William Hutton and Family

[dognose]

Forum Member 'A hutton desendant' (Mike) has kindly agreed to share with us his knowledge regarding his forebears, the great silversmithing dynasty, the Hutton family. His first post from the topic: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=22586 is repeated below.


"In Chapmans’ Birmingham Directory, 1803, William Hutton is entered as a plater of 53, Park St. On the 19th November, 1807, he registered a mark at the Sheffield Assay Office which was used by the firm for well over one hundred years on close plated steel articles. A good example is represented in the first illustration (page 8) of F. Bradburys’ “History of Old Sheffield Plate”.
In Holders’ Birmingham Directory, 1809, William Hutton is entered as a plater with Cannon Street as his address, and in 1812 the directory enters Ryland and Hutton as manufacturers of plated steel articles in Paradise St.
There are copies of balance sheets dated 1811,1812 and 1813 of a partnership between William Hutton, John Ryland and James Ryland. Already, in 1803 the Birmingham Directory, John Ryland is entered as a plater of Paradise Street, and James Ryland as a plater of 29, New Street; also William Ryland and Sons, platers of 42, New Street.
From a family tree provided by the Ryland family, and through Mr. A. H. Westwood, Assay Master, Birmingham, it appears that John Ryland was born in 1773 and died in 1847, aged 74. James Ryland was born in 1777 and died in 1855, aged 78. There was a William Ryland born 1804, died 1877 (72), who was an important member of the Elkington staff. Arthur Ryland(born 1808, died 1877), solicitor of the Assay Office, drew up William Huttons’ will in 1841.
In 1815, the Birmingham Directory enters William Hutton as a manufacturer of various articles and gives a six line description of these; address- Paradise St.

“ Hutton, William. As manufacturer of various articles upon steel, viz: dessert knives and forks, fish, vegetable and butter knives, nutcracks, snuffers, skewers, cheese scoops, four pronged table and dessert forks, table, dessert and teaspoons, sallad and gravy spoons, soup and sauce ladles, asparagus tongs, grape scissors, &c, &c, and various other articles in imitation of silver, Paradise Street.”

In 1818-1820 Pigotts Council Directory, Hutton and Houghton, of Paradise St., are entered as manufacturers of plated articles. In 1821, William Hutton is entered as a plater of Fleet St. In 1823, “ William Hutton and Son, Platers” address given as 130 Great Charles St. In 1839 and 1841, William Hutton was still at Great Charles St., and this was his address when he died in 1842.

The above from Family records.
William Carr Hutton, Williams son moved to Sheffield in 1830 and started up the Hutton business there.

In the list of Hutton marks there is no image of the mark that really identifies Wm Hutton and Sons for todays collectors.
However, The marks WH - & - S - B - -P MPA(or B or C) occur only on plated articles.
BP is generally accepted to mean Brittania Plate, a form of nickel steel that was developed by Huttons as a better base for plating.
EH is the mark on solid silver that was used by James Edward Hutton, my Gt Gt Grandfather in his own right but within the business.
His brother Robert also had a mark on solid silver which was Rh in the same shape of shield.
The RH at the bottom may be for Robert but I have never been able to ascertain this for definite."

[A Hutton descendant]

I find that Roberts pieces are very rare now. I have a napkin ring with the 1875 mark on it, but I cannot see anything (that I can afford!)
with the earlier mark.

The 1869 mark can be easily confused with marks for Robert Hennel. Hennels mark usually has a dot between the letters, but not always.

[davesays]

Great to have a Hutton descendant in the forum and sharing all this wonderful detail. The Huttons were in the top tier of platers on steel and other metals and the family connections noted confirm their importance. I wonder if the B P referred to as part of a later mark was British Plate, a nickel based alloy presumably named to rival German "Silver". It seems to be have been used very successfully by a number of close plate makers from c 1830 as the basis for many articles using the now well established techniques. Davesays

[A Hutton descendant]

" A Brief History of Nickel Silver."

