# Master Cutler

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For the train service, see [Master Cutler (train)](/source/Master_Cutler_(train)).

This article is about the Master of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire; not to be confused with the Master of the [Worshipful Company of Cutlers](/source/Worshipful_Company_of_Cutlers) in London.

The **Master Cutler** is the head of the [Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire](/source/Company_of_Cutlers_in_Hallamshire) established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield), [England](/source/England). The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of September of each year and the position taken in the first Tuesday of October. Despite the title, the Master Cutler does not have to be involved in the [cutlery](/source/Cutlery) business, or even the [steel](/source/Steel) industry, to be elected.

The first Master Cutler was Robert Sorsby (1577–1643). His son, Malin Sorsby, was Master Cutler in 1647, and in turn his son Robert Sorsby took the office in 1669. Another Robert Sorsby, a cousin of the first, held the post in 1628.[1]

The Installation of the new Master Cutler and Company follows the annual election of the new Company. In the early years of the company, the Election, Installation, Church Service and celebratory meal (which eventually became the Cutlers’ Feast) all happened on the same day. Now, only the Installation and Church Service, followed by lunch, take place on the same day.

## List of Masters Cutler

Brass Plaque in Cutlers' Hall

Notable and recent Masters Cutler have included:[2][3]

- 1624 Robert Sorsby

- 1662 James Staniforth

- 1731 [Thomas Wilson](/source/Wilsons_of_Sharrow)

- 1790 Joseph Ward

- 1798 Samuel Broomhead Ward

- 1808 [Ebenezer Rhodes](/source/Ebenezer_Rhodes)

- 1816 Thomas Asline Ward

- 1855 [Frederick Mappin](/source/Frederick_Mappin)

- 1863 [Thomas Jessop](/source/Thomas_Jessop)

- 1865–66 [Sir John Brown](/source/John_Brown_(industrialist))

- 1867-9 [Mark Firth](/source/Mark_Firth)

- 1870 [William Bragge](/source/William_Bragge)

- 1872 [Thomas Vickers](/source/Thomas_Vickers)

- 1880 [William Chesterman](/source/William_Chesterman)[4]

- 1899 [Robert Hadfield](/source/Robert_Hadfield)

- 1902 Albert J. Hobson[5]

- 1908 [Douglas Vickers](/source/Douglas_Vickers)

- 1911 [Arthur Balfour](/source/Arthur_Balfour%2C_1st_Baron_Riverdale)

- 1913 [Thomas William Ward](/source/Thomas_William_Ward_(industrialist))

- 1914–18 [William Henry Ellis](/source/William_Henry_Ellis_(engineer))

- 1919 [Henry Kenyon Stephenson](/source/Henry_Kenyon_Stephenson)

- 1932 [Arthur Lee](/source/Arthur_Lee_(Army_officer))

- 1935 [Samuel Roberts](/source/Samuel_Roberts%2C_2nd_Baronet)

- 1937 Col. Frederick Austin Neill

- 1956 [Sir Peter Roberts, 3rd Baronet](/source/Sir_Peter_Roberts%2C_3rd_Baronet)

- 1958 [Hugh Neill](/source/Hugh_Neill)

- 1965 Eric Mensworth

- 1966 Antony B Hampton

- 1967 John Basil Peile

- 1973 Ken Lewis

- 1974 Charles Graham Murray

- 1990 [Hugh Sykes](/source/Hugh_Sykes)

- 1998 [Douglas and Pamela Liversidge](/source/Pamela_Liversidge) (Master and Mistress Cutler)

- 1999 H. Stuart Johnson

- 2000 Vernon Smith

- 2001 Richard Prest

- 2002 John Bramah

- 2003 Neil Turner

- 2004 John Tissiman

- 2005 Timothy Reed

- 2006 Alan Reid

- 2007 Gordon W. Bridge[6]

- 2008 Martin G. Howell

- 2009 James Newman

- 2010 William Speirs

- 2011 [Pamela Liversidge](/source/Pamela_Liversidge)[7]

- 2012 Neil MacDonald

- 2013 Tony Pedder

- 2014 David Grey

- 2015 Craig McKay

- 2016 Richard Edwards

- 2017–18 Ken Cooke[8]

- 2018–19 Nicholas Cragg[9]

- 2019–2021 Nicholas D. O. Williams (Serving twice due to the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic))[10]

- 2021–2022 James Andrew Tear[11]

- 2022–2023 Dame Julie Kenny[12]

- 2023–2024 Charles Turner[13]

- 2024–2025 Philip Rodrigo[14]

- 2025–2026 Keith Jackson[15]

## The eponymous train

Main article: [Master Cutler (train)](/source/Master_Cutler_(train))

