Cutlers' Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England, that is the headquarters of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire. [1] It is located on Church Street, opposite Sheffield Cathedral, in Sheffield City Centre.
Cutlers' Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England, that is the headquarters of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire. [1] It is located on Church Street, opposite Sheffield Cathedral, in Sheffield City Centre.
The current building is Sheffield's third Cutlers' Hall, the previous buildings, which were built in the same location, were constructed in 1638 and 1725. Prior to 1638, the cutlers met in rented accommodation with tradition saying that this was a public house on Fargate, although there is no documentary evidence to back this up.
The first Cutlers' Hall, a stone building with a slated roof, was built in 1638 at a cost of £155 15s 10d, of which £57 18s 4d was raised by subscription. The building was quickly found to be inadequate, having to be repaired on many occasions and in 1725, a new Cutlers' Hall was erected on the same site at a cost of £442 (equivalent to £59,991in 2021). It was an attractive, narrow Georgian three storeyed building with a string course cornice. Towards the end of the 18th century the Cutlers' Hall was used as an overspill court room as the Town Hall across Church Street could not cope with the increasing number of crimes. [2]
The Cutlers' Hall was built by Samuel Worth and Benjamin Broomhead Taylor at a cost of £6,500 (equivalent to £640,000in 2021). [3] Construction started in 1832 and it was opened in September 1833. The report in the Sheffield Independent of 7 September 1833 gives a description: [4]
The front is exceedingly handsome. It is to be regretted, that it could not have been a greater width, but considering the space to which it is limited, the design could scarcely have been improved. Two gas lights have very judiciously been placed at each extremity, which, when lighted, have a very happy effect, and shew the front to great advantage. The front is the Corinthian style of architecture. It consists of six columns and pilasters (from the example of the remains of the celebrated temple of Jupitor Stator), supporting a proporitionate entablature, which is surmounted by an enriched attic order, and crowned in the centre with the Cutler’s arms in bold relief. There is a door at each extremity of the front. That on the right opens into a spacious vestibule, 42 feet long by 11½ wide, ornamented with handsome Doric columns, having on the left a committee room, 25 feet by 23. Further on is the grand staircase, lighted from the dome, and ascending by a double flight of stops to the saloon. The saloon is 50 feet long by 16½ wide, finished at each end with segment niches, ornamented with fluted columns and Grecian antea, from the example of a building at Athens.
It was extended in 1865–7 to the designs of architects Flockton & Abbott when at a cost of £4,000 (equivalent to £380,000in 2021) [3] it was provided with a new banqueting hall, 110 feet (34 m) long by 50 feet (15 m) wide with a gallery for ladies. A new kitchen was installed with the capacity to provide dinner for 500 people. The banqueting hall was decorated by Messrs Rodgers of King Street, Sheffield. The two chandeliers which illuminated the room cost £500. [5]
Further extension took place in 1888 to the designs of the architect J. B. Mitchel-Withers. [6] The shop which stood to the west of the entrance in Church Street was demolished for the expansion of the hall frontage. The additional space on the ground floor was utilised for a board room. A stone from the original building bearing the words Cutlers’ Hall, 1638 was preserved in the new building. A new drawing room was provided on the first floor 69 feet (21 m) long by 25 feet (7.6 m) wide. The ladies’ gallery in the banqueting hall was extended to the full width of the room. A new stone staircase was installed connecting the banqueting hall with the lower hall. The contractors were Messrs. Ash, Son, and Biggin. The carving of the capitals was executed by Mr. Gilman of Sheffield. The paining was done by F. Jeckell, Glossop road, the stove grates were by Steel and Garland, the chimney pieces were from Messrs Yates, Haywood and Co., of Rotherham, the gas chandeliers were manufactured by Messrs. Hart, Sons, Peard and Co of Regent Street, London. The furniture was provided by Johnson and Appleyards. [7]
The Hall's front is of the Corinthian order. Behind the classical façade is an intricate series of rooms which reach back almost as far as Fargate. The banks neighbouring the Cutlers' Hall are in a similar style. One was designed by Samuel Worth in 1838, the other was completed in 1867.