Perhaps the most important contribution of William Hutton to the plate trade was the pioneering work he did in making spoons and forks, etc., from this new, white alloy.
Nickel silver, also called at one time as “German silver”, “Argentine” and “British plate”, had been also known for a long time in China, where it was called “ Packfong”.
In July 1822, in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, a chemist - Fyfe - published an analysis of the Chinese alloy (40.4% copper, 25.4% zinc, 31.6% nickel, and 2.6% iron). This publication really started the European interest in nickel silver, for the Prussian Society for the Encouragement of Industry in 1823 offered a Gold medal and prize for the creation of a factory in Prussia to manufacture the Fyfe alloy.
In 1824, Dr. Geitner at his cobalt blue factory at Schneeberg produced the alloy and offered it for sale. In 1825 a factory was also started in Vienna.
The history of the German nickel silver industry is given in a paper by Dr. B. Neumann, “The Beginnings of the Argenton Industry and the Technical Nickel production”
In F. Bradburys’ “History of Old Sheffield Plate” published in 1912, on page 137 it is reported that in the year 1830, a Mr. Guitike from Berlin came to Sheffield with samples of this new metal, so that evidently it was becoming widely known from various sources.
Percival Norton Johnson (Founder of Johnson, Matthey and Company, Ltd.) whose main business was that of an assayer, between 1829 and 1833 produced the alloy and in the London Directory for 1833 described himself as “Johnson and Company, British plate manufacturers, 79, Hatton Garden.
Other metallurgists also took up the manufacture in this country, including the founders of a firm which later became Henry Wiggin and Company. Information about these manufacturers can be found in the following books:- “Percival Norton Johnson - The Biography of a Pioneer Metallurgist” by Donald McDonald, published by Johnson, Matthey and Company, Ltd.,1951, and “History of Henry Wiggin and Company Ltd., 1835-1935 Centenary Publication”.
Old papers in the possession of the Hutton family show that William Hutton purchased this alloy from Johnson and Company and made it into forks - in fact Johnson had a contra account, some invoices of which showed that the Hutton supply to them of spoons and forks exceeded in value the Johnson supply of metal from which they were made!
In March 1831, William Carr Hutton, son of William Hutton, spent four weeks in London on a mission on behalf of a Committee of Birmingham platers to the Goldsmiths’ Company and the Stamp Office (Treasury) asking for modifications of the Hall-marking Bill before Parliament. After fifteen years of wrangling the Gold and Silverware act of 1844 was passed.

[davesays]

Hallo Mike, Thank you so much for the fantastic post. You must have a remarkable Hutton archive and I look forward with great interest to future contributions. Do you have a list of the Birmingham platers who came to London in 1831? Thanks again, Davesays

[davesays]

Whoops! No posse of platers visited London in 1831, Just Mr Hutton as one of, if not the leading plater from Birmingham . Sorry for the mistake. Davesays

[A Hutton descendant]

A View of Thavies Inn and the Silversmiths.

Thavies Inn, Holborn, London.
The main entrance is on the south side of Holborn Circus through the archway of Thavies Inn House, a modern office complex.

Originally this courtyard was one of the many Inns of Chancery, associated with Lincolns Inn.
In 1349, John Thavie of St. Andrews, Holborn left monies to the upkeep of the church. His name has been transcribed as Thavy, Tavy and Davy.
The buildings were used by law apprentices so that they could be close to the courts of the Bishop of Lincoln. It may have even been the forerunner of Lincolns Inn before relocation to Chancery Lane.
There are references to lawyers at “David” Inn before 1400 and Lincoln’s own records start in 1422
Lincolns sold Thavies Inn in 1785, presumably to “developers”!

Later, it is known that Charles Dickens lived in Holborn and incorporated Thavies Inn in his book, Bleak House. In Thavies Inn lived Mrs. Jellyby from where she carried on her “charitable work” for Africa.

There are a number of gold and silversmiths and jewellers who had premises in Thavies Inn and the surrounding area.
Among them are:-
H J Cooper
22 Thavies Inn. Wholesale Jewellers 1905 to 1926. Then moved to Palmers Green.

George Unite 1925/6
11 Thavies Inn.

James Allport 1843 to 1856
4 Thavies Inn.

Waterhouse & Parker. Dates unknown.
16 Thavies Inn.

Wm Hutton & Sons. After marrying Emily Woodhead in 1861, James Edward Hutton was dispatched to the new showroom in London.
1871. Still in Thavies Inn, though sadly, Emily had passed away at the age of 28.
The showroom was still run in the company name, but I have no details of the staff.
J.E. re-married in 1874 and moved to Hampstead, retired from the business and died in 1890 aged just 52.
Below are listed the dates that Huttons were in London.
1883. The United Telephone Company/Jewellers.
1884. Gold and Silversmiths and Jewellers

1910 [Wm Hutton and Sons, Manufacturers, Silversmiths and Cutlers. 5 Farringdon Rd]
1910 [ditto, Manufacturing Silversmiths. 7 Farringdon Rd]
1918 [ Wm Hutton. 7 Farringdon Rd only.
1920 11 Warwick Court. WC1
1933 14 St Andrews St. EC4
1957 22 St Andrews St. EC4. To 1967
From 1930 the Wm. Hutton and Sons name was owned by James Dixon and Sons.

Joseph Willmore. Dates unknown.

[MCB]

Hello Mike

Intrigued to identify the William Ryland born 1804 mentioned in your first post a visit to the 1841 Census website tracked him to Matlock where he was staying, albeit temporarily, when the Census was completed. He was with his wife Ellen Mary and a Thomas Ryland aged 72 years. Further information suggests that Thomas Ryland born 1769 was the father of William Ryland (1804) and a son of William and Elizabeth Ryland so perhaps the brother of John and James. A Thomas Ryland entered a mark at the Birmingham Assay Office in 1800 and may be this man who described himself of independent means in 1841. A Thomas Ryland died in Birmingham in 1844.

