The ‘R’ denotes Rhoda, who inherited the enterprise after the death in 1860 of her husband, C. W. Rodgers.  According to the Census (1861), the firm employed about 20 men.  Rhoda’s 16-year-old son, Joseph, lived with her in Birley Street as a ‘manufacturer’s clerk’.  He became partner in 1865.  After about 1870, Rhoda began describing the Lambert Street workshops as Norfolk Works – the factory name of the illustrious Joseph Rodgers & Sons.  The latter applied for a restraining order, but the case was dismissed in 1874.  The judge ruled that Joseph Rodgers had been tardy in taking action over a trivial problem (Sheffield Independent, 4, 29 July 1874). 

In 1881, Joseph Rodgers was living in Abbeyfield Road and employed 35 men and ten boys.  His mother died on 5 July 1883, leaving £606; Joseph on 18 March 1890, aged 45, leaving £2,601.  His widow, Rose, became owner, until her death on 5 August 1893.  Rodgers’ next operated under Arthur Eadon (1865-1911), and company secretary Harry Stafford Moorhouse.  The company became ‘Ltd’ in about 1899 but had ceased trading by 1905.  Joseph Rodgers & Sons acquired the name, assets, and mark (a crossed pick and shovel).  Eadon died on 12 July 1911 from a gangrenous leg.  He had broken it after falling from a garden ladder (Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 15, 17 July 1911).