This electro-plate and gilding business was established in 1889 in Orchard Lane by William Edwin Bowker.  Born in Stalybridge, Cheshire, in about 1837, Bowker had worked as a bookkeeper in a cotton mill.  He later moved to Sheffield and became a manager at the Electro Works of Walker & Hall.   He died on 19 June 1892, aged 55, and was buried in Fulwood, leaving £885.  By 1901, Bowker’s had moved to Carver Street, with William’s sons, Tom (aged 37) and Arthur (aged 32), as partners.  They lived in Western Bank.  In 1907, the firm became ‘Ltd’, with £10,000 capital.  Arthur Bowker died on 11 July 1934, aged, 66, and was buried in Fulwood.   He left £10,257.  Eventually, the firm was managed by William Henry Fisher.  He had served three generations of the Bowkers over 63 years and was well known in the local silver trade.  He died on 2 July 1954, aged 80, and his funeral was at the City Road Crematorium.   He left £1,073.  

In 1956, Bowker’s was taken over by Stainless Plating Ltd (established 1926) and moved to Staveley Road.  Tom Beaumont Bowker (the son of Tom) was joint-managing director until his retirement in 1960 (he died on 21 November 1966, aged 66).   Reginald Percy Bowker was a director until his death on 11 April 1968, aged 76.  Bowker’s continued to plate traditional Sheffield holloware and cutlery until it was fully absorbed by Stainless Plating in 1966.