The Master Cutler is the head of the

Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire is a trade guild of metalworkers based in Sheffield, England. It was incorporated in 1624 by an Act of Parliament. The head is called the Master Cutler. Its motto is french: 1=Pour Y Parvenir a Bonne F ...

established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

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. The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of September of each year and the position taken in the first Tuesday of October. Despite the title, the Master Cutler does not have to be involved in the

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

business, or even the steel industry, to be elected. The first Master Cutler was Robert Sorsby (1577–1643). His son, Malin Sorsby, was Master Cutler in 1647, and in turn his son Robert Sorsby took the office in 1669. Another Robert Sorsby, a cousin of the first, held the post in 1628. The Installation of the new Master Cutler and Company follows the annual election of the new Company. In the early years of the Company, the Election, Installation, Church Service and celebratory meal (which eventually became the Cutlers’ Feast) all happened on the same day. Now, only the Installation and Church Service, followed by lunch, take place on the same day. The Master Cutler for 2022–2023 is Dame Julie Kenny.

List of Masters Cutler

Notable and recent Masters Cutler have included:Plaque in Cutlers' HallThe Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
Masters Cutler *1624 Robert Sorsby *1662 James Staniforth *1790 Joseph Ward *1798 Samuel Broomhead Ward *1808 Ebenezer Rhodes *1816 Thomas Asline Ward *1855 Frederick Mappin *1863 Thomas Jessop *1865–66 Sir John Brown *1867-9 Mark Firth *1870 William Bragge *1872

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*1880 William Chesterman *1899

Robert Hadfield Sir Robert Abbott Hadfield, 1st Baronet FRS (28 November 1858 in Sheffield – 30 September 1940 in Surrey) was an English metallurgist, noted for his 1882 discovery of manganese steel, one of the first steel alloys. He also invented silicon s ...

*1902 Albert J. Hobson *1908

Douglas Vickers Douglas Vickers (24 July 1861 – 23 November 1937) was an English industrialist and politician. His family owned the famous Sheffield firm Vickers, Sons & Co. Ltd. Early life Vickers was born on 24 July 1861 in Sheffield, West Riding of ...

*1911

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the L ...

*1913 Thomas William Ward *1914–18 William Henry Ellis *1919 Henry Kenyon Stephenson *1932 Arthur Lee *1935

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*1958

Hugh Neill Sir James Hugh Neill, (29 March 1921 – 5 November 2017) was a British businessman, public servant, and British Army officer. Described as a "doyen of the Sheffield steel industry", he worked for his family's tool manufacturing firm, James Nei ...

*1974 Ken Lewis *1998 Douglas and Pamela Liversidge (Master and Mistress Cutler) *1999 H. Stuart Johnson *2000 Vernon Smith *2001 Richard Prest *2002 John Bramah *2003 Neil Turner *2004 John Tissiman *2005 Timothy Reed *2006 Alan Reid *2007 Gordon W. Bridge *2008 Martin G. Howell *2009 James Newman *2010 William Speirs *2011 Pamela Liversidge *2012 Neil MacDonald *2013 Tony Pedder *2014 David Grey *2015 Craig McKay *2016 Richard Edwards *2017/18 Ken Cooke *2018/19 Nicholas Cragg *2019–2021 Nicholas D. O. Williams (Serving twice due to the

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) *2021–2022 James Andrew Tear *2022–2023 Dame Julie Kenny

The eponymous train

In 1947 at a meeting of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire Ronald Matthews, a former holder of the office and Chairman of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At tha ...

suggested that the 7.40 train from Sheffield Victoria to London Marylebone, returning at 18.15, should be named after the Master Cutler. This was agreed by both the Company of Cutlers and the LNER. The ''Master Cutler'' was introduced by the LNER on 6 October 1947, running on the

Great Central Main Line The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...

route from Sheffield Victoria to London Marylebone calling at only and . The then Master Cutler, A Balfour, later the 2nd Lord Riverdale, rode on the footplate of the inaugural train. It has since been a tradition that the Master Cutler ride with the driver of the train during their year of office. Upon nationalisation in 1948, the service became the responsibility of the

Eastern Region Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia * Eastern Region, Uganda * Eastern Region of ...

of British Railways. Known to staff simply as "The Cutler", the train carried a restaurant car and was generally hauled by a Gresley A3 Pacific.

References

Mayors, Lord Mayors and Master Cutlers

External links

Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
Economy of Sheffield

List of Masters Cutler

The eponymous train

References

Further reading

External links