In 1947 at a meeting of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire Ronald Matthews, a former holder of the office and Chairman of the [London and North Eastern Railway](/source/London_and_North_Eastern_Railway) suggested that the 7.40 train from [Sheffield Victoria](/source/Sheffield_Victoria_railway_station) to [London Marylebone](/source/Marylebone_station), returning at 18.15, should be named after the Master Cutler. This was agreed by both the Company of Cutlers and the LNER. The *Master Cutler* was introduced by the LNER on 6 October 1947, running on the [Great Central Main Line](/source/Great_Central_Main_Line) route from Sheffield Victoria to London Marylebone calling at only [Nottingham Victoria](/source/Nottingham_Victoria_railway_station) and [Leicester Central](/source/Leicester_Central_railway_station).[16][17] The then Master Cutler, A Balfour, later the 2nd [Lord Riverdale](/source/Baron_Riverdale), rode on the footplate of the inaugural train. It has since been a tradition that the Master Cutler ride with the driver of the train during their year of office.[18] Upon nationalisation in 1948, the service became the responsibility of the [Eastern Region](/source/Eastern_Region_of_British_Railways) of [British Railways](/source/British_Railways). Known to staff simply as "The Cutler", the train carried a restaurant car and was generally hauled by a [Gresley A3 Pacific](/source/LNER_Gresley_Classes_A1_and_A3).[17]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Mesters_1-0)** Binfield, Clyde; Hey, David (1997). *Mesters to Masters: A History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire*. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 21. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0198289979](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0198289979).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-plaque_2-0)** Plaque in Cutlers' Hall

1. **[^](#cite_ref-List_3-0)** [The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire](http://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/downloads/date%20list%20of%20masters%202011.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120415001752/http://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/downloads/date%20list%20of%20masters%202011.pdf) 15 April 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) Masters Cutler

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** "Cutlers' Feast". *Sheffield Daily Telegraph*: 5. 3 September 1880.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** "Master Cutler′s Feast". *The Times*. No. 36887. London. 1 October 1902. p. 4.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Master of industry](http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.starbusinessmonthly.co.uk%2Fedition7%2Fstb-03-10-07-007-e001.pdf&images=yes), the Sheffield Star, 3 October 2007

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Liversisge_7-0)** ["Historic date for first female Master Cutler"](http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/business/historic-date-for-first-female-master-cutler-1-3775700). *Sheffield Telegraph*. Johnston Press. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Cooke_8-0)** ["New Master Cutler: 'We should not undervalue Sheffield'"](https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/new-master-cutler-we-should-not-undervalue-sheffield-1-8786491). *Sheffield Star*. Sheffield. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Master Cutler"](https://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/home/master-cutler). *www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk*. Retrieved 26 December 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["The Master Cutler, 2020–2021"](https://web.archive.org/web/20201021113535/https://cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/the-master-cutler-2020-2021/). *The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire*. Archived from [the original](https://cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/the-master-cutler-2020-2021/) on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["The Master Cutler, 2021–2022"](https://cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/the-master-cutler-2020-2021/). *The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire*. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Kenny_12-0)** ["Cutlers guild appoints second female master"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-63118470). *BBC News*. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Cutlers' Company: New boss for Sheffield manufacturing organisation as it prepares to turn 400"](https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/cutlers-company-new-boss-for-sheffield-manufacturing-organisation-as-it-prepares-to-turn-400-4360973). *The Star*. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["New Master Cutler"](https://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/new-master-cutler-elected-for-2024-2025-02-09-24/). 13 September 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["NEW MASTER CUTLER ELECTED FOR 2025-2026 – 01.09.25 – The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire"](https://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/new-master-cutler-elected-for-2025-2026-01-09-25/). Retrieved 7 May 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** "Naming of LNER Master Cutler Express" *[Railway Gazette](/source/Railway_Gazette_International)* 10 October 1947 page 23

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hawkins_17-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hawkins_17-1) Hawkins, Mac (1991). *The Great Central then and now*. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 10. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7153-9326-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7153-9326-X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Company of Cutlers"](http://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/history/the-master-cutler-train). *www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk*. Retrieved 23 February 2017.

- [Mayors, Lord Mayors, Masters Cutler, Freemen and Bishops of Sheffield](https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/libraries-and-archives/archives-and-local-studies/research/Mayors%20Cutlers%20Bishops%20etc%20v2-0.pdf)

## Further reading

- Clyde Binfield, David Hey (1997) *Mesters to Masters: A History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshir*e (Oxford University Press) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0198289979](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0198289979)

## External links

- [Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire](http://www.cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Master Cutler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Cutler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Cutler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.