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This cutlery business was founded in 1858 by Warrington Slater (1838-1907), who owned it with his brother, Walter Slater (1840-1917). They were the sons of John Marriott Slater and Ann Warrington. John (d. 1871) was spring knife cutler in Garden Street and then Pea Croft. Warrington was described in the Census (1871) as a spring knife cutler and local preacher (he was a Baptist). The firm was first listed as W. & W. Slater in Eyre Street (at the factory of George Butler), but was soon known as Slater Bros. The company manufactured pen and pocket knives, table cutlery, Bowies and dirks, many of which were shipped to South American markets. The firm is known to have made pocket knives for Frederic Barnes & Co for shipment to South America.
In 1876, the firm moved to 94 Scotland Street. A full-page advertisement in a Sheffield directory (1884) announced: ‘Every Knife Made by Good Workmen … the Very Best Cast Steel Exclusively Used’. The number of patterns was precise: 5,914. Unwin & Rodgers’ knives and pistol-knives are pictured, perhaps because Slater had bought its old stock. Slater’s marks included
VENTURE’ and ‘BEEHIVE’. He acquired the latter in 1876 (it had been used by John Hinchliffe and also apparently by Cockhill). Slater later acquired ‘Y. NOT’ (once owned by George Ward). Slater’s factory was dubbed Beehive Works and by 1885 was in Fitzwilliam Street. Its gadget knives – such as one with a nickel-silver comb – received favourable comment in The Ironmonger, 19 September 1885. Warrington Slater recalled: ‘For about 39 or 40 years, we struggled hard, made a great deal of money, had large families, a good deal of expense attending their education and very considerable affliction through it all, but, right up to 1896 there was every prospect of both Slater Bros and myself becoming rich’ (Taylor, 1993). Slater ran a series of confident advertisements in the 1890s, featuring the firm’s razors and announcing: ‘BRITISH VICTORY: Neither France, Russia, nor Germany Can Produce Such Cutlery as That Manufactured by Slater. CRUSHING DEFEAT AWAITS ALL COMPETITORS’.
While the cutlery business prospered, however, Warrington had other schemes for enrichment. He became a property developer and built scores of houses in the Crookes’ area, where he himself lived. Warrington Road and Beehive Road record his involvement. However, Warrington over-reached himself and his property speculations ended in bankruptcy. Between 1900 and 1903, he was regularly in the news. He was sued for fraud (Sheffield Independent, 24 October 1900). That case was settled out of court. However, it was a prelude to a sensational trial, which led to the jailing of Alderman Charles Hobson JP for three months. Hobson was convicted of accepting £100 from Slater for ensuring that the Council would look favourably on Slater’s land purchases in Crookes (Sheffield Independent, 25 June, 6 July 1903). Hobson and Slater were partners in the Crookes Ganister & Brick Co. More bad publicity followed when Warrington’s wife attempted to claim on her bankrupt husband’s estate (Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 16 October 1903).
In 1903, Slater’s cutlery stock and trademarks were sold, and the ‘BEEHIVE’ mark passed to Marples & Co. Warrington Slater died at his home at 223 School Road, Crookes, on 5 May 1907, aged 69. He was buried in the General Cemetery (so, too, was his son Warrington, ‘cutlery manufacturer’, who had died on 17 November 1896, aged 31). Warrington Sen.’s eldest son, Herbert Marriott. Slater (1863-1953), started a new business. In 1907, he registered a silver mark (‘H.M.S’) at 105 Arundel Street – a compact, three-storied factory, later named Venture Works. In 1931, Herbert M. Slater Ltd was incorporated. Herbert re-established the family’s reputation for the production of most types of cutlery, but especially pocket knives and razors. He lived at Lydgate Lane and died on 4 June 1953, leaving £21,929.
Under his son and grandson – Warrington Percy Slater (1897-1983) and Warrington Denis Slater (1923-1994) – Slater’s was one of the survivors of the Sheffield cutlery trade in the twentieth century. In the inter-war period, it made pocket-knife materials – such as blade blanks, springs and liners – for many of the leading firms, such as Rodgers and Wostenholm. After 1945, it acquired several old names and marks. These included Jonathan Crookes; John Milner; M. Hunter & Son; Needham Bros; H. G. Long; Westby; W. & J.A. Baxter; and Albert Oates. The same ‘VENTURE’ mark was used with agreement by Thomas Glossop & Sons.
After the 1960s, Denis Slater acquired J. Dewsnap Bowler and Joseph Elliot & Sons. By the end of the 1980s, however, cutlery production had ceased at Venture Works. It had been many years since Slater’s own workers made the premium pocket-knives it sold (these were invariably made by outworkers, such as Stan Shaw and Graham Clayton, and then stamped with Slater or other marks). By the early 1990s, Denis Slater had sold the business and retired. He died on 26 February 1994 at his home at Curbar, near Sheffield, leaving £407,326. Venture Works was renovated and converted into offices.
<p>This cutlery business was founded in 1858 by Warrington Slater (1838-1907), who owned it with his brother, Walter Slater (1840-1917). They were the ...
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