Wilsons of Sharrow
Encyclopedia
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, is the world’s oldest manufacturer of snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
. The company was founded 1737. Wilsons also manufactures the renowned Fribourg & Treyer snuffs.
In the early 1740s, Joseph Wilson succeeded his father Thomas Wilson, a shearsmith, as tenant of Sharrow Mill (then a cutlers wheel) . The mill suffered a fire in 1746, when his stock in trade included 'tobacco stuff'. However the snuff mill was apparently not built until 1763.
In 1833, Joseph and Henry Wilson parted company with their cousins William and George (who retained Sharrow Mills), setting up a rival business at Westbrook Mill. That remained a family business incorporated as Joseph and Henry Wilson Ltd in 1895. It remained in family ownership until 1953, when its elderly proprietors sold the business to Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
. Its archives are now deposited in Sheffield Archives.
At Sharrow Mills steam power
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
was introduced in 1797, but the water wheel remains operational. The company is currently still owned by the Wilson family, the sixth generation since Thomas, still based at Sharrow Mills
Sharrow
For the village in North Yorkshire, see Sharow. For the shared lane roadway marking, see Shared lane marking.Sharrow is a district of Sheffield directly south west of Sheffield city centre....
, in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.
Further reading
- Wilsons of Sharrow Website
- Snuffbox.org Profile
- M H F Chaytor, The Wilsons of Sharrow (1962)
- D. Crossley and others, Water Power on Sheffield Rivers (1989), 81-2.
- Access to Archives - search for snuff mills
- Wilsons's Snuff mill at Sharrow Mills, Sheffield - photographs inside house, mill, and library
- Wilsons & Co (Sharrow) Ltd - water wheel in action
- Pestles and mortars grinding tobacco into snuff