Walker & Hall Cutlery

[giddaymate]

Does anyone know if Walker & Hall made their cutlery in any other city or country other than Sheffield UK?

[CHAIRBOY]

Does anyone know if Walker & Hall made their cutlery in any other city or country other than Sheffield UK?

 

Can't give you a definitive answer but I looked this name up on Google within the past fortnight. I was watching one of those teatime auction programmes and there was a case of two serving spoons. Inside the lid of the box, it read: Walker & Hall Cutlery Sheffield - which is why I took an interest in the follow-up.

There appears to be a jewellery company of that name in New Zealand. Whether there is a link, I wouldn't know?

[lazarus]

They only made Cutlery in their factory in Sheffield,the factory was roughly where the Cafe Rouge is now near the Peace Gardens. They had stores all over the world selling their products and eventually the Jewellery side took over when the firm went, they only sold high class silver and the jewellery filled that niche.

[Sotrondog]

I have been doing family history research recently, and found that my great grandfather used to work as head sales person for Walker and Hall, I think from the 20s right up to the late 50s/early 60s. The building he worked inwas the original Electro Works.

 

The local history section of Sheffield Library have a wealth of information about the company and catalogues of their products etc. All very fascinating finding out about this, although I'm still trying to find a photograph of him, and nobody in my family seem to have one!

[Texas]

Wasn't Walker and Halls just off Howard St somewhere? My Grandad (on my father's side) worked there all his life and got paid off just like the rest when he got to sixty five. He worked (did the chasing), on a silver cigarette box which he presented to the Princess Royal (at the time). He got a clock.

[helbco]

Wasn't Walker and Halls just off Howard St somewhere? My Grandad (on my father's side) worked there all his life and got paid off just like the rest when he got to sixty five. He worked (did the chasing), on a silver cigarette box which he presented to the Princess Royal (at the time). He got a clock.

 

My grandfather also worked there - not sure of the exact dates but would have been late Second World War until maybe 1950. We have one family story of him working at his bench after the war when a group of Japanese visitors were shown around. He immediately downed tools and covered his work bench - he didn't want them copying his work! He also made a trowel for Churchill to lay a foundation stone in Sheffield

Sadly, we don't have very much of his work in our family

[dangerus1]

I think some time in the sixties they were taken over by Mappin & Webbs.who had been taken over themselves and later the group morphed into The British Silverware Co.

This was the time before cheap air travel and the Atlantic was crossed by the great liners P & O etc and the tableware was made to a terrific standard, after so many trips everything was returned for refurbishment.

There's talk on this forum of Viners and Sippels, Richards but they were just tat at the side of these great companies where quality reigned supreme.

[poppins]

I worked at W&H for a few years in the packing dept, I bought quite a few nice pieces when they closed down, I know there was quite a lot of stealing going on around that time, a couple of the bosses got caught stealing then selling to the workers (me for one, I bought quite a lot, but not enough now I look back,) one got some jail time. A girl Vera worked on the line doing the last polishthe woman beside her had a couple of fingers missing, both were a good laugh....well all the women were,

[RobertDSmith]

I wonder what happened to the copper flag that flew from the mast on top of the Howard St. building. It was always a symbol of what Sheffield stood for, just the best !

Bob.

[Kiwi Guy]

Hi.

My Great grandfather also apparently worked at Walker and Hall during the same time period as Sotrons. His name was Frank Downing and he died in 1959. I am in New Zealand and trying to research much of my families Sheffield past however I don't really have much to do with my grandfather so the genealogical data i have traced so far is fairly limited. He is fairly old now and forgetful which also doesn't help when trying to research. any info on Frank would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks very Much.

Reuben