Sheffield’s worldwide reputation as an industrial powerhouse might have declined in recent decades. But the city’s industrial heritage goes from strength to strength thanks to the phenomenal success of the Hawley Tool Collection at the equally famous Kelham Island Museum. At the latest count, what is described as the best tool collection in the world contains no fewer than one hundred thousand items.
So many, in fact, that it has become impossible to have everything on display at all times, which also explains the title of Nick Duggan’s latest talk to us, an A to Z of the Hawley Collection.
Nick, who is the curator of the collection and a regular visitor to Stumperlowe Probus, brought with him this time a photographic lucky dip from the collection, ranging from A for Award (a plasterer’s trowel presented to a successful graduate of a plastering training course in 1966) to Z for Zachariah Belcher, a maker of boxwood rulers and shoe-size gauges from around 1900. As Nick explained: “Everything we are talking about today is currently on display at the museum, but only for a couple of weeks before they are put back into storage.” Nick presented this random selection researched by his colleagues Peter Hawkins and Bob Harris.
The Hawley Collection is perhaps best known for its saws, knives and cutlery, but we were treated to a feast of quirky items which might not readily be associated with Sheffield’s core industry. How about a tool to clean and grind smooth the end of a billiard or snooker cue from around 1900? Or a spring-loaded hat stretcher? Or a kitchen device to slice green beans? Or an quick-release aircrew knife for cutting through wreckage or parachute lines.
Not for those of a squeamish disposition, the collection also included surgical trepanning instruments (where a hole would be drilled or scraped into a human skull for brain surgery) and a whole collection of diagnostic medical instruments, not to mention an instrument used by doctors for gynaecological inspections.
For more than 50 years, the late Ken Hawley collected “the tools that made the tools,” all connected with the Sheffield tool, cutlery and silversmithing industries. During his working life, including 30 years selling tools in his own shop in Sheffield, he acquired an unrivalled knowledge about the city’s industrial heritage. Today, the collection is a tribute to the craftmanship, skills and excellence displayed over the centuries by Sheffield firms and their workpeople.