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Bennett & Heron Ltd


Kalfred

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Hello, looking for something interesting on line I noticed the 5 inch sauce ladle spoon in the photo below.

1634624428_BennettHeron5insladle.jpg.7f8bc932ed161b94715f1259bc3d78e8.jpg

The maker’s marks “Bennett & Heron” were not known to me but looked informative enough to maybe get a bit more history on. Obviously messes “Bennett & Heron” had put their names on an electroplated spoon that they wanted to tell customers was of “A1” quality.

I had a quick search on “silvercollection.it”, an excellent reference site of history for electroplating companies.  The reference there suggested “Bennett & Heron Ltd” of Sheffield could be retailers. I had a further search to see if I could find a little extra on the company. Perhaps the extract from the London Gazzette I found, is a starting point. 

1568710295_BennettHeronLondGaz.jpg.65b204b41c2fd5fe0c855763453e946b.jpg

It states up to 1927 they were a company of “Cutlers & Silvermiths”. This is possibly confirmed by the  “Sheffield Indexers” entry shown below.

HERON, Thomas (~, Cutlery Manufacturer (Bennett & Heron)).
     Address: 50 Holly Street, ~ in 1925.
     Recorded in: Sheffield & Rotherham Kelly?s Directory.

Who was the silversmith then? I could not find a likely associated silver mark on line and I could not find a reference in the “Indexers” for “Jack Bennett”. I did wonder if the below, 1905, near contemporary “Bennett” reference could have been involved in the company.

  Bennett, William (, silversmith).
     Address: 32 Yadley Street, in 1905.
     Recorded in: White's Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham.

We now need more information about “Bennett & Heron Ltd”. When did the firm start in business. Did it change after April 1927? Did they actually develop as retailers and not makers.

Has anyone on the forum got any more “stuff” to add for a real history for  “Bennett & Heron Ltd”?

I found some more photos of “Bennett & Heron” spoons on line but below is something a little different.

457657179_BENNETThERONSTTKKNVES.jpg.b85b13dfed18a26f0b0210e1837a1a86.jpg

Kalfred

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Name listed in Kelly's directory, published 1957.

"Bennett &  Heron Ltd. cutlery mfrs. 58 Broad Lane & 104 Mary Street."

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Thank you "Steve.HB" for this extra snippet of info. Cutlery manufacturers then at least to the late 1950's.

Kalfred

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I noticed this post by accident but may be able to add some more detail.

Bennett and Heron was making cutlery in their Mary Street premises but then bought out another manufacturer Kent Brothers who had  a larger factory in Broad lane, B&H then moved to Broad lane  in about 1960. 

Jack Bennet took a back seat in running the business many years before and passed the reins to my late father in law Horace Beighton who ran the business up to around 1973. My wife believes Jack Bennett died  in 1972.  They were certainly making cutlery in the traditional manner in 1967 as I remember visiting Broad lane at that time and chatting with a Sam Copesteak  who was making pen knives  and the " Buffing girls" who were busy buffing while seated on high three legged Oak stools.

Quality cutlery was in the decline in the 1960's due to overseas competition and  Cutlery production finally ceased on Horace beighton's retirement in 1973.

  The firm continued under Jack Wallace for a few more years factoring products i.e. buying in goods from other suppliers.

 

 

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Hello, again I'm back at one of my previous posts. A belated thank you also to Loubaruch for your insightful contribution to the Bennett & Heron history. I am back though because of the mention of Kent Brothers (possibly not mentioned elsewhere on the Forum), a concern I had not come across until I saw online a suggested, military dining fork with a date on it, and indicated to have been made by that firm. KentBros1942-Fork.jpg.93ed404860a86fd71903be6bf2f123fd.jpg

KentBros1942forkcomp.jpg.80425217b088d17686025823acc939d0.jpg

The suggestion of the fork being military was no doubt because of the Royal cypher of King George VI shown its finial. There also is Kent Brothers Ltd and 1942. There is a full history of “Kent Bros” on the "Hawley’s Name on a Knife Blade" site but in brief they were formed in 1919 by brothers Percy & Leonard Kent on Broad Lane and “Ltd” in 1922 at 168 Broad Lane. Apparently wound up in 1969, when the chairman was E. H. Beighton. That was the surname Loubaruch quoted in his “B&H” history addition to this post. Other information was that B&H “bought out another manufacturer Kent Brothers who had a larger factory in Broad Lane, B&H then moved to Broad Lane in about 1960“. Is it coincidental that the name “Beighton” and the Broad Lane address are referenced with both companies? Were both companies run concurrently for a while or were B&H using the “Kent Bros” mark? 

Regarding the fork I am not sure it is necessarily for military use. Although the wartime date of 1942 was in King George VI’s reign the fork does not carry the “/|\” broad arrow mark associated with Government order items and typically seen on military stuff, including cutlery. A James Dixon & Sons example from 1942 with the “/|\” is below. 

Dixon1942WarDept.spoons.jpg.11eac8ce235e8ef9c6139ddff6275fd2.jpg

 I think there were other organisations that would have been using the King George VI cypher on cutlery. I think the General Post Office (GPO) would have been my top possibility. Any other suggestions? 

Kalfred 

 

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