne Foi (To Succeed through Honest Endeavour)

In the original act of Parliament, the company was given jurisdiction over ‘all persons using to make Knives, Blades, Scissers, Sheeres, Sickles, Cutlery wares and all other wares and manufacture made or wrought of yron and steele, dwelling or inhabiting within the said Lordship and Liberty of Hallamshire, or within six miles compasse of the same’

This was expanded to include other trades by later acts, most notably steelmakers in 1860. In the same year the Company was given the right to veto any proposed name of a limited company anywhere in the United Kingdom which contains the word “Sheffield”. They also supply marks to approved cutlers and promote Sheffield steelware.

The company has been based at Cutlers’ Hall (opposite the cathedral on Church Street) since 1638.

The Company of Cutlers is an ancient Sheffield organisation set up 370 years ago to regulate and oversee the emerging cutlery industry. Established by an Act of Parliament and headed by a “Master Cutler,” it has since had jurisdiction over the making of cutlery and other metallic cutting implements in and around Sheffield.

Traditionally, the Company granted “marks” to newly qualified apprentices to signify their entitlement to work as independent cutlers (an important means of identification in the days when many people were illiterate); prevented fraudulent use of the “Sheffield” trade mark; and forged links between the business community and universities and colleges in the area.

The Company of Cutlers aims to maintain the high standards of the industry in Sheffield through the granting of awards, such as those for Cutlery and Silverware, Health and Safety and Technical Innovation, by recognising the achievements of local companies. In the modern era, the Master Cutler acts as Sheffield’s “Industrial Ambassador”, representing the industries of the area both nationally and internationally.

The ‘mark’ of George Barnsley & Sons Ltd was the ‘shoe’.

MASTER CUTLERS OF SHEFFIELD
1624-1925
(From Hallamshire Worthies’ by Rev W. Odom 1926)

In June, 1897, the late Mr. Charles Belk, a past Master Cutler, presented to the “Cutlers Company” two handsome brass tablets on which
the names and dates are deeply engraved. The tablets are on the grand staircase of the Cutlers’ Hall

