MADE IN SHEFFIELD (1954) film no: 1990
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This is a film made by Mr Ibberson when he was Master Cutler at Sheffield. It shows aspects of the Master Cutler’s Hall and the process of making hand-made cutlery in a small factory.
Title - Made in Sheffield
The film opens with a view over Sheffield Town Hall and the city centre, showing trams and City Hall. In the industrial are of Sheffield, the smoking chimneys of the factories can be seen along the skyline. There is a close-up of an emblem with a figure of an elephants head. Inside the Cutler’s Hall, a young woman descends the staircase, knocks on the door of the Master Cutler, and enters. The Master Cutler shows her a book of old records and then a plaque on the wall of previous occupants of the post, going back to 1624 with Robert Sorsby. They look through another old book with records belonging to the previous Master Cutler, showing the 315th Cutler’s Feast of 17th April, 1951. There is a signature of ‘Elizabeth R’ and ‘Philip. They then look at a collection of coins mounted on a wall and a letter of thanks to M Hunter, Master Cutler, signed by ‘Palmerston’. The two of them go to the main meeting room.
In the next scene, an elderly man works an old forge. Here he bangs a red hot piece of metal into shape on an anvil. He stokes his furnace and works a bellow. There is a close-up of a pen knife blade. The woman is then shown around by another man, stopping to watch a workman sharpening a blade on a grindstone. They walk through the factory and watch another workman using an implement with a bow and string. He holds this against his chest and, using a parser he makes a slot in a piece of mother and pearl.
The woman then views a selection of finished pen knives. A workman fashions a blade from red hot steel using a mechanical hammer, and another uses a grinder. Then a woman polishes blades in one machine, and another uses a machine which holds many blades at once. In another room, a workman attaches handles to the knives, one at a time. These he then checks to make sure that they are straight. An engraver uses a machine for engraving the maker’s name, and ‘Made in Sheffield.’ This machine engraves several knives simultaneously. Mr Ibberson and the young woman move into a dining room where they are shown different types of cutlery, from the very small to the very large, possibly by Mrs Ibberson. The film closes with a shot of the table laid out with cutlery.
Title - The End
Written and Produced by Arthur Swinson
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This is one of many films made by a local amateur filmmaker, “Billy” Ibberson, over a period of 60 years. As well as making films related to his work, most of Ibberson’s films were of the family – see Yorkshire Beaches (1945), on holiday in Filey and Bridlington, and Horse Drawn Tram and Ibberson Family (1946). Born in 1902, William Ibberson was the son of a wealthy Sheffield steel maker, George Ibberson. The original company of which Ibberson was the owner went back to the 17th century, and was the first company to manufacture stainless steel cutlery. It still exists today. In fact this film was made just a year after the steel industry had been re-privatised, just three years after being nationalised by Labour –see Nationalisation – Take It Away (1948). The writer and producer of the film, Arthur Swinson, went on to work in TV, and wrote a book about this work (References).
The company that Ibberson owned – it was not a plc – went back to the 17th Century, when it was part of the Company of Cutlers of Hallamshire, formed in 1624 by an Act of Parliament, regulating the cutlery industry in the Sheffield area. Steel making in the region – making swords and arrow heads – goes back as far as records begin. The Act empowered ‘Searchers’ to go out and destroy poor workmanship. Made in Sheffield was filmed when Ibberson was voted Master Cutler of Sheffield, in 1954; and Ibberson can be seen in the film going through some records with an unknown woman (possibly his wife Lillian Ibberson, née Skinner, herself the daughter of a Sheffield steel maker). Until the middle of the 19th century, Master Cutlers were involved in the manufacture of knives. This was changed in the mid-19th century to include other steel trades, and Ibberson was one of the few Master Cutlers who was a cutler. For more on the steel industry in general see Men of Steel, made by Charles Chislett in 1948, and on stainless steel see Hub Of The House (1945).
Ibberson started out taking and developing his own photographs, but was inspired by the potential of cine film to start filming in the 1920s, and carried on into the 1970s. His general belief in high standards led to developing himself into an accomplished filmmaker. He always took a camera with him, sometimes two, wherever he went. Many of the films made by Ibberson were of family occasions, such as weddings and holidays. He would often ‘direct’ his family to produce interesting film. He would then edit together 400/800 feet reels from the original 100 foot reels, and, having been sent to Kodak for processing, would show home screenings for family and friends. It isn't known who the young woman is who Ibberson shows around the Cutler's Hall.
However, Ibberson worked to promote Sheffield industry at home and abroad, and he made a number of films as part of this. As a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce he made visits overseas, both before and during the war, to promote Sheffield trade. Some of these trips he filmed, especially in the U.S., of Washington, New York (the Brooklyn Bridge being built), Chicago and New Mexico. He made films for the Chamber of Commerce and the Company of Cutlers, which he would also show adding his own commentary. Ibberson was also active in many other organisations, and he filmed civic events such as VE day and VJ day. The Collection is now held with the YFA. For more on George Ibberson see the Context for his films cited above.
One of the most important projects that Ibberson became involved in was the restoration and preservation of Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet. This ceased operating in 1934 and the 'Society for the Preservation of Old Sheffield Tools' – forerunner of the Sheffield Trades Historical Society – campaigned for it to be made into a museum. Thanks to a gift to Sheffield Corporation by the J G Graves Trust this looked as if it would happen, until, just after the war, the council changed its mind. However, along with the former owner, Donald Tyzack – from another famous family of Sheffield steelmakers – Ibberson was one of a group of people who organised the Chamber of Commerce to work weekends in clearing the site. They set up the Council for the Conservation of Sheffield Antiquities in 1954, and this worked towards the museum eventually being fully opened to the public in 1970. Some of the conservation work for this was filmed by Ibberson between 1963 and 1966 as Abbeydale Works.
References
Sheffield Libraries Archives and Information, A Short History of Sheffield
Peter Smithurst, The Cutlery Industry, Shire Publications, 1987.
Arthur Swinson, Writing for Television, Adam & Charles Black, London, 1963
For working conditions in the steel industry see the BBC Radio Ballads, The Song of Steel
Duration:
13 mins 23 secs |
 16mm |
 Silent |
 Black & White |
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1 Comment
The factory shown is George Ibberson & Co, Rockingham Street, Sheffield. The firm was particularly noted for its pocket knives.
Besides the 'lead' in this film -- the Master Cutler, W.G. Ibberson (1902-1988) -- the cutler with the 'bow and string' is Stan Shaw. His tool is called a parser and he is making a slot in a piece of mother and pearl. The pearl forms the handle of a pocket knife and the slot is for a shield (a nameplate) which can be seen being fitted into place after the recess has been cut.
Stan Shaw (now 88) still works a few days a week at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield -- still using a parser.
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib2/TweedaleG/tlParser/tlParser-01.asp
I asked him about the other people in this film. The elderly man at the forge is Ted Swinden and the grinder is Jimmy Unwin.
I hope this helps in filling out some more of the context of this fascinating film.
Kind regards,
Geoff Tweedale
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