The workshop
Table forks, worn through
The silver went first, then the nickel, then the patience.
- Made by
- Merrin & Sons, Tenter Lane
- Date
- 1924
- Material
- Silver plate on nickel silver
- Size
- 20 cm long
- Cost new
- Nine shillings the dozen
- Came from
- Made in the works; kept by the family
On view The workshop, on the packing table. Ground floor, the old grinding hull.
Electroplated forks were the works’ best line between the wars: they looked like silver for a fraction of the price. These two are what is left of a dozen that came home from the packing room as seconds, used every day for sixty years.
Where the plate has worn through you can see the yellow nickel silver underneath, worn in exactly the place a fork meets a plate.
More from the workshop.
Hand sewing machine
Unknown maker, about 1905The workshop, by the windowCost new: four pounds ten, on weekly payments
Pocket knife, bone handle
Merrin & Sons, Tenter Lane, about 1900The workshop, on the grinders’ benchCost new: a shilling (staff price, fourpence)
Hand brace
Unknown maker, Sheffield, about 1920The workshop, on the wall rackCost new: seven and six
Where to see it
The workshop, ground floor.
You’ll find it on the packing table, 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.