The Rippon family

and its association with the Phoenix Works

In my article about the history of the Phoenix Works, I mentioned that there cannot have been many Ridgeway families who had not, at some time or other, depended upon the Phoenix Works for their livelihood, adding the words “none more so than my own”. My confidence in adding these words was based upon the fact that my Grandfather Walter Rippon, the Company Manager, had entered and won the first prize in a long service competition organised by the “Sheffield Independent” newspaper. Part of the resulting press article, published on August 4^th  1932, is shown below.

The purpose of this short article is to describe the Rippon Family‘s involvement in the sickle trade and its long continuous service to Hutton & Company.

Although my family tree can be traced further back, for their connection with the firm of Hutton & Co. we can begin the story with my Great(x5) grandfather, John born 1703, a hatter with his business in nearby Mosborough who married Elizabeth Marsden in 1732. Interestingly, Elizabeth was baptised in 1698 in the plague village of Eyam. They had one daughter, also named Elizabeth, followed by six sons.

The first son, also called John, continued in the hat making business but his son Joseph, born 1778, was apprenticed to Robert Staniforth of Sload Lane in the sickle trade in 1792 for seven years, as shown in the Cutler‘s Company of Hallamshire register of apprenticeships, the relevant page is shown below, interestingly, on the same page are listed the apprenticeships of Francis and William Riley, members of another Ridgeway family.

The second son, George, born 1738, was apprenticed to John Gill of Cuckhold Haven in the sickle trade in 1751. The fourth son, Thomas, born 1744, also continued in the hat making business but his son, also called Thomas, born 1777, a poor child, became apprenticed to Robert Turner of Ridgeway in the sickle trade in 1791. The fifth son William, was born in 1746 and married Ann Hutton in 1781. The sixth son Richard was born in 1748. But it was the third son Joseph, born in 1740 who began the connection with the Huttons, by working for the founder of the Company, Joseph Hutton in 1760, after having started his apprenticeship in the sickle trade under John Turner of Slode Lane in 1753. He was also one of several sicklesmiths who were brought to account by the Cutler’s Company for some breach of regulations in 1791. A copy of the standard document showing the basic conditions relating to apprenticeships is shown below.

Joseph Rippon died in 1819 having seen his son George, born in 1767, apprenticed to Joseph Hutton (2) in 1783. George worked until his death in 1847 and his only son, also named George, born in 1800 was apprenticed to Joseph Hutton (3) in 1814 and was  later employed by Thomas Hutton. George also worked for the firm until his death in 1878.

George’s son Matthew, born in 1836 was taught in the sickle trade by his Father and was initially employed by Thomas Hutton and afterwards by his son John Jermyn Hutton(1) and his grandson John Jermyn Hutton (2).

Matthew also worked until his death in 1897, twenty nine years after his son, my Grandfather Walter, the winner of the competition, was born in 1868.

Walter made the earliest possible start to his working life, being employed by Hutton & Co. before he was 9 years old, but had to stop due to his young age. He was later re-engaged in 1878 on half time, being paid 4 pence per half day, the other half day attending school. His role at the Phoenix Works became that of Engine Minder then serving as Manager for 32 years.

Joining my Grandfather, his son George, began working for Hutton & Co. in 1908, becoming a sickle and reaping hook maker. My Father joined them in 1915 having left school early as he qualified for a Labour Certificate, shown below, which exempted him from attending school. After starting as a warehouse hand my Father eventually took over the position of Works Manager upon the death of  my Grandfather in 1933.

My Uncle George continued working until his death in 1956, leaving my Father to continue alone until his retirement in June 1966, bringing to a close an unbroken family service record with Hutton & Co. of  206 years. The photograph below, taken in 1959, shows my Father watching Mr. E. Fisher scythe fitting.

The total aggregate number of years service is impossible to calculate precisely as there is evidence that other members of the family worked for the Company, but we have no specific dates. In the wages book of 1829 to 1831, George’s mother Elizabeth is listed as receiving wages and there are also payments made to a Joseph Rippon who is almost certainly the Joseph mentioned earlier, who was apprenticed to Robert Staniforth in 1792. My Father lost two brothers in 1916 in the First World War, Harold aged 23 years and Dolling aged 21 years. Harold’s trade is mentioned in my Father’s notes on the family’s history, as a sickle grinder then handle turner and Dolling’s trade is listed as wood turner. Although there is no mention of their employers, Hutton & Co. must be the most likely. The total number of years service by only those members of the family listed in the long service record above, amounts to 382 but the true figure must exceed 400. A calculation made  by my Father in 1936 shows two unidentified additions of 5 and 13 years.