1624 Robert Sorsby
1625 John Rawson
1626 William Warter
1627 William Webster
1628 Robert Sorsby
1629 John Webster
1630 William Creswicke
1631 Robert Stacie
1632 James Creswicke
1633 George Valiance
1634 William Walker
1635 Thomas Creswicke
1636 Richard Wilkinson
1637 John Crooke
1638 James Creswicke
1639 Robert Carr
1640 Robert Skargell
1641 Thomas Milward
1642 Richard Slack
1643 Richard Base
1644 William Pell
1645 William Warter
1646 Thomas Ludlam
1647 Maim Sorsby
1648 Robert Brelsforth
1649 Richard Jackson
1650 George Barnesley
1651 William Birley
1652 Thomas Bate
1653 Edward Barlowe
1654 William Crashawe
1655 Thomas Pearson
1656 John Webster
1657 Malin Sorsbie
1658 John Rawson
1659 William Creswicke
1660 Stephen Carr
1661 Robert Allin
1662 James Staniforth
1663 James Newton
1664 John Pearson
1665 Thomas Jeninges
1666 Nathaniel Robbinson
1667 George Creswicke
1668 John Webstarr
1669 Robert Soresbie
1670 Edward Barlow
1671 Richard Parramour
1672 Mathew Arnold
1673 John Sutton
1674 Castle Shemield
1675 William Crashaw
1676 James Newton
1677 John Pearson
1678 Thomas Jenings
1679 Joshua Baies
1680 Jonathan Webster
1681 Robert Nicholls
1682 John Winter
1683 Edward Badger
1684 William Ellis
1685 Thomas Tucker
1686 Benjamin Kerkbie
1687 John Webster
1688 Robert Breilsforth
1689 James Webster
1690 Joseph Downes
1691 John Webster
1692 Thomas Johnson
1693 John King
1694 John Trippet
1695 Robert Spooner
1696 Chris. Brumhead
1697 Richard Downes
1698 Andrew Wade
1699 Benjamin Pearson
1700 Robert Savage
1701 Richard Marsh
1702 Ephraim Nicholls
1703 John Pearson
1704 Edwd. Sanderson
1705 Joseph Nutt
1706 Ezra Cawton
1707 Geo. Cartwright
1708 John Downes
1709 James Hoole
1710 John Morton
1711 Samuel Smith
1712 *Samuel Twible
1713 Thomas Tooker
1714 Jonathan Birks
1715 William Moor
1716 Thos. Broadhead
1717 John Guest
1718 Tobias Ellis
1719 Peter Symon
1720 James Longsden
1721 James Crawshaw 1722 John Smith
1723 Jonathan Moor
1724 Jeremy Beet
1725 Thomas Redforth
1726 John Tooker
1727 Andrew Wade
1728 Andrew Wade
1729 Thomas Cotton
1730 Saml. Wainwright
1731 Thomas Wilson
1732 John Ward
1733 Cotton Watkin
1734 John Osborne
1735 Joseph Turner
1736 Joshua Cawton
1737 Joseph Shepherd
1738 Joseph Kenyon
1739 Jonath. Dixon, jr.
1740 Jonath. Dixon, sr.
1741 Richard Kent
1742 *Thomas Rose
1743 George Marriott
1744 John Spooner
1745 Joseph Leathly
1746 Robert Dent
1747 Edward Windle
1748 Leonard Webster
1749 George Smith
1750 William Hides
1751 Thos. Newbould
1752 Joseph Parkin
1753 Thomas Law
1754 Joseph Owen
1755 William Webster
1756 Benjamin Withers
1757 John Wilson
1758 Jonathan Moore
1759 Jos. Ibberson
1760 William Webster
1761 William Parker
1762 George Greaves
1763 Joseph Hancock
1764 Samuel Bates
1765 Joseph Bower
1766 William Birks
1767 John Turner
1768 Thomas Beely
1769 Jeremiah Ward
1770 Joshua Cawton
1771 William Trickett
1772 Robert Owen
1773 George Brittain
1774 Joseph Kenyon
1775 John Winter
1776 John Green
1777 Samuel Norris
1778 William Linley
1779 Josephus Parkin
1780 *John Rowbotham
1781 Peter Spurr
1782 Joseph Hawksley
1783 William Fowler
1784 Benj. Broomhead
1785 Thomas Settle
1786 Samuel Wilson
1787 Jonath. Watkinson
1788 Thomas Nowell
1789 Thos. Tillotson
1790 Joseph Ward
1791 George Wood
1792 John Henfrey
1793 Thomas Warris
1794 Benj. Withers
1795 William Birks
1796 J. Fletcher Smith
1797 John Linley
1798 S. B. Ward
1799 Benjamin Vickers
1800 Samuel Newbould
1801 Joseph Bailey
1802 Joseph Withers
1803 James Makin
1804 Wm. Nicholson
1805 John Eyre
1806 John Sorby
1807 Peter Brownell
1808 Ebenezer Rhodes
1809 Robt. Brightmore
1810 John Tillotson
1811 John Eadon
1812 James Smith
1813 John Holt
1814 Joseph Parkin
1815 James Makin
1816 Thos. Asline Ward
1817 George Tillotson
1818 John Fox
1819 John Hounsfield 1820 J. Dixon Skelton
1821 William Colley
1822 Thos. Champion
1823 Thomas Dewsnap
1824 Peter Spurr
1825 Henry Moorhouse
1826 William Sansom
1827 Samuel Hadfield
1828 James Crawshaw
1829 Philip Law
1830 Enoch Barber
1831 *John Blake
1832 ?Thomas Dunn (see below)
1833 Thos. Ellin, sen.
1834 John Sansom
1835 John Spencer
1836 Thos. Blake
1837 John Greaves
1838 Samuel Hadfield
1839 Samuel Smith
1840 James Moorhouse
1841 Thos. Ellin, Jr.
1842 Wm. Broadhurst
1843 Thos. Wilkinson
1844 Francis Newton
1845 William Butcher
1846 T. Burdett Turton
1847 Henry Mort
1848 Frederick Fenny
1849 Henry Atkin
1850 Sam Scott Deakin
1851 William Webster
1852 Michael Hunter
1853 Wm. A. Matthews
1854 Thomas Moulson
1855 ?F. Thorpe Mappin
1856 Geo. Wostenholm
1857 Wm. Hutchinson
1858-9 Robert Jackson
1860 Michl. Hunter, jr.
1861 George Wilkinson
1862 Henry Harrison
1863 Thomas Jessop
1864 Charles Atkinson
1865-6 ??John Brown
1867-8-9 Mark Firth
1870 William Bragge
1871 Thomas Turner
1872 Thos. E. Vickers
1873 Samuel Osborn
1874 George Wilson
1875-6 Edward Tozer
1877 David Ward
1878 Wm. H. Brittain
1879 Jos. B. Jackson
1880 Wm. Chesterman
1881 John E. Bingham
1882 Albert A. Jowitt
1883 George Barnsley
1884 J. E. Bingham
1885 Charles Belk
1886 Geo. F. Lockwood
1887 James Dixon
1888 S. E. Howell
1889 S. G. Richardson
1890 Robert Colver
1891 Robert Belfitt
1892 John F. Atkinson
1893 George Howson
1894 C. H. Bingham
1895 H. H. Andrew
1896 §Sir Alex. Wilson, Bart.
1897 *M. G. Rodgers
1898 F. C. Wild
1899 ??R. A. Hadfield
1900 R. G. Holland
1901 A. R. Ellin
1902 A. J. Hobson
1903 M. J. Hunter
1904 George Hall
1905 S. J. Robinson
1906 W. F. Osborn
1907 Henry H. Bedford
1908 Douglas Vickers
1909 Herbert Barber
1910 George Senior
1911 Arthur Balfour
1912 J. Rossiter Hoyle
1913 Thos. W. Ward
1914-17 Sir W. H. Ellis
1918 Sir A. Bingham,Bart.
1919 Lt.-Col. Henry K Stephenson 1920 William Clark
1921 Marmaduke Wardlow
1922 R. W. Matthews
1923 James Neill
1924 W. W. Wood, jr.
1925 Thos. R. Ellin

Mr. Thomas Dunn was the first Dissenter admitted to the office of Master cutler.