Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Northern History so antientinthistownisnotonlycontinuedbutmuchencreased’. the forges,whicharealwaysatwork.Themanufactureofhardware,hasbeen streets narrow,andthehousesdarkblack,occasionedbycontinuedsmokeof Daniel Defoeobservedthat‘ThetownofSheffieldisverypopulousandlarge,the tary referencetoaSheffieldcutlercomesfrom1297, and jokedthatheexpectedtobe‘halfchokedwithtownsmoke’. Shrewsbury andlordofHallamshire,wroteabouthisforthcomingvisittoSheffield the firststeelfurnacewaserected.In1608afriendofGilbertTalbot,seventhEarl until justafter1700.Thetownwasknownasasmokycentreofindustrylongbefore Ą 1997), pp.1–39. Archaeological SocietyRecordSeries, be absorbedinthepricesoftheirproducts.The type ofsteelthatwasmadein reputation ofHallamshirecutlerythattransport costs fromlongdistancescould and theRhine,fromSwedenviaDanzig other Balticports.Suchwasthe they obtainedfromtheBasqueCountryviaBilbao, fromGermanyviaCologne Company wasformedin1624localcraftsmenwere working withforeignsteel,which the subsequenttriumphofSheffieldcutleryindustry. LongbeforetheCutlers’ certainly importantingettingtheindustryestablished, butitdoesnotaccountfor ironstone, whichranthroughSheffieldPark,wasusedbymedievalcutlersand cutting edgesoftheirknivesbeforeitwasmadelocally?TheTankersleyseam of centuriesindustrialactivity. The storyoftheSouthYorkshiresteelindustrymustbeseenagainstthisbackground century threeoutofeveryfivemenweredescribedintheparishregisterascutlers. national reputationforthemanufactureofknives.Bymiddleseventeenth meant cutlers’smithies.LongbeforetheIndustrialRevolution,Sheffieldhada 4 3 2 1

Where didtheHallamshirecutlersgetsteelthatwasnecessaryforsharp Mesters toMasters:AHistoryofthe CompanyofCutlersinHallamshire D. Defoe, Historical ManuscriptsCommission, Robertus leCotelere: The University of Leeds, 2005 DOI: 10.1179/174587005X38435 DOI: The UniversityofLeeds,2005 THE SOUTHYORKSHIRESTEELINDUSTRY AND THEINDUSTRIALREVOLUTION A TourthroughtheWholeIslandof GreatBritain

WAS , XLII:1,March2005

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CUTLERY wastaxedinSheffield;

