Joseph Thorpe – who is elusive in the Census – had been listed as a table knife manufacturer in Workhouse Croft in 1852.  By the 1860s, Thorpe was operating from an address in Paradise Street, where he offered ‘Cutlery on Hire’ or ‘Lend Out Table Knives and Forks’ for banquets, dinner parties, and other entertainments (Sheffield Independent, 19 January 1869).  In about 1870, Joseph partnered William Fletcher, who within a year or so had taken over the business.  Fletcher also eventually relinquished the business.  In 1884, George Thorpe (late Joseph Thorpe) was listed in Paradise Street, offering cutlery ‘on hire’.  Joseph’s later career and death have not been traced.