W&G Sissons LTD

(active since 1784)

The company began operating as Roberts, Cadman & Co. in 1784, when Samuel Roberts Sr., being the distinguished silversmith himself, decided to build new works for his son at Nº9, Eyre Street in Sheffield. Samuel Roberts Jr. and his partner George Cadman, who had been the apprentice of Roberts Sr., started the production of silver tableware, cutlery and Old Sheffield plate pieces of excellent quality.

Roberts Jr. was a talented artist and he certainly influenced most of the best Sheffield plate designs and patterns between 1785 and 1810. In 1789 he improved the formula of Sheffield Plate by drastically increasing the proportion of silver to copper and called it "Bell metal". 

This made Roberts & Cadman’s plated pieces practically indistinguishable from solid silver ones. Their tableware, tea and coffee pieces were plated with extra thickness to allow the deep-cut engraving. Combined with the solid silver handles, mounts and feet they were extremely in demand both at home and abroad.

After Cadman's death, the company was joined by the new partner Evan Smith and was renamed to Roberts, Smith & Co. In 1834 William Sissons Sr. joined the firm and following the retirement of Roberts in 1848 the firm's name was succeeded by Smith, Sissons & Co lasting until 1858.

Smith retired in 1858 and left the company to Sissons Sr., joined by his two sons, William Jr. and George. After their father's death, they renamed the company to W&G Sissons Co. 

From 1885 and until 1903, the company was successfully managed by William Sissons Sr.’s grandsons, Charles and Walter, and kept its name. They registered the refined electroplated items with the figural "bell" symbol in tribute to the same mark their predecessors had used for Sheffield plate pieces.

However, in the 30s the downturn in silverware production and changing fashions affected W&G Sissons badly. The company decided to change direction and started to produce metal kitchen sinks, which became very successful. In 2002 W&G Sissons joined Swiss company Franke and became Franke Sissons LTD, one of the largest manufacturers of kitchen sinks in the UK.