An aside to these investigations was the discovery that in 1761 in Birmingham a William Ryland (born 1731) married Elizabeth Pemberton (born 1740). Elizabeth’s parents were Samuel and Rebecca. The well known Birmingham silversmith Samuel Pemberton (1738-1803) also had parents with these Christian names so he may have been Elizabeth’s brother and possibly the uncle of John, James and Thomas.

Do you have any further information on the subject of Thomas Ryland's relationship with John and James Ryland or the Pembertons please?

Regards
Mike

[Plemay]

Hello Mike and All,
I was looking for some guidance. Do you know where I might obtain a catalogue of items made by William Hutton and Sons Ltd.?
Specifically I am looking for items made in London in 1895. I am researching a silver figure of a golfer. It is sterling and 27 ozs.
It may have been part of a trophy or an award. Of note the golfer figure has an appearance similar to Horace Rawlins who interestingly won the first US open that year...that may just be a coincidence. There were other significant golf trophies that year, like the Canadian Amateur, or several throughout Britain.
Any help identifying this would be greatly appreciated.

[dognose]

Some information on the Canadian side of the family, trading as James Hutton & Co., can be found at:

viewtopic.php?f=38&t=31885&p=85011#p85011

Trev.

[dognose]

The celebration of the fiftieth birthday of Mr. Herbert Hutton, head of the firm of William Hutton and Sons, recalls some interesting reminiscences connected with the history of the firm. Mr. Hutton was entertained to dinner in the Artillery Drill Hall by his workpeople, to the number of six or seven hundred, who also testified to their appreciation of him as an employer by the presentation of a silver statuette. This is a real work of art, and represents Mr. Hutton on horseback as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Artillery Volunteers. It was executed from first to last in the firm's own works, and by their own workmen, from the model of the great artist, Mr. Swaffield Brown. The employe who made the presentation stated that when he first worked for the firm fifty-four years ago the staff numbered just a dozen all told, and four small rooms sufficed to accommodate all the departments. The rise and progress of the business as told at the meeting constitutes one of the numerous romantic histories in connection with the Sheffield silver trade. The contrast between the four dingy rooms in South-street fifty-four years ago and the magnificent factory of today, with its army of workpeople and splendid showrooms, is certainly most striking.

The amount of energy expended in successfully carrying on a business of this character is stupendous, and gives some amount of plausibility to the theory of Mr. Chas. Belk, who once stated that a man engaged in the silver-plating trade had one of three fates in store for him. He either went into a lunatic asylum, or gave way to drink, or turned bald- headed. Mr. Hutton considers himself lucky in only having suffered the least of these three evils. In the course of his speech in reply to the presentation, he gives us just a glimpse behind the scenes when he spoke of the building of the works in West-street on the expiry of the High-street lease as having "very nearly ruined him." It shows the splendid material of which our manufacturing princes are made, that such risks are encountered only to be successfully overcome.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st September 1893

Trev.

[dognose]

The old-established silver and electro-plate business of Messrs. William Hutton and Sons, which has attained such vast dimensions within recent years, has just been registered as a limited liability company, with a capital of £100,000 in £50 shares. As the change has been made with a view solely to facilitate certain family arrangements, none of these shares will be offered to the public, and the management and working of the business will remain as heretofore. The directors are Messrs. Herbert Hutton, William Ernest Hutton, and George A. Parker.

Source: The Watchmaker, Jeweller and Silversmith - 1st August 1893

Trev.

[dognose]

Some images of an Edward Hutton marked mustard pot, assayed at London in 1889:













Trev.

[dognose]

Some images of an Edward Hutton spirit-burning candlestick, assayed at London in 1889:














EH - London - 1889

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[dognose]

A caster by William Hutton & Sons:











WH&SsLd. - Birmingham - 1900

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[dognose]

CREDITORS UNDER 22 & 23 VICT. C. 35.

LAST DAY OF CLAIM AND TO WHOM PARTICULARS TO BE SENT.

HUTTON (James Edward), formerly of 13, Thavies-inn. London, and Sheffield, Yorkshire, a member of the firm of William Hutton and Sons, and of Elm Lodge. Elmrow, Hampstead, silversmith. Dec. 11; Munton and Morris, solicitors, 95A, Queen Victoria-st.

Source: The Law Times - 21st November 1896

Trev.

[dognose]

A Christening set by William Hutton & Sons:


















WH&SsLd. - London - 1901

Trev.

[dognose]

A large tray by William Hutton & Sons:


WH&SsLd. - London - 1900

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[dognose]

Some images of an Edward Hutton marked trophy cup, assayed at London in 1890:












EH - London - 1890

Trev.

[dognose]

W. Hutton & Son - Sheffield - 1845

Trev.