The kitchen
Bread knife
Made forty feet from where it hangs now.
- Made by
- Merrin & Sons, Tenter Lane
- Date
- 1931
- Material
- Sheffield steel, beech, brass rivets
- Size
- 34 cm long
- Cost new
- One and sixpence
- Came from
- Made in the works; kept by the family
On view The kitchen, by the bread crock. Ground floor.
Merrin & Sons made table knives, bread knives and carving sets in this building from 1868 to 1979. This one never left: it was a second, with a handle slightly off true, so it went next door to the house instead of to a shop in Leeds.
The blade has been sharpened so often that it is a centimetre narrower than when it was made. You can see the original line where the steel is darker, near the handle.
More from the kitchen.
Copper jam pan
Unknown coppersmith, about 1890The kitchen, on the rangeCost new: eleven shillings
Flat iron
Unknown foundry, about 1900The kitchen, by the rangeCost new: ninepence
Water jug, blue rim
Unknown enamel works, probably Wolverhampton, about 1925The kitchen, on the dresserCost new: one and threepence
Where to see it
The kitchen, ground floor.
You’ll find it by the bread crock. The kitchen is on the ground floor; the lift is by the front desk.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, and until 20:00 on Thursdays.