J. J. Saville and Co
Steel manufacturers of Sheffield.
1876 John James Saville is said to have started in business in his own right at Wicker Lane, Sheffield, and a newspaper advertisement dated Sep 1876 confirms J J Saville and Co at 20 Wicker Lane, appointed agent for a Prussian manufacturer of corkscrews, scissors and pen knives. [1] His obituary shows that he had worked as a travelling salesman in Germany before starting on his own. We will see that Germany was an important market for J J Saville, indeed their business was largely focussed on export rather than home trade.
A full page feature was published about J J Saville and Co in 1911. [2] This records that Saville founded the business in conjunction with G. G. Coppel.
1879 Directory entry - J J Saville and Co., Merchants and steel manufacturers, Germania Works, Leadmill Street, Sheffield. [3]. The attached map of 1889 show this works to be a small site adjacent to the Norfolk Foundry of Messrs J. C. and J. S. Ellis.
1881 First use found of the smoking chimney trade mark.[4]
1885-1891 Savilles appear to have additional premises in Napier Street. Several job vacancies were advertised for file cutters, file forgers etc. at this address.
1890 J. C. and J. S. Ellis vacated the Norfolk Foundry in 1890 and the site was acquired by Savilles, as the maps included here show. Savilles erected a steelworks, occupying a site along the whole of one side of Leadmill Street and also facing onto Shoreham Street and Leadmill Road. The works included melting furnaces, forges, file cutting and hardening shops, annealing furnaces, examination shops and extensive warehousing. [5]. The name Germania Works was retained and it can be seen clearly on Goad’s Insurance Map of 1896 attached. The maps also show that they gained extra land by the infill of the adjacent mill pond. Their address became Shoreham Street, instead of Leadmill Street.
1895 First indications found that Savilles had acquired the business and trade names of Joseph Ashforth and Co, including the Triumph brand and trademarks (see attached). Savilles advertised themselves as successors to Joseph Ashforth, and by 1901 had renamed their works Triumph Works (Maps confirm that the Triumph Steel Works was the same site as the Germania Works).[6] 1891 Ashforths had begun liquidation in 1891 and in March 1892 their assets were auctioned. One of the lots offered the name "Joseph Ashforth and Company" together with all the goodwill, trademarks and patents.[7] The physical assets were sold separately. Whether Savilles had bought Ashforth’s business as early as 1892 is not clear.
1901 Directory entry - J J Saville and Co., Triumph Works, Shoreham Street, Sheffield. Manufacturers of steel, file and mill tools. [8] 1901 Census shows John J Saville’s brother Arthur as manager.
1901 J J Saville and Co. established a melting plant for manufacture of high grade tool steels in Libau, Russia (now in Latvia) as a result of very high Russian import duties.[9]
1902 John James Saville, founder and senior partner, died 29 Apr 1902.[10]
1903/1904 Following the death of John J Saville, a controlling interest in J J Saville and Co was acquired by William Jessop and Sons. [11].
J J Saville and Company Limited was registered in 1904 with capital of £100,000, to acquire the business carried on at Sheffield and Libau, Russia, under the style of J. J. Saville and Co.; to adopt an agreement with Edith E Saville, A Saville, W J Walsh (these being J J Saville’s executors), and G. G. Coppel and to carry on the business of ironmasters, steel manufacturers, smelters, engineers, iron founders, coal masters, etc. The subscribers were:- Albert J. Hobson, (a director of William Jessop), H. Hughes (solicitor), G. G. Coppel, Sydney Jessop Robinson (managing director of William Jessop), Noel W Burbidge (chartered accountant), J. Stanley Watson, Mrs M Coppel. There was no public issue. A. J. Hobson was appointed Chairman and G G Coppel managing director. H Hughes and S J Robinson were appointed directors.[12] In 1909 it was reported that Jessops held approximately half of the stock of J J Saville.[13]
1905 See 1905 Industries of Sheffield and District, which outlines the history of the company and includes photos.
1908 Mr Arthur Saville, company secretary, and brother of the founder, resigned after 28 years service with the company.[14] He went on to found a new business, Watson, Saville and Co.
1909 New high speed steel place on market, branded Triumph Superb. This was later described as having been invented by G G Coppel.[15],[16]
1910 Won a Gold Medal for High Speed and Carbon Steels for Tools at the Industrial Exhibition in Jekaterinoslaw (Russia).[17]
1911 Directory entry - J J Saville and Co. Ltd. Triumph Works, Shoreham Street, Sheffield. Steel converters and refiners.[18] Manufacturer of tool steels and files for the railways.[19]
WW1 – Saville’s business had historically been mainly in continental Europe, especially Germany and Russia. Their trade was particularly badly impacted by the Great War, and in May 1915 their plant in Libau was in the hands of the Germans. There is some indication that Saville’s staff in Libau, including Mr M Kulkes, manager of the works, were imprisoned. [20] Also in 1915 a question was raised in Parliament about the wisdom of granting government contracts to a company with a German MD and other German employees. This concern was quickly rebuffed by the Minister. [21] Despite loss of the Libau plant, Russian business remained strong in 1915. At the end WW1 the Republic of Latvia was declared and was followed by the Latvian War of independence. Saville’s interests in Libau appear to have been lost. Between 1916 and 1919 J J Saville also had a works in Brown Street, Sheffield.
