Below is part of Edward Heron Allen's contribution to Cardwell's book, that I think is well worth reproducing here.
The centre of this renaissance of the silversmiths' art was the parish of St. Anne, Soho, and its immediate neighbourhood. It would be easy to give the names of hundreds of silversmiths within half a mile of the parish boundaries: St. Martin's Lane, Orange Street, Green Street, Coventry Street, Windmill Street, and the Haymarket, simply bristled with silversmiths, and there are frequent instances recorded of silversmiths of old standing moving into Soho, doubtless to be nearer the centre of their trade. Thus the archpriest of the craft, Paul de Lamerie, who worked in 1715 in Windmill Street, registered himself after 1730 in Gerrard Street, where he died in 1751, leaving no successor in his business.
The books and registers at Goldsmiths' Hall prior to 1700 are in a condition that leaves much to be desired, but as our parish was not then old enough to have had any succession of silversmiths, our quarrel with the " Hall " is not serious. The earliest recorded silversmith in the parish was Ellis Gamble, of the " Golden Angel," Cranbourn Alley, Lester Fields, who entered his mark at Goldsmiths' Hall in 1696. [N.B. It must be carefully borne in mind that the dates given below are those at which the silversmiths " entered their marks "at Goldsmiths' Hall. Every silversmith had (and still has) to stamp, upon every piece of plate that he makes, a mark consisting of the initials of his name, by which it may be identified as his work. It gives his personal guarantee of the standard of the silver, and identifies him for punishment in cases of fraud. These makers' marks are stamped upon a leaden plate at Goldsmiths' Hall, and the date of the " entry of the mark " is affixed. So that a new mark might be entered in 1700 by a maker who had been established in the parish for as long as there had been any parish to be established in.] Ellis Gamble above named was the son of a noted silversmith, William Gamble, in Foster Lane, E.C. ; and it was to Ellis Gamble that in the year 1713 Hogarth was apprenticed. During his employment by Gamble, he engraved several bill-headings for the tradesmen of the parish, which are now much sought after by collectors, the one engraved by him for his master, representing an angel holding a palm, the plate bearing the legend that Gamble " makes, buys, and sells all sorts of plate, &c." Hogarth also engraved the shop card of Pierre de la Fontaine, the silversmith. (For other traces of Hogarth's residence in the parish, consult Mr. Clinch's work " Soho.")
The books at Goldsmiths' Hall, as far as they concern the present writing, are three in number, the " Large Workers'" book, 1697-1739 ; " Large Workers, " 1739-1769 ; and the " Small and Larger Workers' " book, 1758-1805. The earliest Soho makers' mark recorded was that of Pierre Harache, junior, in 1698. He is described as of " Compton Street, Near St. Anne's Church.' He was the son of an equally celebrated father, Pierre Harache, of Suffolk Street, Pall Mall, and the father of Jean Harache, whom we find entered under date June, 1726, in the " Small Workers' " book at Goldsmiths' Hall as " a foriner residing in Riders Corte, Soho."
Here then is the list (in alphabetical order) of the silversmiths of Soho entered in the Registers for 1698-1739, with the dates of their entries.
By 1739 the trade was firmly established in Soho, and new recruits poured in continually, converging upon the common centre of the industry. In the " Large Workers' " book for the period 1739-1769, we find the following silversmiths of Soho, some being the marks of former residents re-entered :
The " Small and Large Workers' " books for the period 1758-1805 gives us only eight new names, but among them two which are worthy to rank with those of Lamerie, Harache, and Garrard. I mean John Bridge and Paul Storr. The eight are as follows:
John Bridge and Paul Storr, who entered their names as of 1792 and 1793, in Church Street, were partners in the celebrated firm of Rundell and Bridge, which developed into Storr and Mortimer, and thence into Hunt and Roskell, under which title it exists to this day. Their house in Bond Street is well known. In 1807 they moved into Dean Street.
