Deveron Jewellers

Description

A Victorian Silver Plated Presentation Trowel made in Birmingham and dating from 1885.
The trowel is marked with the maker's mark "HA,EA,FA", for Atkin Brothers, Sheffield (Harry Wrigth Atkin, Edward Thomas Atkin and Frank Shaw Atkin)
It bears a presentation inscription
"Presented to Jas Duncan Esq. by the Trustees of the Methodist Chapel, East Ham, on the occasion of his laying a Memorial Stone, July 13th 1885"
James Duncan, a sugar refiner from Greenock was a key figure of Victorian Scotland and the owner of Benmore estate in Perthshire (1870-1889). As a young man, Duncan devised a unique method of refining sugar, the rewards of which made him one of the wealthiest industrialists of the age, enabling him to acquire Benmore estate and build a vast picture gallery to house his art collection. Duncan also used his significant wealth to help the poor in Scotland and England, improving the working conditions of his workforce and building churches and schools.