1919 'Naval Secret Revealed. Fishing Trawlers and Otter Boards'
The “London - Times” Engineering Supplement for February states :— “That one of the Navy's secrets that has been disclosed since the cessation of hostilities is the use made of otters, or Paravanes, for enabling ships to pass through minefields with almost complete immunity.”
Now that the secret has been made public it will be interesting to note that the otter board has a close association with Fleetwood, inasmuch as these boards are used in connection with the nets on fishing trawlers. The Paravane was invented by Lieutenant Burney, son of Admiral Sir Cecil Burney. By a strange coincidence a Fleetwood man, who at one time was a well-known Trinity House Pilot for the Port of Barrow, thought out the idea of using the otter board and a net for deflecting torpedoes from a ship’s side shortly after the war broke out. The idea took such a firm hold of him that he set to work and built a model boat, fixed the apparatus on to it, and gave it a trial at Rossall Baths, but it only proved partially successful. He was taken ill and instead of submitting the idea to the proper authorities he let it slide.
The Paravanes invented by Lieut. Burney were towed in pairs, one on either side, from a point as low down as possible on the ship's bows, in such a way that they were not in the ship’s wake, but stood out obliquely away from the hull. When a minemooring cable was encountered it was forcibly deflected from the ship and along the whole length of the towing rope until it came to the Paravane itself. Here it encountered scissors or shear blades which, although it was made of steel 1½in. in diameter, cut it as easily as a pair of scissors cuts a piece of string. These blades, which were only 10½in. long, with a section about 1½in. wide by ½in. thick, had to be made of exceedingly fine and strong steel, and after long and extensive tests by the Admiralty the “Triumph Superb” high-speed steel manufactured by Messrs. J. J. Saville and Company (Limited), of Sheffield, was exclusively adapted for them. The whole efficacy of the Paravanes, so far as mines were concerned, depended on these cutter-blades, for if through becoming blunt or breaking they failed to cut the cable the mine would remain submerged and dangerous, whereas if it was released and rose to the surface it could be immediately detected and destroyed.' [22]
1919 Control of William Jessop and Sons was acquired by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) in 1919, resulting in their controlling interest in J J Saville and Co also passing into BSA’s ownership.[23]
1922 Saville & Co were producing 'Rustless Iron'. “There is quite a vogue in rustless irons and steels at the moment and in addition to Vickers' and Krupp's steels referred to in my last month's notes, the rustless iron made by J. J. Saville & Co., Ltd., is worthy of notice. It differs from the others in not requiring hardening and in that it is ductile with a tensile strength of 40 tons and an elongation of 25 per cent with a reduction of area of 60 per cent. These properties enable it to be pressed, spun, stamped or coldworked into the most intricate shapes without requiring subsequent heat-treatment, and in the soft condition, when polished, will not tarnish or rust and will probably also find a limited application in the chemical industry.” [24]
1923 Sir Albert John Hobson died 20 Apr 1923. He was succeeded as chairman of Savilles by G G Coppel.[25]
1926 BSA annual report for trading year 1926 records the purchase of the remaining shares in J J Saville and Co. Exact date is not known. [26] Whilst it is not stated, the indications are that Saville became a wholly owned subsidiary of BSA, not of William Jessop and Sons. Before this date, BSA only mention their holding in Wm Jessop. After this date, both Jessop and Saville are described in each annual report as subsidiaries (with equal standing). A prospectus for debenture issue in 1936 confirms that BSA owned 100% of the issued share capital of both companies.[27]
1931 Managing Director G G Coppel retired.[28] He was succeeded as MD by Lewis Chapman, who also succeeded as MD of William Jessop and was appointed a director of BSA (an appointment from which he resigned in 1936 to concentrate on the Sheffield steel makers). Chapman had been with the company for 25 years and had been appointed to the Board in 1928.[29]. Note that by this time Coppel had been replaced as chairman of Saville by Percy Martin, the MD of BSA.[30] It is likely this happened when BSA aquired the full ownership of Savilles.