The above books, however, do not exhaust our sources of information as to the silversmiths of Soho. From a Parliamentary return published in 1773, we find working in Soho, in addition to many of the workers cited above, the following:
In addition to these some silversmiths of Soho have come down to us by the repute of their Signs, the number and diversity of which was considerable. We find records of three " Golden Balls," one the sign
of Bradshaw in St. Anne's Lane (1697), one of Hilland in Earl Street (1736), and one of Crespin in Compton Street (1739). Ellis Gamble's Golden Angel has been referred to above. Then we have:
The Golden Cup, St. Anne's, Soho, Rongent, 1731
The Crown and Golden Ball, Compton Street, W. Cripps, and also Hilland, both in 1743 (which must have caused some confusion)
The Golden Hart, Dean Street, Hebert, 1747
The Half Moon, Porter Street, Allix
These names bring the number of the silversmiths of Soho in the 18th century up to seventy-five, a goodly showing for so small a parish, and one which justifies us in our boast that as far as the silver industry is concerned St. Anne's has led the Kingdom, and for this distinction we have to thank the original foreign settlers of 1685, a race, doubtless, more respect-worthy in general deportment, and more valuable as citizens and parishioners than the generality of their representatives in the present day.
It is a little difficult to account for the decrease in number of silversmiths working in Soho after 1820, but it is reasonable to suppose that as trade in Sheffield-plated goods declined in the various large towns in the North, such as Birmingham and Sheffield, the manufacturers turned their attention to making silver ware, and owing to their expenses being lower than those of their competitors in London, they were able to produce ordinary pieces of silver at a lower price than the London makers. But they were never able to make the goods so well as in London, and London-made goods have always realized a higher price on account of their superior design and finish. The cause ol the decline of the Sheffield-plate-making industry was the introduction of the process known as eleclro-plating, i.e., the deposit by electrodecomposition upon copper or white metal of a thin film of silver, a process naturally not so durable as the old Sheffield-plating, which consisted of rolling a sheet of copper and a sheet of silver together so as to form a strongly silvered plate. It was called " Sheffield " plate wherever it was made, that town having been originally the centre of the industry. The industry may be said to have breathed its last in Soho, Messrs. Watson and Cooper in Dancey Yard being noted, about 1830, for their chased Sheffield-plated copper kettles, which are sometime found partially gilt, and are much esteemed by collectors. We believe that Radcliffe, in Frith Street, was the last Sheffield-plate manufacturer in London. (See Messrs. J. G. Crouch &, Son).
The silversmiths of this century have been few, but their quality has made up for their quantity. Foremost among them is one of the most picturesque figures in the history of London Trades. This was Thomas Hamlet, an illegitimate son of Sir Francis Dashwood, of Medmenham fame–or infamy. He and Francis Lambert were coassistants of Clark, a silversmith of Exeter Change, and in 1800 they set up on their own account in a shop in St. Martin's Court, subsequently moving to Sydney Alley, facing Coventry Street, the shop occupying the site upon which the " Leicester " Tavern now stands. Soon after this Lambert went to Lisbon where he failed in business, but returned and founded, in 1803, the world-renowned business of Lambert's, in Coventry Street. Meanwhile Hamlet conducted his business successfully for nearly forty years, but being of a venturous turn embarked in side ventures, such as pearl fisheries in Bussorah, and the building of the St. James's and the Princess's theatres. The end of this came in the form of bankruptcy in 1842, when his effects in Sydney Place were sold by auction, and he died, a pensioner of the Charterhouse, in 1849.
The rest of the silversmiths of the century are, happily, still living or represented among us to-day. Among them we may note
Messrs. Brownett
of Richmond Buildings, established in 1840, who claim the invention of the familiar spring-cap for scent bottles. The present proprietor is Mr. Weir.
Messrs. Fox Bros.
established in Queen Street (now Bateman Street), and now removed to Berwick Street. The firm is noted for their excellence of workmanship, and decoration in the Flaxman style.
The descendants of
Radcliffe
the Sheffield-plater referred to above, still carry on business in Bateman Street. (See Crouch & Son).
