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Taylor's Eye Witness Works
Taylor's Eye Witness Works is a Grade II listed former industrial building on Milton Street in the Devonshire Quarter area of Sheffield city centre, South Yorkshire, England. The works specialised in producing kitchen and pocket knives along with various associated products from its construction in 1852 until their vacation in 2018. The building was subsequently redeveloped into apartments. It stands adjacent to Taylor's Ceylon works on the same site, and the Beehive Works on Milton Street, both also listed cutlery works.
John Taylor founded a knife and edge tools firm around the year 1820 in St. Phillip's Road in the Netherthorpe area of the city. In 1838 Taylor applied for and was granted the Eye Witness trademark for his goods, it is said he chose it after being inspired by the line "No eye hath seen such" from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. In 1852 Taylor moved to the newly built Eye Witness Works on Milton Street. At the time the works only consisted of five single-storey bays and were driven by steam power with a 40-foot chimney stack which is still in place today. Upon the death of John Taylor in 1854 the firm passed to his daughter who had married into the Needham family who were also knife producers.
The company became known as Needhams Ltd, joining forces with James Veall in 1876 and the well-known local firm of Tyzack's in 1879 to form Needham, Veall & Tyzack. In 1870 the firm only employed 30 people, but such was its success in the latter years of the 19th century that by the 1890s there were several hundred people employed at the works. In 1875, the Eye Witness Works were extended by making the original single-floor building into three storeys plus the addition of a further nine bays, which were also on three levels. The firm become a limited company in 1897 with capital of £60,000 with Walter Tyzack as chairman and James and William Veall as directors.
An account of the mechanised procedure and products at the Eye Witness Works can be found in an 1897 edition of Sheffield and Rotherham Illustrated, here is an excerpt:
The leading features of Messrs Needham, Veall & Tyzack manufactures in these departments are pen and pocket knives in an infinite variety of useful and elegant shapes, table knives, butchers' knives, carvers, scissors, pruning shears, and razors of the finest make in hollow and plain ground, for which latter goods in particular their reputation is speedily becoming world-wide. Some idea of the range of patterns kept in these various goods may be derived from the fact that in pen and pocket knives alone the firm possess over two thousand separate designs, most of which are made in four or five separate coverings.
After World War I the firm was hit by the downturn in demand for high-quality pocket knives brought on by the invention of stainless steel, but mechanised its production process and survived. The firm started to expand again, taking over several well-known Sheffield cutlery companies and their trademarks. The works continued to enlarge with this upturn in business, with new buildings being added on Thomas Street in 1950. In 1965 Needham, Veall & Tyzack became known as Taylor's Eye Witness to take advantage of its well-known trade mark. In 1975 it was bought by Harrison Fisher & Co who continued to use the Taylor's Eye Witness brand name for many of its products as well as producing "own label" goods for department stores, including John Lewis, Tesco and Sainsbury's.
On 1 June 2007 Harrison Fisher & Co Ltd changed its name to Taylors Eye Witness Limited.
In February 2007 the works were upgraded as a listed building from Grade II to Grade II*[citation needed], but later reverted to Grade II. Although the building has an interesting frontage, after 20th century intervention there are few internal features of historical interest.
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Taylor's Eye Witness Works
Taylor's Eye Witness Works is a Grade II listed former industrial building on Milton Street in the Devonshire Quarter area of Sheffield city centre, South Yorkshire, England. The works specialised in producing kitchen and pocket knives along with various associated products from its construction in 1852 until their vacation in 2018. The building was subsequently redeveloped into apartments. It stands adjacent to Taylor's Ceylon works on the same site, and the Beehive Works on Milton Street, both also listed cutlery works.
John Taylor founded a knife and edge tools firm around the year 1820 in St. Phillip's Road in the Netherthorpe area of the city. In 1838 Taylor applied for and was granted the Eye Witness trademark for his goods, it is said he chose it after being inspired by the line "No eye hath seen such" from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. In 1852 Taylor moved to the newly built Eye Witness Works on Milton Street. At the time the works only consisted of five single-storey bays and were driven by steam power with a 40-foot chimney stack which is still in place today. Upon the death of John Taylor in 1854 the firm passed to his daughter who had married into the Needham family who were also knife producers.
The company became known as Needhams Ltd, joining forces with James Veall in 1876 and the well-known local firm of Tyzack's in 1879 to form Needham, Veall & Tyzack. In 1870 the firm only employed 30 people, but such was its success in the latter years of the 19th century that by the 1890s there were several hundred people employed at the works. In 1875, the Eye Witness Works were extended by making the original single-floor building into three storeys plus the addition of a further nine bays, which were also on three levels. The firm become a limited company in 1897 with capital of £60,000 with Walter Tyzack as chairman and James and William Veall as directors.
An account of the mechanised procedure and products at the Eye Witness Works can be found in an 1897 edition of Sheffield and Rotherham Illustrated, here is an excerpt:
The leading features of Messrs Needham, Veall & Tyzack manufactures in these departments are pen and pocket knives in an infinite variety of useful and elegant shapes, table knives, butchers' knives, carvers, scissors, pruning shears, and razors of the finest make in hollow and plain ground, for which latter goods in particular their reputation is speedily becoming world-wide. Some idea of the range of patterns kept in these various goods may be derived from the fact that in pen and pocket knives alone the firm possess over two thousand separate designs, most of which are made in four or five separate coverings.
After World War I the firm was hit by the downturn in demand for high-quality pocket knives brought on by the invention of stainless steel, but mechanised its production process and survived. The firm started to expand again, taking over several well-known Sheffield cutlery companies and their trademarks. The works continued to enlarge with this upturn in business, with new buildings being added on Thomas Street in 1950. In 1965 Needham, Veall & Tyzack became known as Taylor's Eye Witness to take advantage of its well-known trade mark. In 1975 it was bought by Harrison Fisher & Co who continued to use the Taylor's Eye Witness brand name for many of its products as well as producing "own label" goods for department stores, including John Lewis, Tesco and Sainsbury's.
On 1 June 2007 Harrison Fisher & Co Ltd changed its name to Taylors Eye Witness Limited.
In February 2007 the works were upgraded as a listed building from Grade II to Grade II*[citation needed], but later reverted to Grade II. Although the building has an interesting frontage, after 20th century intervention there are few internal features of historical interest.