There is a selection of old Hallamshire knives on show inside the hall, some of which go back to the Elizabethan era. Many of the knives were discovered by Thames mudlarks in the tidal mud of the River Thames in London. [8] Also on display is the Norfolk Knife, a very large pocket knife with 75 blades which was made by Joseph Rodgers and Sons at their Norfolk Street Works in Sheffield for the Crystal Palace Great Exhibition of 1851. [9] [10] [11]
The building is used for many of the grandest events in the city's civic and commercial life, for instance the annual Cutlers' Feast which became an annual event in 1648. For the years up to 2008, there were 372 Cutlers' Feasts, with breaks only for the World Wars and a cancellation in 1921. [12]
The Cutlers' Hall is maintained by the Cutlers' Hall Preservation Trust, a registered charity. [13]
The Worshipful Company of Cutlers is one of the ancient Livery Companies of the City of London. It ranks 18th in the order of precedence of the Companies.
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. Its motto is French: Pour Y Parvenir a Bonne Foi, lit. 'To Succeed through Honest Endeavour'.
Crosspool is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, located 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the city centre. The suburb falls within the Crookes ward of the City of Sheffield. It is a middle class residential area in an elevated position above the Porter and Rivelin valleys and stands at around 660 feet (200 m) above sea level. Crosspool is situated on the A57 road and is the last suburb on that road before the city boundary and open countryside is reached. In 2011 Crosspool had a population of 6,703.
Thomas Boulsover, was a Sheffield cutler who is best remembered as the inventor of Sheffield Plate. He made his fortune manufacturing various items, but especially buttons using the process, he later diversified into making cast steel and saws.
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The history of Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in a clearing beside the River Sheaf in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The area now known as Sheffield had seen human occupation since at least the last ice age, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the city did not occur until the Industrial Revolution.
The Sheffield & Tinsley Canal is a canal in the City of Sheffield, England. It runs 3.9 miles (6.3 km) from Tinsley, where it leaves the River Don, to the Sheffield Canal Basin in the city centre, passing through 11 locks. The maximum craft length that can navigate this lock system is 61 feet 6 inches (18.75 m) with a beam of 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m).
The Master Cutler is the head of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in Sheffield, England. The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of September of each year and the position taken in the first Tuesday of October. Despite the title, the Master Cutler does not have to be involved in the cutlery business, or even the steel industry, to be elected.
This timeline of Sheffield history summarises key events in the history of Sheffield, a city in England. The origins of the city can be traced back to the founding of a settlement in a clearing beside the River Sheaf in the second half of the 1st millennium AD. The area had seen human occupation since at least the last ice age, but significant growth in the settlements that are now incorporated into the city did not occur until the industrial revolution.
Fargate is a pedestrian precinct and shopping area in Sheffield, England. It runs between Barker's Pool and High Street opposite the cathedral. It was pedestrianised in 1973. Fargate also holds a Continental Market approximately 4 times a year, which includes European stalls selling cheeses, confectionery, clothing, plants and crafts including jewellery and ornaments.
High Street is one of the main thoroughfares and shopping areas in the city centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, located at the approximate grid reference of SK356874. High Street starts at the Commercial Street, Fitzalan Square and Haymarket junction and runs for approximately 400 metres west to conclude near the Sheffield Cathedral where it forms a Y-junction with Fargate and Church Street. High Street has the traditional wide variety of shops, financial institutions and eating places which are associated with any British town centre.
Church Street is situated in the centre of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, at the grid reference of SK353874. It runs for approximately 490 yards (450 m) in a westerly direction from its junction with Fargate and High Street to its termination at the crossroads formed by the junction with West Street, Leopold Street and Townhead Street. Church Street has its own Sheffield Supertram stop directly in front of the Sheffield Cathedral and it carries that name.
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