Transcript J G Graves - a significant individual

Sheffield Archives and Local Studies: History Key Stage 2
Unit 7 (Local History Study – How the locality was affected by
the work of a significant individual)
Sheffield Lives:
J. G. GRAVES
“Sheffield’s Fairy Prince”
J. G. Graves (1866 - 1945)
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: s08250)
• John George Graves was born
in Lincolnshire in 1866.
• He moved away from his family
to Sheffield aged 14 to become
an apprentice watch-maker and
jeweller, where he earned a
shilling a week in pocketmoney.
W. Wichman, Watch-makers and Jewellers,
Gibraltar Street, Sheffield [where J. G.
Graves worked as a young apprentice],
c. 1880
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: s10605 )
1881 Census showing
occupants of 165 Gibraltar
Street, Sheffield
(www.ancestry.com )
ADDRESS NAME
165
Gibraltar
Street,
Sheffield
William
Wichman
• Where was J. G.
Graves living in 1881
and who did he live
with?
.
RELATIONSHIP AGE
TO HEAD OF
HOUSEHOLD
Head
35
JOB
WHERE
BORN
Watch-maker Germany
Emelia
Wichman
Florence
Wichman
Sabina
Wichman
Lilly Wichman
Wife
36
Sheffield
Daughter
19
Sheffield
Daughter
17
Sheffield
Daughter
10
Sheffield
Charles
Wichman
John George
Graves
Son
7
Sheffield
Apprentice
15
Apprentice
Horncastle,
Lincolnshire
• From humble beginnings as an apprentice watch-maker, J. G.
Graves rose to become a wealthy and successful businessman.
• He was also Sheffield’s greatest ‘benefactor’ (a person who gives
money to help others) and became known as Sheffield’s “fairy
prince”.
• Can you think of any places in Sheffield which carry his name
today?
Graves Art Gallery,
Central Library, Surrey
Street
(Sheffield Local Studies
Library Picture Sheffield:
s06693)
Graves Park
(Sheffield Local
Studies Library
Picture Sheffield:
s11126)
Graves Trust Homes,
Southey Green
(Sheffield Local Studies
Library Picture Sheffield:
s27186)
• J. G. Graves started his own
watch-making business in
Sheffield aged 21.
• His first shop was at West
Bar and he later set up shops
at Furnival Street and
Arundel Street.
• As his business grew he
moved into the old
waterworks offices on
Division Street.
• He set up one of Britain’s first
mail order businesses, selling
watches, jewellery, cutlery
and an increasingly wide
range of products.
Business premises of J. G. Graves,
Watch importer, Jeweller, Electroplate and Cutlery Merchant, Division
Street, Sheffield
(Sheffield Local Studies Library Picture
Sheffield: y02781)
• At its peak J. G. Graves’
company employed 3000
people in Sheffield.
Front office
Typing room
Pictures showing offices at J. G.
Graves mail order supplier, Division
Street, Sheffield
(Sheffield Local Studies Library Picture
Sheffield: y02782, y02789, y02791 )
Back office
• As his business grew, J. G.
Graves opened premises on
other sites in Sheffield….
J. G. Graves fork production at
Enterprise Works, St Mary’s Road,
Sheffield
(Sheffield Local Studies Library Picture
Sheffield: y02817, y02819)
• In 1902, how
many different
buildings did
J. G. Graves’
firm use in
Sheffield?
• In which other
cities did the
firm have
offices?
J. G. Graves Souvenir Programme,
10 March 1902
(Sheffield Local Studies Library: Local
Pamphlets, vol. 174 no. 3 042 S)
• J. G. Graves
cared about the
welfare of his
staff members
and wanted
them to be
happy in their
work.
Letter from J. G. Graves to his
staff, December 1901
(Sheffield Local Studies Library:
MP489 m)
“My dear Friends,
As the year draws to a close, I feel a very
natural desire to think of you all in some
other way than merely as parts of a great
business machine…I have felt it a privilege
to share your pleasure and try to
sympathise with you in your misfortunes,
feeling myself, all the time, what a serious
matter it is to be responsible…as an
Employer ought to be for the welfare and
happiness of such a large staff…”
• J. G. Graves and
his wife Lucy
held an annual
party for staff of
the company.
• What might this
picture tell us
about J. G.
Graves?
J. G. Graves annual tea party for his
staff at his home Riverdale, Riverdale
Road, Ranmoor, Sheffield
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: u00367)
J. G. Graves Souvenir Programme,
10 March 1902
(Sheffield Local Studies Library: Local
Pamphlets, vol. 174 no. 3 042 S)
• The J. G. Graves’
company annual party
included music,
dancing, plays, films,
sports, and other
entertainment for
guests.
• According to the 1902
programme what
sports were there at
the party?
• The success of
his business
made J. G.
Graves very
wealthy.
• But he spent a
lot of his
money on gifts
for Sheffield to
improve life for
local people.
Pages from J. G. Graves mail order
suppliers souvenir booklet
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: v01267 and V01273)
Sheffield Telegraph news
article on J. G. Graves’ gifts
to Sheffield, 19 July 1945
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Newspaper Collection)
• What was J. G. Graves’ first
major gift to the city of Sheffield in
1925?
• What other gifts did he make?
Graves Park,
Sheffield
(Sheffield Local
Studies Library
Picture Sheffield:
s11126)
• J. G. Graves gifted
land to the city of
Sheffield for public
use, including
Graves Park,
Ecclesall Woods,
Tinsley Playing
Fields, Concord
Park, and Blacka
Moor.
• He funded
playgrounds and
public buildings
including Graves Art
Gallery and Graves
Trust Homes.
Opening of Matthew Street
Playground, Sheffield, 1931
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: s03839)
Opening of Surrey Road
Playground, Sheffield, 1933
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: u00362)
• In 1930 he set up
a charitable trust
‘The J. G. Graves
Trust’, which still
runs today,
carrying on his
Graves Trust Homes at
work trying to
Little Norton Lane, Ridgeway
improve life for
Road [Gleadless], and
people in Sheffield.
Southey Green
(Sheffield Local Studies
Library Picture Sheffield:
S07808, s07811 and s27186)
• J. G. Graves was
an enthusiastic art
collector.
• He donated
thousands of
pounds (as well as
pictures from his
private collection)
to local galleries,
including Graves
Art Gallery and
Mappin Art Gallery.
Graves Art Gallery, Central
Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: s06693)
Mappin Art Gallery, Weston
Park, Sheffield
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Picture Sheffield: s00427)
• As well as running a
successful business, J. G.
Graves played a big role in
public life.
• He served as a Sheffield
City Councillor for many
years.
• He also acted as a City
Magistrate and served for a
year as Lord Mayor.
• In what year did J. G.
Graves become Lord Mayor
of Sheffield?
List of Sheffield Lord
Mayors
(Sheffield Archives: BIOG/16)
Newspaper obituary for J. G.
Graves in the Sheffield
Telegraph, 19 July 1945
(Sheffield Local Studies Library
Newspaper Collection)
• J. G. Graves died in 1945. How much money does the newspaper report
say J. G. Graves gave to the City of Sheffield during his life?
• How old was he when he died?
• Roughly for how many years had he served on Sheffield City Council?
• Did he have any children?
Recap
• H
• How old was J. G. Graves when he first came to
Sheffield to work as a watch-maker apprentice?
• Roughly how many people did his postal order company
employ at its peak?
• What was J. G. Graves’ first major ‘gift’ to the city of
Sheffield?
• How much money in total is he thought to have given to
Sheffield in the course of his life?
• What is the organisation called which aims to carry on
his work today?
Sheffield Archives and Local Studies
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