Gainsford, Fenton & Nicholson
The prime mover in this silverplate enterprise was Robert William Gainsford (1773-1860). His family came from Worksop, where in the eighteenth century Gainsfords became involved in estate management and farming. In 1766, Robert Gainsford, of Lodge Farm, Worksop Manor, married Mary Fenton, who was the daughter of Matthew Fenton, a Sheffield silversmith. Fenton had lodged a mark at the Sheffield Assay Office in 1773 – the second maker to do so. Robert Gainford’s son, Robert William (us....
