Advertisement from White's 1856 Directory
Robert Hallam (bapt.1810-1882) was born at Curbar, Derbyshire, the son of John and Ann. He became a blade forger, who later specialised in shoe, butchers’, cooks’, and bread knives. The business was launched at Pea Croft in about 1851. Hallam advertised frequently in trade directories, often using the name ‘R. T. Hallam’. The ‘T’ (which was later dropped) may have been an attempt to avoid confusion with Robert Hallam. In 1871, Hallam employed six men. The business was liquidated in 1877, but Hallam continued to work as a butchers’ knife maker until his death in Pea Croft on 6 May 1882, aged 72. He was buried in the General Cemetery, leaving £289 to his wife Lois née Wainwright (who died in Hollis Croft in 1883, aged 74). During the 1880s, the Hallam name remained in directories in Hollis Croft as a maker of butchers’ and cooks’ knives. By the end of the nineteenth century, Hallam’s assets and marks had been acquired by Petty. The trade mark was appropriately a picture of a pig.