There is strong evidence that the family had connections with the edge tool trade before their first connection with the firm of Hutton. The family tree compiled by my Father was extended back another three generations by a cousin living in Australia, Jean Hicks.

Jean and her husband Barry, made several visits to the UK. in the 1970’s and we exchanged much information. Jean called our branch of the family “The Eckington Rippons”

Much more recently, Philip and Sheila Rippon of Upton, released their family histories onto the internet, at: www.rippon.net/familyhistory  This is a most detailed and comprehensive record and is essential reading for anyone interested in Rippon family history.

Using the earlier entries under Rippon, in the Cutler’s Company Register of Apprenticeships, viz.

Thomas Rippon son of George, Bewcheife; to Father cutler; freedom 1645.

George Rippon son of George, Bowcheife: to Father cutler, freedom 1651

George Rippon son of Thomas, Bolehill Norton cutler deceased; to (1) George Rippon, Beauchiffe Abbey cutler, in 1655 for 9 years: (2) John Sheirtcliffe cutler, in 1657 for 8 years, freedom 1665.

Philip and Sheila, after much diligent detective work, uncovered convincing evidence that the Rippons of Beauchief and Norton, migrated to the nearby Moss Valley in about 1650, to become the first of the “Eckington Rippons”. Philip and Sheila also mention that the word cutler is used in the above context collectively to describe edge tools and includes the specialities of scythe and sickle making by hand.   

As well as the press cutting describing the competition, my Father also saved a press cutting from the Derbyshire Times of  17th November 1933 which included an obituary of my Grandfather. From these two sources we can see why he became such a prominent figure in the village in which he was born and what his interests were. A brief account of them may throw a little more light on Ridgeway village life in the early part of the twentieth century.

He was a pioneer of the village War Memorial and Institute and served as a member of its management board. Serving on the local War Pensions Committee for nineteen years, he was also the area representative on the Chesterfield War Pensions Committee. He was a member of the Liberal Executive Committee for North East Derbyshire.

Being a religious man, he served as a Trustee of  Marsh Lane Methodist Church, a Trustee of Handley Methodist Church and for 34 years, a Trustee of Ridgeway Methodist Church, where he also served as a Sunday School Teacher for 45 years and attended 60 Whitsuntide Gatherings.

The Whitsuntide Gathering was an important event in the Sunday School year, where members of the Church and Sunday School walked behind the Sunday School banner, stopping at various places in the locality to sing hymns accompanied by music played by several violinists, both adults and children, and from a portable harmonium owned by my Grandfather who’s will later stated “ The small harmonium and undercarriage I wish to give and bequeath to the Trustees of Ridgeway Methodist Church and Sunday School absolutely for their sole use”. The photograph below shows the gathering on Whit Monday 1930, with, in the centre, a gentleman seated on a stool playing the harmonium. For many years my Uncle Stanley played the harmonium with my Uncle Rufus among the violinists. As a child, Stanley missed much schooling as he was deemed “too frail to attend”. When he was not at school he would walk down to Ford and up the other side of the valley to Marsh Lane, where the organist at the Methodist Church taught him music. As a result Stanley became the organist at Ridgeway Methodist Church, a position which he was to hold for 50 years.

My Grandfather, as well as being a religious man, was a family man. He married Margaret Taylor in 1889 and they had eleven children. Two of them, Edith and Percy sadly died in infancy during their first years.

The family photograph below, taken outside number 10, Ridgeway Moor, dates from about 1910. Information relating to the family members can be found by clicking on this image.

The above account deals essentially with the male line of the Family and their connection with the Phoenix Works. As can be seen from the competition press article, my Grandfather also makes the point that some members of my Grandmother’s family, the Taylors and his Mother’s family, the Websters, were also at various times, employed by the firm and suggested then, that overall, the total number of years service at the Phoenix works exceeded 500.

Tony Rippon

March 2009