TOWN XVI A CalendaroftheShrewsburyandTalbotPapers (1894),76. University ofSheffield longbeforeitbecameSteelCity.Thefirstdocumen- D LaySubsidy25EdwardiI AVID H (Everymanedition,1962), EY 1 butsteelwasnotmadethere , ed.C.BinfieldandD.Hey(Oxford, , ed.W.Brown,Yorkshire 3 , II By‘forges’Defoe 2 II , 183. Acenturylater, (1971), 296. 4 Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds Ph.D. thesis,whichwasawardedin1996. University ofSheffield,discoveredlaterdocumentarysourcesforhisunpublished the useofSpanishironin1537and1559 making steelatThryberghin1664; seeRotherhamArchives,Tookerdeeds,2/1. I 1996). growth oftechnology 1702 actuallycamefromGermanyorEnglishsources. 1681 orthe‘parcelofGermanSteel’recordedininventoryaSheffieldcutler ‘German ’thatwassoldtoHallamshirescissorsmithsbytheCutlers’Companyin made inEnglandduringthelaterseventeenthcentury.Wedonotknowwhether ‘German steel’,butthatbecameagenericnamewasappliedtocementationsteel It wasalsoknowninEnglandas‘Cullensteel’becauseitcameviaCologneor published thisintwovolumes. steelman completedaPh.D.thesisattheUniversityofSheffieldandsubsequently pioneering workwasthatofDrKennethBarraclough,whoinhislateryearsasa steel furnacessurviveinSouthYorkshireandsofarnositehasbeenexcavated.The steel in1742comesfromscattereddocumentarysources.Noremainsoftheearliest that edgeonceitwasmade. to makeitharder,moremalleableandeasygrindacuttingedge,hold available inEngland.Suchsteelwasasuperiorformofiron,whichhadcarbonadded Continental blastfurnacescamefromsmeltedironoreofabetterqualitythanwas 92 War. destruction ofhissteelworksbyParliamentarytroops atthebeginningofCivil in whichCharlesTookerofRotherhamcomplained toSirJohnReresbyaboutthe Steele w[h]ichwasLaydinthestawrehowseatSheffieldCastle’. , whonoted:‘Rec[eived]fromBawetrytheviijOctober1574vjBarrellsof imported steelcomesfromtheaccountbookofWilliamDickenson,bailiff as ‘blistersteel’becauseofthevarious-sizedblistersthatwereraisedonsurface. process wherebybarsofwroughtironwereconvertedtowhatwascommonlyknown came fromPraguein1574—someoneCentralEuropeinventedthecementation leadtradebybuildingwater-poweredsmeltingmills. did inthelocalironindustrybyintroducingcharcoalblastfurnaces,and George Talbot,sixthEarlofShrewsbury,tookapersonalinterestinthetrade,ashe local cutleryindustrywasorganizedthroughthemanorcourt,anditseemsthat period, 1660–1740, (1977),17and95. 12 11 10 9 8 7 (Leicester, 1991),pp.179–95. 6 5 All ourinformationfromtheperiodbeforeBenjaminHuntsmanfirstmadecrucible The firstevidenceforsteelmakinginSouthYorkshire comesfromaletterof1642 During thesecondhalfofsixteenthcentury—firstaccountprocess Sheffield Archives,MD192. Chesterfield WillsandInventories,1521–1603 N. Flavell,‘TheEconomicDevelopmentofSheffield, D. Hey, K. C.Barraclough, West YorkshireArchivesService, Leeds, MX/RIF.IowethisreferencetoDrEdgarIllingworth.Tooker was Hey, Barraclough, 12 TookerhadarrivedfromSomersetandlivedatMoorgate Hall,, Fiery Blades The FieryBladesofHallamshire:SheffieldanditsNeighbourhood,1660–1740 Steelmaking (TheMetalsSociety,2vols,1984). , p.184. Steelmaking beforeBessemer:1.BlisterSteel,thebirthofanindustry; 2.CrucibleSteel,the 6 andthenDrNevillFlavell,anothermaturestudentofthe , I , 48–50. SOUTH

5 YORKSHIRE In1991Iwasabletoaddhisaccountforthe , ed.J.M.BestallandD.V.Fowkes,DerbyshireRecordSociety, 7 ProbateinventoriesfromChesterfieldnote

STEEL c 8 buttheearliestSheffieldreferenceto . 1740–

INDUSTRY c .1820’ (unpub.Ph.D.thesis,SheffieldUniv. 11 9 Atthattime,the 10 Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds 1951, sowehaveanaccurate recordoftheprocess. inHoyleStreet.Themakingofcementation steelatthissitewasfilmedin only onetosurviveintactisthatwhichwasbuiltin the1830sbyfirmofDaniel twentieth century.VictorianSheffieldhadabout260 cementationfurnaces,butthe Hatchett in1796,talliedwiththemethodsthatwere stillinusethefirsthalfof second halfoftheeighteenthcentury,suchasthose of GabrielJarsin1765orCharles nicalities ofmakingcementationsteel.Heshowedthat visitor’sdescriptionsfromthe products. ThankstoDrBarraclough,wehaveathorough understandingofthetech- flourished becausetheexpandingcutleryindustry provided areadymarketforits Hallamshire tomeetlocaldemand.TheSouthYorkshire steelindustrytookrootand furnaces. By1740enoughcementationsteelwasprobably beingmadeinandnear great eventsthatwestilllabel‘TheIndustrialRevolution’. created buthisdescendantsbecamelandedgentrywasestablishedwellbeforethe known patternwherebytheoriginalentrepreneurlivedclosetoworksthathehad Sheffield Assembly’untilsheretiredtohernewhouseatRavenfieldPark.Thewell- town, by1716.Hisdescendantandheiress,ElizabethParkin,wasthe‘Queenof trades. HehadbuiltacementationfurnaceatBalmGreen,onthewesternedgeof old HallamshirefamilybasedatMortomleywhohadlongbeeninvolvedinthemetal Norton andTapton.AnotherearlysteelmasterwasThomasParkin,amemberofan to aprominentpositioninthetown,andhisdescendantsbecamelandedgentryat was alsoanironmasterandamerchant,thefirsttorisefromhumblebackground Lane, asitethatisshownonThomasOughtibridge’sviewofSheffieldin1737.Shore furnaces atthethennorthernedgeoftowninwhatbecameknownasSteelhouse Sheffield, onthesiteofdemolishedcastle.Soonafterwards,heerectedapair and Woodhouseabout1709becamethefirstpersontobuildasteelfurnacein and aprominentmemberoftheUpperChapelcongregation,builtfurnacesatDarnall in Kimberworthrecordedthehearthtaxreturnsof1672. works wasLionelCopley,theironmasterofWadworthHall,whohadasteelfurnace experience ofsteelmakingorwhyhemigratednorth.Anotherearlyownerasteel have hadafurnacelateron)isnotclear.Wedoknowwhetherheprevious but whetherhissteelworkswasinRotherhamorThrybergh(whereheisknownto from deeds,wills,inventories,andmaps. Forge,whereironhadbeenforgedsincethe1570s.Theevidencecomes Harrisons ofOrgreaveandtheStaceysBallifield—byJohnFell,clerkat Sheffield byminorgentryoryeomenfamilies—theArdronsofTreeton, eighteenth centuriesseveralfurnaceswereerectedintheruraldistrictsouth-eastof those thathadlongbeeninuseGermany.Duringthelateseventeenthandearly investing inthemetaltrades. Hall, Derbyshire,andtheSpencersofCannonCawthorne,whoprosperedby and Copleyweretypicalofmenfromgentryfamilies,suchastheSitwellsRenishaw perhaps unexpectedsourcesindicatethefragmentarynatureofevidence.Tooker 15 14 13 So wenowknowsomethingaboutthefirststeelmastersandnatureoftheir The earliestEnglishsteelworkswerecementationfurnacesthatmodelledon This furnaceisphotographedand described inD.Hey, This paragraphisbasedonBarraclough, The NationalArchives:PublicRecord Office,E179/262/15. Steelmaking DAVID 14 SamuelShore,thesonofaSheffieldmason , andFlavell,thesis.