The notice of Chapman’s appointment made it very clear that Jessops and Savilles would continue to operate separately. "To Function Separately. The two businesses will continue to function separately, each having their own works, as their main interests are independent of each other. Savilles are outstanding as makers of high speed steel and special steels generally and files, whilst Jessops, apart from specialising in crucible tool steel and fine sheet and strip rolling, have a large heavy and light engineering section producing finished crankshafts ranging in size from aeroplane and automobile engine cranks up to the largest submarine Diesel types. Jessop’s steel foundry is also noted for specialising in all classes of high grade and intricate steel castings for the engineering industry."[31]
1932 Walter Carter, director and sales manager, died on 9 Nov 1932, aged 58. He had been with the company for 25 years and was described as having outstanding ability in tool design and treatment of steels.[32]
1933 BSA announced their intention to consolidate manufacturing in their steels business. BSA Chairman reported in 1934 that “During the year steps have been taken towards completing the concentration of production in Sheffield on one site..... To achieve this the Saville file factory has been moved to a site adjoining Jessop’s Works, where what is probably the most modern file factory in existence has been constructed for the line production of files. The centralisation of production in other lines is well on the way towards completion.”[33] The Triumph Works name was retained for Savilles within the Brightside complex.
In the 1930s and 1940s, we see Jessops and Savilles drawing closer together, still separate legal entities with their own Boards and product lines, but with the same management. Aside from their traditional product lines, it becomes increasingly difficult to attach a particular development to a particular company. In particular, we see advertising for their developments in titanium and cemented tungsten carbide being advertised over both company names.
1937 Steel and file manufacturers. [34]
1940s At a date yet to be established, Jessops and Savilles were joined in the BSA steels interests by another Sheffield company, Bromley, Fisher and Turton Limited, but exactly when, and how ownership was structured, has not yet emerged.
1945 BSA Chairman paid tribute to the achievements of the company during the war years, and particularly mentions steel for paravanes again made by Savilles for the Navy, and to crankshafts made by Jessops for marine diesels. [35]
1951 In June BSA were notified that the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain intended to exercise their option to take over BSA’s steel interests, including William Jessop and Sons Ltd, J J Saville and Co Ltd., and Bromley, Fisher and Turton Ltd., all of Sheffield. However, in November it was announced that negations had been suspended (perhaps helped by the Conservative general election victory) and on 24 Jun 1953 BSA were notified that the Iron and Steel Corp would not exercise its option. All three remained part of BSA. [36]
1955 Lewis Chapman retired as MD of both William Jessop and Sons Limited and J J Saville and Co Ltd. and was replaced by Mr R P Wallace. Chapman became chairman of both companies (but we might note in some reports the use of the shorthand term Jessop-Saville [37]
1957 Reference to R P Wallace as MD of BSA Steels division which comprised “William Jessop and Sons Ltd., and associated companies J J Saville and Co Ltd., and Bromley, Fisher and Turton Ltd.” Wallace joined the Board of BSA. [38]
1959 the companies in BSA’s steel group were consolidated into two new companies, Jessop-Saville Limited and Jessop-Saville (Small Tools) Limited.[39]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - Saturday 30 September 1876
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - 24 Jun 1911
- ↑ White’s Directory of Sheffield 1879
- ↑ British Trade Journal 1881
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - 24 Jun 1911
- ↑ The Ironmonger – 28 Sep 1895; White’s Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham 1901; International Exhibition Glasgow 1901 - Official catalogue
- ↑ Sheffield Daily Telegraph - 27 Feb 1892, page 4
- ↑ White’s Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham 1901 and International Exhibition Glasgow 1901 - Official catalogue
- ↑ Sheffield Evening Telegraph - 18 Mar 1901
- ↑ Sheffield Daily Telegraph - 30 Apr 1902
- ↑ Yorkshire Post - 25 Feb 1904
- ↑ Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer - 3 Feb 1904; Sheffield Daily Telegraph 10 Mar 1904; Financial Times - 8 Feb 1904
- ↑ Financial Times - 4 Mar 1909
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - 2 Jul 1908
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - 24 Jun 1911 and 25 Jul 1931
- ↑ The Engineer 1909
- ↑ Sheffield Evening Telegraph - 8 Nov 1910
- ↑ White’s Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham 1911
- ↑ Bradshaw’s Railway Manual 1911
- ↑ National Archives FO 383/212
- ↑ Sheffield Evening Telegraph - 28 Jul 1915
- ↑ Blackpool Times - Saturday 8 March 1919
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Gazette - 9 Aug 1919
- ↑ Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering – 11 Jan 1922
- ↑ Sheffield Daily Telegraph - 27 Jun 1923
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Post - 11 May 1927
- ↑ Daily News (London) - 12 Nov 1936
- ↑ Sheffield Evening Telegraph – 25 Jul 1931
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - Monday 27 July 1931 and 2 Nov 1936
- ↑ Sheffield Daily Telegraph - 25 Jul 1931
- ↑ Sheffield Daily Telegraph - 1 Aug 1931
- ↑ Sheffield Independent - 21 Nov 1932
- ↑ Financial Times 11 Oct 1934
- ↑ 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries
- ↑ Financial Times – 21 Mar 1945
- ↑ Financial Times - 26 Jun 1951; Sunday Express - 11 Nov 1951; Financial Times - 26 Nov 1953
- ↑ Yorkshire Post - 27 Jun 1955
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Post - 15 Oct 1957
- ↑ Financial Times 19 Nov 1959