According to a trade advertisement (1884), this business was founded in 1851.  The owner was William Richmond Shirtcliffe (1827-1894), who was the son of Joseph (a cutler) and Sarah.  He was apparently the brother of F. W. Shirtcliffe.  William was listed in a directory (1852) as a cutler in Gloucester Street.  In the Census (1861), he was enumerated as a metal agent, but later in that decade was a silver plated goods manufacturer in Broomspring Lane.  By the 1870s, his address was Rockingham Street, where he advertised as a manufacturer of silver and plated table cutlery and ivory table cutlery.  His sons, William and Frederick apparently helped with business.  By 1881, it employed six men, with son William joining as partner (Frederick was an undergraduate at Cambridge).  William Richmond Shirtcliffe, Mount View Road, died (aged 67) on 30 June 1894.  He was buried in the General Cemetery.  The firm was no longer listed by that date.