A HistoryofSheffield HEY 15 (Lancaster,1998),pp.68–69. 13 Suchisolatedfindsin 93 Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds 94 a fewleases,maps,andwill toguideus, combined category.Thehistory ofMarshall’sworksispoorlydocumented,with just from theentriesinlaterdirectories;fact1821 Sheffielddirectoryhasalarge Flavell hasshownhowtheincreasingintegrationof thetwosteelprocessesisevident firms, notablythatofJohnMarshallMillsands,had bothtypesoffurnacesandDr advance. Weknowfromtheearliesttradedirectories thatbythe1780slargest documented andunfortunatelywehavefewproduction figurestoquantifythe the tradedirectories,butincreaseinsizeand numberoffurnacesisnotwell became increasinglypolluted.Thegrowthinthenumber offirmsisevidentfrom of firmsmakingcementationsteelroseandthesize offurnacesincreasedSheffield remained onaverymuchsmallerscalethanthatof cementation steel.Asthenumber acquired thewealthtobecomeagreatbenefactor. business andthehousethathebuiltinAttercliffeGreenisamodestone.Henever twenty yearshehadnorealcompetitors.Hewassatisfiedwitharelativelysmall nearly halftheEuropeanoutput.YetHuntsmankepthisinventionsecretandfor the midnineteenthcenturySheffielddistrictmade90percentofBritishsteeland almost aswellknownnationallyandinternationallyforitssteelcutlery.By had littleornoreputationoutsidethearea,butby1820Hallamshirewasprobably verter overahundredyearslater.BeforeHuntsman,theSheffieldsteelmakingdistrict mained thechiefmethodofcastinganingotsteeluntilBessemerinventedhiscon- ofcementationsteelinclaypotsor‘crucibles’firedtoahightemperature.Itre- bars he perfected amethodofmaking‘caststeel’,whichwas‘refined’fromtheends Yorkshire cementationsteel-makingdistrict,andaftermanyyearsoftrialerror Huntsman movedtoHandsworthin1742soasbeattheheartofSouth of anedge-toolindustryforwhichSheffieldsoonhadinternationalreputation. London astheleadingcentreofcutleryproduction,andstimulatedrapidgrowth superior steelgainedworldstatusforSheffield,enabledHallamshiretoovertake was themostimportantevermadeinSheffield.DrBarracloughhasshownthathis Revolution whosediscoveryofamethodmakinghighqualitysteelincrucibles 1704 ofQuakerparents,fullydeserveshisoldreputationasaherotheIndustrial drawing ontheirownworkexperience,tointerpretthem. evidence toguideusandtheexpertiseofindustrialarchaeologists,manythem on thesamesite.Fromnowwehavestandingstructuresaswelldocumentary the finestsurvivinglocalexampleandHallamshire’sbest-preservedcrucibleworksis that theGoddardsbuiltin1785atwhatisnowAbbeydaleIndustrialHamlet been activeinpreservingandresearchingthehistoryoflocalindustries.Thetiltforge different name),istheoldestsocietyofitskindincountry,andmembershave The SouthYorkshireIndustrialHistorySociety,founded70yearsago(albeitundera place likeSheffieldwasneverthelessreceptivetonewtechnologyfromcentralEurope. work inHallamshireby1740,fifteen1750.Hereagain,weseethatalandlocked reducing barironandsteel.Three‘tilts’ofadesignfirstusedinGermanywereat Hallamshire’s riverswereaccompaniedbyagrowingnumberoftilthammersfor 16 From the1760sproductionofhigh-qualitycrucible steelincreased,butit ,theDoncasterclockmakerwhohadbeenborninEpworth By themiddleyearsofeighteenthcenturygrindingwheelsandcornmillson K. C.Barraclough, Benjamin Huntsman,1704–6 SOUTH

