The Cutlers - Heritage

Historical Resources

Over the centuries, the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire has worked to ensure that good quality cutlery was made in Sheffield and that the city’s good name was protected from abuse. 

Its activities have generated a wealth of documents dealing with day-to-day business – minutes and account books, records of apprentices and Freemen, legal documents, letters and photographs. The Company’s archives are stored at the Cutlers’ Hall and represent a remarkable resource for research into family and local history, as well as relating to wider economic and business histories. These archives may be consulted by appointment though simple and straightforward email and postal enquiries can be answered free of charge. For genealogists, please note that the apprenticeship records containing biographical details end in 1814.

Details of the Company’s history and activities have been published in a number of books and articles. The Company currently has copies for sale of its latest publication ‘Mesters to Master’ edited by Clyde Binfield and David Hey, published by Oxford University Press in 1997 (ISBN 0-19-828997-9).

For more information, please contact us.