Sheffield rod builder A Stamford?

[binka]

I was very kindly gifted an old rod this afternoon by some elderly neighbours and it sparked my curiosity.

The chap says he bought it from a Sheffield shop around fifty years ago and said that back in the day they were good rods that people paid good money for, I’ve no interest as to whether or not there’s any value to it but more the design and whether or not the rod is in its original format.

As you can see from the pictures the rod bag, which is original, has a badge on it saying SPORTEX which is familiar, there’s also the address of 38 Rockingham Lane, Sheffield, 1…



On the blank itself the butt section has an AS logo on it with the words A Stamford Sheffield and then the name of the rod which is The Light Match Rod 12’…



What intrigued me most was that the butt section and to a certain extent the middle section appear to be glass but from near the upper end of the middle section it splices into a hexagonal cane section which extends throughout the tip section to the end of the rod.

At first I thought this must have been a bizarre type of repair but the whippings etc are identical and show no signs of being added at a later date, on the right of the following pic is the round glass to hexagonal cane, sharp tapered middle section and on the left is the continuing hexagonal cane tip section…



I’ve come across an Ernest Stamford at a different Sheffield address whilst googling but not an A Stamford from this address so I’m thinking it’s just a coincidence with the second name, perhaps a popular regional name.

I was wondering if anyone knows of the rod or indeed the rod maker and can offer any background on it or other rods that spliced cane upper sections into glass lowers and why?




Thanks in advance fellas, any help would be very much appreciated :thumbs:

 

[Alan Tyler]

I think it's cane into cane or Spanish Reed, there are a couple of broad intermediate whippings that are neither holding a ring on nor covering the splice. Actually, three, one on the butt and two on the joint, so probably not reed but one of the classier canes - Carolina cane or white bamboo.
Sorry, I've no idea how to tell one from another.
When glass first came in, it was expensive, so used to be used for tips rather than butts.

---------- Post added at 19:19 ---------- Previous post was at 19:09 ----------

I recall an Ernie Stamford winning the National, way back; he was a Sheffield tackle-dealer, too, so I wonder if he was part of this clan? Might have inherited the shop?
I think the Sportex bag is about twenty years (or possibly many more) younger than the rod. They made some of the best hollow glass going.

 

[binka]

I think it's cane into cane or Spanish Reed, there are a couple of broad intermediate whippings that are neither holding a ring on nor covering the splice. Actually, three, one on the butt and two on the joint, so probably not reed but one of the classier canes - Carolina cane or white bamboo.
Sorry, I've no idea how to tell one from another.
When glass first came in, it was expensive, so used to be used for tips rather than butts.

Thanks Alan.

I suspect you're right about cane into cane going by what you said about the extra whippings, the only reason I suspected the lower section was glass was because it was round (!).

I found a couple of references to an A Stamford whilst googling but they were pretty much after similar info to me on The Traditional Fisherman's Forum, I didn't come across anything that really shed any light on the name.

 

[Alan Tyler]

PM Flightliner; if he didn't spend all his pocket-money there, I'm sure he'll know someone who did. Or who's dad did, if Ernest did inherit the shop.

 

[flightliner]

Steve, I knew Earnest Stamford when I was a teenager up to my mid twenties, maybe a little beyond.
He was one of the top guys on the fenland match circuit back in the sixties ( maybe a little earlier still) and for two or three winters I used to travel with him in his van to the Trent, Girton on the tidal was a favourite of Ernies, mine too as it was a little quiter than some of the more popular reaches but just as good.
Earnest in the early sixties had his shop on Attercliffe common near the junction of Greenland road and on fridays it was rammed with guys buying their bait and tickets for the weekend open matches on the Witham at Kirkstead.
He was instrumental in making the swingtip one of the deadliest methods in fenland making many many hundreds of them for both local and faraway anglers --- mine is still in my garage---
One of his popular rods ( he made many others) was his "Stamfords Welland" match rod that was an all cane construction that was eventually superceded by all glass ones where the blanks could quite likely have been supplied by Sportex who were at the address on your rod bag. The old Sportex works is still in existance by the way, I went past it last week in the car.
It could be possible that your rod was made around the time Alan says, its quite likely.
When Earnest was nearing the end of his time as a dealer he moved a little further along Attercliffe common towards Sheffield town centre where his son John took over the running of it, I believe a little later still it was taken over by a poster on here (not seen him post for a while) but the shop is no longer as is Earnest original that for a few years traded as a sex shop (way to go).
Now, A Stamford, not sure he was related to Earnest but he traded at the top end of Newman road pretty close to Attercliffe common so the both were fairly close together but if I remember well he ceased trading in the very early sixties, maybe he made rods himself but I couldnt say for sure.A good shop tho and was frequented by non other than Ben Welbon a great Sheffield angler in his day and a guy who gave me loads of encouragement.
by the by, does your rods ferrules have a lip at the ends as they make the loveliest of "pops" when released from its counterpart.
Alan, not certain that Earnest ever won the national but I will stand to be corrected on it.
He was certainly more than capable, I can see him now on the front page of the ATs with a bag of bream on the Witham, a top top matchman.