YORKSHIRE (Sheffield,1976). 17 butinthelasttwoyears ARCUSteam

STEEL

INDUSTRY 16 Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds steel industrybetweentheNapoleonicWarsand AmericanCivilWar. market waslargelyresponsiblefortheremarkableexpansion oftheSheffieldcrucible been wellcoveredbyDrGeoffreyTweedale,who hasshownhowtheAmerican sources. ThesubsequenthistoryoftheSheffieldand Rotherhamsteelindustryhas as Huntsmanhadshown,andnearlyallthecapitalthat wasinvestedcamefromlocal could makehisfortune,howeverhumblebeginnings. Thetradewaseasytoenter, the handicraftskillsofitsworkforce.Aclever,hard-working,risk-takingmechanic other cutlerywares,especiallyfortheAmericanmarket. cementation steel,madetheirowntools,andthenproducedrazors,penknives largest businessinthetownatthattime.Theworkersthereconvertedandmelted heart ofthetown,isregardedasSheffield’sfirstself-containedfactory,byfar opened in1823fouryearsafteracanalhadconnectedtheDonnavigationto a multiplicationofsmallunitstraditionalkind.Greaves’sSheafWorks,which important sourceofpowerthansteam.Themanufacturecutleryexpandedthrough streets remainedthetypicalunitsofcutleryproduction,andwateramore sonably well,buttheassociatedcutleryindustrydoesnot.Smallworksinback Although welackproductionfigures,theSheffieldsteelindustryfitsthismodelrea- urbanisation, andtheywereparticularlymarkedinthecottonironindustries. expansion ofmarkets.Thesechangeswereassociatedwithpopulationgrowthand machinery, theemploymentoflargenumberspeopleunderoneroof,and argued thatchangewasmanifestinlarge-scaleproduction,theuseofsteam-powered massive industrialchangeinthelatereighteenthandearlynineteenthcenturies.He business historiesofindividualfirms,whereversufficientdocumentationsurvives. Sheffield Univ.1996). Beauchamp forherUniversityofSheffieldPh.D.,awardedin1996. for theAmericanmarket.SuchbuildingshavebeensurveyedbyDrVictoria files, razors,chisels,planesandhigh-qualitycutlery,pocketknivesBowie Butcher, whohadinheritedacutlerybusinessthatwentbackto1725,madesteel, steam-powered Butchers’WheelinArundelStreet,whereWilliamandSamuel The bestsurvivingexamplefromtheprosperous1840sand1850sisbrick-built, and natureofthelargestintegratedfirmsfirsthalfnineteenthcentury. that thesizeofoperationwasconsiderable.Standingstructuresalsoreveal the firsttimethatsuchasitehasbeenexcavatedandarchaeologistshaveshown ably datetothefirstquarterofnineteenthcentury,andacruciblefurnace.Thisis cementation furnaceofthe1780s,twodouble-chestfurnacesthatprob- of thebuildinganinnerringroadandhaveidentifiedasingle-chest,stone-built of archaeologistsatSheffieldUniversityhaveexcavatedtheMillsandssiteinadvance and Cammell. American tradebythesteelfirmsofSanderson,Jessop, Vickers,Greaves,Butcher, tion tothevasttradeincutleryandedgetools.Large fortunesweremadefromthe years athirdormoreofthetown’ssteeloutputwas sentacrosstheAtlantic,inaddi- 19 18 17 In thefirsthalfofnineteenthcenturysteelindustrywasstilldependenton Arnold ToynbeecoinedthetermIndustrialRevolutiontodescribeperiodof G. Tweedale, V. A.Beauchamp,‘TheWorkshops oftheCutleryIndustryHallamshire,1750–1900’(unpub.Ph.D. thesis, Sheffield Archives,Fairbank,SheS 1494S;ACMleasebook,S379,fol.232 Steel City:Entrepreneurship,Strategy, andTechnologyinSheffield,1743–1993 DAVID

