The Hawley Collection is an internationally important material record of tool making, cutlery manufacture and silversmithing from Sheffield, together with complementary material from Britain and the rest of the world.

This collection is unique in that it combines finished artefacts and work in progress to illustrate how things were made. Together with published catalogues, archival material, pictures, photographs, tapes and films, it records the development of many of Sheffield’s manufacturing processes and products and the skills of the workpeople involved.

Ken Hawley is ‘The Collector’. For over fifty years he has been collecting the tools, the ‘tools that made the tools’, catalogues, photographs and information connected with the Sheffield tool, cutlery and silversmithing industries. During his working life, including thirty years selling tools in his own shop in Sheffield, he has acquired an unrivalled knowledge about Sheffield’s industrial heritage.

It is Ken Hawley's wish that the Hawley Collection stays in Sheffield to provide exhibitions, displays and information for the people of Sheffield and visitors to the city. He sees the Collection as a tribute to the craftsmanship, skills and excellence displayed over the centuries by Sheffield firms and workpeople.

The Hawley Gallery at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield opened in 2010 as the first permanent display space for the Hawley Collection.

Visit the Gallery to see the displays and exhibitions and learn more about Sheffield’s industrial heritage at one of our events. You can investigate the history of Sheffield tool making by using the collection for your research. If you know something about Sheffield’s toolmaking history please share your knowledge with us.

Opening Times:
Monday – Thursday 10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m., Sunday 11.00 a.m. – 4.45 p.m., Closed Friday and Saturday