Walker & Hall antique silverplate

Walker & Hall was founded in Sheffield in 1843 by John Harrison, a Britannia-metal worker who hired George Walker to learn the electroplating process. Walker left Harrison two years later and partnered with Samuel Coulson, later joined by Henry Hall, to start manufacturing electroplated items.

By the 1850s, Hall's nephews had joined the business, and Sir John Bingham became a partner in 1852. The company grew to have 1500 employees by 1894, specializing in electroplate, cutlery, and silver. The company was known for its publicity, including a false story that Walker was a co-inventor of the electroplating process with Dr. John Wright.

The Electro Works of Walker & Hall dominated Sheffield's skyline until the 1940 Sheffield Blitz, and the building was later rebuilt and continued production until 1963, when it was demolished. In 1954, the company hired David Mellor, a young designer who produced stripped-down, more... modern cutlery designs that won a Design Centre award in 1957. In 1963, Walker & Hall were subsumed into the Clore Group, and then into British Silverware Ltd. The company ceased manufacturing in 1971, but the name was revived as a retail firm. less...