| AdminHistory | The Association of British Pewter Craftsmen (ABPC) was formed in 1970 to support and advance the British Pewter Industry. Amongst its founder members was the Worshipful Company of Pewterers of the City of London (WCP) alongside a group of manufacturers and metal suppliers from all over the country. The Worshipful Company dates from at least 1348 and by a Royal Charter of 1474 has the right to regulate the pewter trade throughout the land. Whilst that right is no longer exercised at the time of writing (Oct 2017), the Worshipful Company of Pewterers continues to promote and support the pewter industry as their key objective. The foundation of the ABPC helped to lead to a resurgence in the pewter trade.
On its establishment, the ABPC's registered office was at the Pewterers Hall, Oat Lane, London (home of the Worshipful Company of Pewterers) which remains its registered office at the the time of writing. However, the principal base of the ABPC soon became Sheffield with the city serving as a key centre of pewter manufacturing. A number of Sheffield firms became members of the ABPC including: Culf and Kay (Sheffield) Ltd, 22 Mary Street; Edwin Blyde and Co. Ltd, Charleston Works, Little London Road; Fashionware Products (Sheffield), Rivelin Works, 46 Sidney Street; I. Gibson and Son Ltd, 63 St Mary's Road; Mastercraft Pewter Ltd, Egerton Lane; Pinder Brothers Ltd, Sheaf Plate Works, Arundel Street; Walker Manufacturing, 51 Athol Road; A. R. Wentworth (Sheffield) Ltd, Tankard House, 25 Leadmill Road.
For a number is years, the ABPC's secretariat was based in Birmingham, but, in Dec 1994, with the Birmingham pewter industry virtually having died out by this point, the decision was taken to relocate the secretariat to Sheffield where it was established at Light Trades House, 3 Melbourne Avenue. Light Trades House Ltd (which offered accounting and secretarial services to various trade associations) closed down at the end of Dec 2002 and ABPC consequently moved its office accommodation to the Smart Energy Code Administrator and Secretariat (SECAS) premises at Unit 10, Edmund Road Business Centre, 135 Edmund Road, Sheffield.
Meetings of the ABPC were held sometimes at the Pewterers Hall in London but, more often, at various locations in Sheffield (including Kenwood Hotel, St George Hotel and Rutland Hotel and later at the Association's new secretariat headquarters of Light Trades House on Melbourne Avenue and later at Edmund Road).
British Pewter Designs Ltd was incorporated on 12 Mar 1971 with its registered office at the Pewterers Hall, Oat Lane, London. The first meeting was held at the Pewterers Hall on 29 Apr 1971, but later meetings were held in Sheffield (at various locations). |
| CustodialHistory | These records were deposited with Sheffield Archives in June 2017 by the chair of the Association of British Pewter Craftsmen |