The History of ...

1830s

Despite the early boom for the Ibbotson Brothers, the firm was severely affected by financial crises from 1837.

Henry Ibbotson had moved to New York in the early 1930s to market the firm’s steel and products, which by this time also included the Bowie knife. In 1833 Henry married and settled in the US, and in 1837 the partnership with William was dissolved.

William continued the business without Henry, but by the late 1830s, exporting to the US was becoming more difficult due to the increasing competition of American based tool manufacturers.

Charles Cammell: Sheffield steelmaking giant

Charles Cammell, one of the steelmaking giants, was born in Hull, and came to Sheffield in 1830 at the age of 21. He found work at the Globe Works with the Ibbotson Brothers firm, initially as a commercial traveller, in which he proved eminently successful.

He left the company in 1837 and set up a new business with Thomas Johnson under the title ‘Johnson, Cammell & Company’ as steel and file manufacturers and merchants. The firm prospered. After Johnson’s death in 1855, Cammell continued under Charles Cammell & Company and by 1861 commenced in the manufacturing of rails and railway material, followed by armour plates.

Charles Cammell died in 1879, but the company (and his name) continued and in 1903 it merged with Laird Brothers, shipbuilders in Birkenhead, and became ‘Cammell Laird & Co Ltd.’ This enabled the company to begin manufacturing armoured warships. Later, in 1929, it merged with Vickers Ltd to form ‘Metropolitan-Cammell Carriage and Wagon Co Ltd’. It wasn’t until 2001 that the company was acquired by A&P Shiprepair.

1850s - 1860s

By 1851, the financial situation for Ibbotson Brothers Company had improved enough for them to mount a successful display at the Great Exhibition in London. The company provided an excellent exhibition of ivory-tipped and stag-handled table knives and forks, dessert knives and forks, venison carvers and American hunting knives. However, pride of place was given to their cast steel and edge tools, for which a Prize Medal was obtained.

William Ibbotson died in 1852, and the company passed to his widow, Mary, and sons William F. Ibbotson and Alfred B. Ibboston. His other sons Henry and Samuel also became active in the firm who had staffed their Manhattan office. Although their transatlantic trade has continued, the start of the American Civil War in 1861 disrupted the usual trading channels, and American manufacturers were quick to take advantage.

With the decline in US trade, the Ibbotson’s left the Globe Works, and sold to John Walters & Co. in 1862. The Ibbotson’s moved to premises on Alma Street and Russell Street, and named their new factory ‘Globe Steel Works’.

John Walters & Co. had been trading at the Globe Works since around 1850. In 1851, John Walters also exhibited at the Great Exhibitions, and won a Prize Medal. According to the 1851 census, he employed 300 workers making the firm one of the largest in Sheffield at the time.

Their move to the Globe Works in the 1850s from Craver Street, coincided with the heyday of the American trade. John Walters & Co. although made a variety of table and dessert knives and forks and palette knives, they specialised in Bowie and dagger knives. Some of their products were outstanding and were displayed at the Cutlers’ Hall.

When John Walters & Co. operated the Globe Works in its entirety in 1862, the company were advertised as ‘Manufacturers of Every Description of Table and Spring Cutlery’. However, it also traded as a steel and tool merchant. John Walters had married Eliza, the sister of Philip Unwin, the founder of Unwin & Rodgers.

The ownership of the Globe Works by John Walter was short lived, as the collapse in the American trade claimed another victim. In 1864 John Walters & Co. sold its stock and entered bankruptcy proceedings.

In 1865, the Globe Works was occupied by Unwin & Rodgers who acquired John Walters & Co.’s name and trademarks. Unwin & Rodgers was established c. 1828 by Philip Unwin and James Rodgers, and were advertised as manufacturers of pen, pocket and desk knives, pearl slides, clasps and buckles, based in Charles Street. Rodgers died soon after, however, in 1829, and so the business continued under Philip Unwin.

Under Philip Unwin the company expanded with the booming American trade, and by the end of the 1830s the company was marketing ‘Self-Defence Knives’; lock and sneck knives, daggers and dirks. They went on to produce a distinctive ‘pistol-knife’ which was a pocketable combination weapon that had a folding dagger with small percussion pistol built into the handle.

Unwin & Rodgers were prolific advertisers, and provided a fine show at the Great Exhibition in 1851, winning a Prize Medal.

As with the other companies, Unwin & Rogers relied heavily on the American market. When the US trade slumped, Philip Unwin attempted to improve the situation by purchasing John Walters & Co. trademarks and began to occupy the Globe Works as well as continuing to occupy their established company premises at Rockingham Street.

Although Unwin & Rodgers occupied part of the Globe Works, much of the Works was tenanted by this time. The arrangement of multiple firms occupying a works complex was commonplace and continued the tradition of ‘Little Mesters’ works.

1920s - 1970s

Albert Sanders, formerly a table knife grinder, became a cutlery manufacturer at the Globe Works around 1925. In 1931 he partnered with Charles William Bowers to create Sanders & Bowers. In 1932, however, Bowers withdrew from the partnership. Albert Sanders’ sons, Albert, Ronald and Frederick, joined him in the business which became Ltd. in 1947. The company produced stainless cutlery, electro-plate, case goods, spoons, forks and pen knives. Their ‘Friar’ mark was acquired from George Gill & Sons. Albert Senior died in 1954, but his sons went on to create the ‘Friar Edge’ range of kitchen knives. Sanders & Bowers Ltd was bought by John Price in 1978, of Arthur Price & Company Ltd (Later Arthur Price of England).

In the 1950s, the assets and trademark for Ball Brothers & Company were acquired by George Barnsley, located adjacent to the Globe Works.

By the 1970s, the cutlery and steel industry in Sheffield was in a steep decline. In 1970, Sheffield Town Planning Committee called for the Globe Works to be delisted so that it could be demolished to make way for an urban motorway. However, the request was declined. Subsequently, 1978 saw the closure of the Globe Works. The Works fell into dereliction and was extensively damaged by an arson attack in the same year.

1990s

Velocity Estates bought the Globe Works in 1994 after the Leadmill Association went into insolvency. Velocity Estates undertook a complete refurbishment, retaining as much of the original fabric of the building as possible, and created approximately 30,000 square feet of office space.