A little mester is a self-employed worker who rents space in a factory or works from their own workshop. They were involved in making cutlery or other smallish items such as edge tools (i.e. woodworking chisels). The term is used almost exclusively to describe the craftsmen of the Sheffield area, and is mostly archaic as this manner of manufacture peaked in the 19th century and has now virtually died out. [1] Little mesters either worked alone or employed a small number of workers and/or apprentices. [2]
Stan Shaw, referred to as one of the last little mesters, died in 2021. [3]
The origins of the term are uncertain. [4] Mester is the Sheffield dialect variant of master, [5] Thus a little mester refers to a master craftsman working on a small scale. Prior to the 18th century cutlery manufacture in Sheffield had been undertaken by individual master craftsmen who would make an item from start to finish. In the late 18th century there was a large increase in the size complexity of the cutlery and tool industries that made it necessary for craftsmen to focus on a single stage of the manufacture. [2] Cutlery factories then rented workshops to self-employed craftsmen, the little mesters, each specializing in one step of production, such as forging, grinding or finishing.
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters traditionally worked with natural wood and did rougher work such as framing, but today many other materials are also used and sometimes the finer trades of cabinetmaking and furniture building are considered carpentry. In the United States, 98.5% of carpenters are male, and it was the fourth most male-dominated occupation in the country in 1999. In 2006 in the United States, there were about 1.5 million carpentry positions. Carpenters are usually the first tradesmen on a job and the last to leave. Carpenters normally framed post-and-beam buildings until the end of the 19th century; now this old-fashioned carpentry is called timber framing. Carpenters learn this trade by being employed through an apprenticeship training—normally 4 years—and qualify by successfully completing that country's competence test in places such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and South Africa. It is also common that the skill can be learned by gaining work experience other than a formal training program, which may be the case in many places.
Cutlery includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffield in England has been famous for the production of cutlery since the 17th century and a train – the Master Cutler – running from Sheffield to London was named after the industry. Bringing affordable cutlery to the masses, stainless steel was developed in Sheffield in the early 20th century.
The Kelham Island Museum is an industrial museum on Alma Street, alongside the River Don, in the centre of Sheffield, England. It was opened in 1982.
Worrall is a small rural village in the civil parish of Bradfield within the boundary of the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It stands in an elevated position at a height of approximately 230 metres and is 4 miles (6.5 km) north west of Sheffield City Centre. The village has an area of 233 hectares and a population of 1,306 in 2006. At the time of the 2011 Census this village fell within the Stannington ward of the City. Gives details of population and area of village. Although a distinct village, Worrall has tenuous borders with the Sheffield suburbs of Wadsley, Middlewood and Loxley to the south and east and with the adjoining village of Oughtibridge to the north; to the west is a rural area extending out towards the village of High Bradfield.
The factory system is a method of manufacturing using machinery and division of labour. This is because of the high capital cost of machinery and factory buildings, factories were typically privately owned by wealthy individuals who employed the operative labour. Use of machinery with the division of labour reduced the required skill level of workers and also increased the output per worker.
David Rogerson Mellor was an English designer, manufacturer, craftsman and retailer.
Little Glitches are a folktronica collective from Sheffield, UK. The group formed in 2004 after collaborating and writing together in previous bands. The founding members of the collective are Andrew Bolam, Gavin Harris (drums), Iain Stewart, and Sam Smith. All four members share vocal duties and they have been noted for their strong four part harmonies and song writing in numerous newspaper and magazine articles; such as Sandman magazine, Dazed & Confused magazine and the Sheffield Telegraph. Since 2010 the band has begun taking a more collective based approach to their music making, working independently and jointly with other local musicians. During 2012 several new demo tracks appeared on their website blog and there are rumours of new releases in 2013.
Arthur Price is a Sheffield-based manufacturer of cutlery and silverware, originally established in Birmingham, England in 1902, and later moving to Sheffield. It opened a subsidiary plant again in Birmingham and by the 1950s was the biggest manufacturer of stainless steel cutlery in the country. By the 1990s the company had shifted towards provision, supply and branding, rather than manufacture, of cutlery. It has been owned and managed by five generations of the Price family.
Viners is a United Kingdom brand of cutlery, kitchenware and dinnerware products, founded in 1901 in Sheffield, England by Adolphe Viener and his sons. By the 1960s, it had expanded to subsidiaries in Ireland, Australia and France. In mid-2000, Oneida, of the United States, paid $25 million in cash for Viners which was put into administration on 30 October 2014. Merseyside-based Rayware, a privately owned housewares group, bought Viners out of administration for £1.6 million in November 2014 and in 2015 set about "reinvigorating the brand".
Bodging is a traditional woodturning craft, using green (unseasoned) wood to make chair legs and other cylindrical parts of chairs. The work was done close to where a tree was felled. The itinerant craftsman who made the chair legs was known as a bodger or chair-bodger.
Thiers Issard or Thiers Issard Sabatier is a French cutlery manufacturer; they are one of a number of companies using the Sabatier name. It exports a wide range of knives and straight razors to approximately thirty countries. They are viewed as one of the top cutlery firms in Europe.
Mester is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
The Western Knife Company was a manufacturer of hunting knives which began operations in Boulder, Colorado in 1911. The company is probably best known for its "Bowie" style hunting knives. The company was purchased by Coleman in 1984. Camillus Cutlery Company purchased Western in 1992. In February, 2007, Camillus closed as a result of bankruptcy due to competition from companies making cheaper knives in other countries. The Western brand and Camillus brand are now owned by the Acme United Corporation and manufactured in Asia.
The Little Master may refer to:
The Globe Works are a former cutlery factory situated in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England on Penistone Road in the suburb of Neepsend. The Works are a Grade II* Listed Building which in the late 1980s were renovated to provide modern office space. It is part of the Kelham Island Conservation Area.
Leah's Yard is a former collection of small industrial workshops situated on Cambridge Street in the city centre of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. Although now in a run down state, the building has been designated as a Grade II* listed building because of its importance as an example of Sheffield's industrial heritage.
Butchers Wheel or Butcher Works is a former cutlery and tool factory in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The last of the manufacturing tenants left in 2004. The building is a listed historic site, and is now used for residential and retail purposes.
The Beehive Works are a purpose built cutlery works located on Milton Street in the Devonshire Quarter area of Sheffield city centre. The works were built in stages in the second half of the 19th century and are designated as a Grade II* listed building with English Heritage stating that they are of special architectural and historic interest as an examples of buildings associated with Sheffield's metal manufacturing and metal working trades. The works stand adjacent to the Taylor's Eye Witness Works and together they make Milton Street one of the best places to gain an impression of Sheffield’s former cutlery industry.
Ken HawleyMBE was a British tool specialist and industrial historian: he was a tool retailer, collector of tools and authority on the history of Sheffield manufacturing trades. He amassed what is recognised as one of the most significant collections of its type in the world. The Hawley Collection is now housed at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield, England.
Stan Shaw was a little mester from Sheffield, England.