 

[binka]

Steve, I knew Earnest Stamford when I was a teenager up to my mid twenties, maybe a little beyond.
He was one of the top guys on the fenland match circuit back in the sixties ( maybe a little earlier still) and for two or three winters I used to travel with him in his van to the Trent, Girton on the tidal was a favourite of Ernies, mine too as it was a little quiter than some of the more popular reaches but just as good.
Earnest in the early sixties had his shop on Attercliffe common near the junction of Greenland road and on fridays it was rammed with guys buying their bait and tickets for the weekend open matches on the Witham at Kirkstead.
He was instrumental in making the swingtip one of the deadliest methods in fenland making many many hundreds of them for both local and faraway anglers --- mine is still in my garage---
One of his popular rods ( he made many others) was his "Stamfords Welland" match rod that was an all cane construction that was eventually superceded by all glass ones where the blanks could quite likely have been supplied by Sportex who were at the address on your rod bag. The old Sportex works is still in existance by the way, I went past it last week in the car.
It could be possible that your rod was made around the time Alan says, its quite likely.
When Earnest was nearing the end of his time as a dealer he moved a little further along Attercliffe common towards Sheffield town centre where his son John took over the running of it, I believe a little later still it was taken over by a poster on here (not seen him post for a while) but the shop is no longer as is Earnest original that for a few years traded as a sex shop (way to go).
Now, A Stamford, not sure he was related to Earnest but he traded at the top end of Newman road pretty close to Attercliffe common so the both were fairly close together but if I remember well he ceased trading in the very early sixties, maybe he made rods himself but I couldnt say for sure.A good shop tho and was frequented by non other than Ben Welbon a great Sheffield angler in his day and a guy who gave me loads of encouragement.
by the by, does your rods ferrules have a lip at the ends as they make the loveliest of "pops" when released from its counterpart.
Alan, not certain that Earnest ever won the national but I will stand to be corrected on it.
He was certainly more than capable, I can see him now on the front page of the ATs with a bag of bream on the Witham, a top top matchman.

Thanks for sharing that and taking the trouble to write it all up Mick, I'm very grateful to you.

You are 100% bang on about the ferrules too, that "pop" was the first thing that struck me when I disassembled it

Thanks again, a fascinating font of knowledge you have!

 

[Alan Tyler]

I forgot to say that it looks a bit of a peach! Beyond 12', cane gets a bit heavy, but the better Northern builders could build twelves that feel to be lifted by witchcraft. I do hope you're going to fish it?

 

[binka]

I forgot to say that it looks a bit of a peach! Beyond 12', cane gets a bit heavy, but the better Northern builders could build twelves that feel to be lifted by witchcraft. I do hope you're going to fish it?

Thanks Alan it looks in pretty good nick and I have promised to have a fully fledged thrash with it

 

[Alan Tyler]

"Alan, not certain that Earnest ever won the national but I will stand to be corrected on it.
He was certainly more than capable, I can see him now on the front page of the ATs with a bag of bream on the Witham, a top top matchman."

I'm not certain, either, and now the stewards of our sport have mislaid its history, I don't know where to find out. I'm probably thinking of the same A.T. photo, though.

 

[flightliner]

"Alan, not certain that Earnest ever won the national but I will stand to be corrected on it.
He was certainly more than capable, I can see him now on the front page of the ATs with a bag of bream on the Witham, a top top matchman."

I'm not certain, either, and now the stewards of our sport have mislaid its history, I don't know where to find out. I'm probably thinking of the same A.T. photo, though.

There was another pik of Earnest in a match on the Witham where the flannel weed was overly wide in the margins, so wide that Ernie was stood on the top of his wicker basket to keep his bream from weeding up, a few years later Blackie Frost a pal of swing tip king Freddy Foster did the very same thing in the middle level drain in similar circumstances to wiegh in what was (if I remember correctly--- again ) a superb catch of bream that broke the record match wieght for the venue.
Alan, I think Jack carr was the Sheffield angler who won the national on the somerset levels back in the mid fifties--- I fished with Jack a few times in the old eastern counties winter league as a very enthusiastic teenager, very happy days for me and a terrific learning curve.
Alan, Good point, very sad that anglers have no real centre for the storing of our angling history, maybe Mark Wintle can clarify things a little better, he has many angling records and facts at his disposal.

 

[greenie62]

... now the stewards of our sport have mislaid its history, I don't know where to find out.....

Perhaps Mark W. might know - iirc he was doing a bit of digging in some of the bits of record lists whilst he was researching his last book on 'The Likely Lads' - He may have a reference to Ernest Stamford.