Hello and thank you for welcoming me! I’m interested in the above company, manufacturers of tinware and other supplies for grocers’ shops in the 19th century. Any information welcome! thanks again. Ginny
Ah, thank you Aquitaine, I now see that my post is skimpy on information. Yes indeed, they traded in Thomas Street, Manchester, Uk, from about 1825 until after the turn of the 20th century, although several family members were involved in the business. The earliest makers plates I have found name George Sutcliffe, although management of the company was taken over by Harriet. Later items bear the name of Reuben (particularly scales). I don’t know how they were related to one another. Thank you so much for welcoming me! What a great group!
Welcome, @Ginny Tregoning ! You may have seen this already... Grace's Guide To British Industrial History: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/i There are several results under Sutcliffe. I haven't tried to distinguish all of them, as you can search the site to do that. I did find mention of two Reuben Sutcliffes, a father and son, who were involved with the company. The father: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Reuben_Sutcliffe The son: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Reuben_Sutcliffe_(1842-1919) This could be another avenue to explore if you haven't tried it yet.
Thank you Figtree! I did look at quite a few old trade directories, although I don’t think I’ve seen this one. Both these ones seem to be the same person, though? I will go back to the screenshots I took on the day I was looking this up and see if I can find any more dates- thank you so much. This country used to make so many things- and none of them out of plastic. Globalisation has done very little for the aesthetics of commercial enterprise! Best wishes, Ginny
You're right... I was fooled by the first sentence under the entry with birth and death dates. It says "Reuben Sutcliffe (c1842-1919) of Reuben Sutcliffe" -- I read too quickly and thought it said "son of Reuben Sutcliffe." Instead, it just says "of" without the word "son." It might also be father of... although there is no Reuben listed for the one who died in 1919.
I really am all thumbs today- This Rueben’s father was a brewer, apparently- but he’s the same one who died on the Isle of Man in 1919. They were numerous and not always friendly with one another apparently- I tried to show you a contemporary advertisement from Harriet where she claims to have no connection with any other Manchester Sutcliffes, which can’t be quite true as she had a large number of siblings. Maybe Rueben was a nephew?