Mr. Braham
of 40 Gerrard Street, works where the earliest Huguenot silversmiths ot Soho established themselves,
Messrs. Stockwell
of Greek Street, were established in 1820, and made presentation swords and cup and bottle mounts in gold and silver.
Mr. Vander
of Lisle Street, came to us in 1881 from Bow Street, and is noted for cups, statuettes, and epergnes in silver.
Our latest recruits are:
Messrs. Harris Bros.,
of Bateman Street, who established themselves there last year.
Messrs. J. G. CROUCH And SON
Water Gilders, Electro Platers and Gilders.
15 Bateman Street.
The business of Messrs. J. G. Crouch and Son was founded in 1802 by the grandfather of Mr. J. G. Crouch, and was first carried on in St. Martin's Lane, side of St. Martin's Church, near the old King's Mews, but has been located in St. Anne's Parish during the whole of Queen Victoria's reign.
When we called and were allowed to see the operation of water gilding, we found the workmen engaged in water gilding the metal work of the Queen's equipage in preparation for the coming Diamond Jubilee, and were informed that the firm did similar gilding for William the Fourth.
The process of water gilding is the best (and curious to say is done by charcoal fire and mercury), and said to have been done in the time of the Romans. It is nearly all done in London, even Birmingham sends this work to be done in London.
The firm is the oldest in London. The work requires great skill, and the art is handed down from father to son. Some very beautiful work in water gilding is entrusted to this firm, including church plate. race cups, and the Queen's plate.
Messrs. J. G. Crouch & Son also carry on another branch of business as electro platers and gilders, in which they are successors to Radcliffe, who came into Soho in 1787 as a Sheffield-plater, and afterwards became a manufacturing silversmith. The Sheffield process appears to be almost, if not entirely, an extinct art.
Messrs. PAIRPOINT BROTHERS
Silversmiths.
80a Dean Street.
The grandfather of the present proprietors of the business was William Pairpoint, the celebrated water-gilder, who was well-known at the beginning of the present century. That branch of the business is still carried on, under the name of W. Pairpoint and Sons, in Gerrard Street. Mr. Edward Pairpoint, the father of the brothers Pairpoint, who had been apprenticed to one of Lambert's subsidiary houses, began business in 1848. Of the place occupied by the four brothers Pairpoint in the silver world little is necessary to be said, for their silver mark JP over FP, may be seen in every retail silver merchant's window in London. It is admitted on all sides by experts, sometimes with a sigh of regret, sometimes with a grin of malice, that " Pairpoint " copies of ancient patterns are dangerously near being indistinguishable from the originals, whilst their new manufactures carry one back to the days when the master silversmiths employed the first artists of the day to assist them in their productions " devised in love and fashioned cunningly." The firm is principally known to the trade as manufacturers of large and important works, such as centre pieces, presentation vases, and the like. To the amateur of antique silver and Sheffield plate, whether he be in Europe or America, the name of Pairpoint is a household word, and the quantity of antique plate and old " Sheffield " that has passed through the hands of the firm since the renaissance of 1874 is little short of fabulous. Of Mr. Alfred Pairpoint's aftivity as a Parishioner much might be said. He is doing good work as an Overseer, Vestryman, and Member of the Strand Board of Works, and is also a member of the Committee for the Restoration of St. Anne's Church.
Mr. EDMUND TUCK
Electro Plater and Gilder.
35 Dean Street.
Mr. Joseph Liversidge Tuck, the grandfather of the present proprietor, was jeweller and cutler to the Crown during the latter part of the last century, and carried on business in Charles Street, Haymarket. He was succeeded by his son Mr. Edmund Tuck, who was the patentee of "improved plating." He, again, was succeeded by his son, Mr. Edmund Tuck, who worked for the 1851 Exhibition in connection with Messrs. Hunt and Roskell, and still does some of the best work which can be done.
Source: Two centuries of Soho: its institutions, firms, and amusements. By John Henry Cardwell--Published in 1898.
Trev.
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