Steel blades: made in Sheffield, 1624– 1924
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Abstract
This paper gives examples of the type of information in the Cutlers’ Company archives relating to the manufacture and use of steel in Sheffield for 300 years after the Cutlers’ Company was founded. In 1624 a Parliamentary Act of Incorporation established the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, the purpose being to give it the authority to enforce its rules on the cutlery industry centred on Sheffield – one requirement being that all blades must have an edge of steel. The Company archives record its own internal business as well as its efforts as merchants and manufacturers of steel, and how the Company became a powerful lobby, especially after steel manufacturers were entitled to the freedoms of the Company in 1860. These under-researched records are held at the Cutlers’ Hall.
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