HEY 18 Wenowneed, (Oxford,1995). 19 Ingood 95 Published by Maney Publishing (c) University of Leeds Revolution werecompletely overshadowedbythoseofthereignVictoria. porated aresareadded.Clearly,theeventsof classicperiodoftheIndustrial grown from135,310in1851to380,7931901,or wellover400,000ifnewlyincor- Brown’s, Cammell’s,Hatfield’s,andFirth’s.Meanwhile, Sheffield’spopulationhad up totheFirstWorldWarfilledorderbooksof Sheffield’ssteelfirms—Vickers, the greatestproducersofarmamentsthatworld hadeverknown.Thearmsrace remained theleadinginternationalcentreforspecial .Ithadalsobecomeoneof and GermanyhadovertakenBritainasbulkproducers ofsteel,butSheffield were manymoreasSheffieldsteelmakingbecamescience-led. By1890bothAmerica Robert Hatfieldin1882andofstainlesssteelbyHarry Brearleyin1912,butthere First WorldWar.Thetwooutstandingdiscoveries were thoseofmanganesesteelby remarkable propertiestoelementsotherthancarbon —werediscoveredbeforethe duction ofspecialsteels.Mostthemajoralloysteels—thosethatowedtheir critical applications. fitable tradeinrails,butitwasunsuitableforcutleryandedgetoolsthemore wrought ironindustryandallowedBrown’sCammell’stobuildupaverypro- steel ofahigherqualitythandidtheconverters.TheBessemerprocessreplaced Bessemer processthanincrucibles,thoughtheoldmethodcontinuedtoproduce The ageofbulk-steelmanufacturehadbegun.By1870moresteelwasmadebythe them toinstalltheirownconverters;Brown1860,Cammell1861,SamuelFox1862. Sheffield steelmakerssoonbegantotakeoutlicencesfromBessemerthatallowed In 1858HenryBessemermovedfromLondontoopenaworksinCarlisleStreet,and next totherailway,whichcouldimportcokeandcoalexportfinishedproducts. modate largebusinesses,whereastheeastendofferedspace,lowrentsandlevelsites with sixcrucibleholesandonlyafewemployees.Thetowncentrecouldnotaccom- tical men,experiencedinthelocaltrades.ThomasFirth,forexample,started1842 his sons,ThomasFirthandJohnBrownJessop—wereprac- steel-manufacturing centre. developments allowedSheffieldtoretainitspositionastheworld’smostfamous manufactured bynewmethods,startingwiththeBessemerconverter.These was madeincrucibleandcementationfurnaces,butfromthe1860sitlargely their maincustomers.Atfirst,thesteelthatwasproducedineastendofSheffield responded quickly.Thesteelmanufacturersnolongerregardedthecutlersas the worldcreatedademandforsteelandmachinetools,Sheffieldfirms 96 (Sheffield, 1997). mythological giants:Hecla,Atlas,andCyclops. their Aetnaworks,thusstartingatraditionofnamingsteelworksaftervolcanoesor moved outoftowntotheflatlandsineastendparish,wheretheyfounded to thenationalrailnetworkatRotherham,whenSpear&Jackson,sawmakers, what wasstilltocome.Anewphasebeganin1837,asSheffieldbeingconnected try oftheclassicperiodIndustrialRevolutionwassmallwhencomparedwith with the14,531of1736.Clearly,changeshadbeenenormous.Yetsteelindus- 20 The sixtyyearsbetween1860and1920wereatimeofgreatingenuityinthepro- The ownersoftheeast-endsteelworks—CharlesCammell,EdwardVickersand By 1851thepopulationofnewboroughSheffieldwas135,310,compared This andthenexttwoparagraphs arebasedonD.Hey,M.Olive,andLiddament, SOUTH

YORKSHIRE

STEEL 20 Thebuildingofrailwaysthroughout

INDUSTRY Forging theValley