Cryselco Limited

 Cryselco Limited was established in 1895 to manufacture the then new concept of electric lamps (15 years after Thomas Edison had invented the light bulb) at premises in Kempston, Bedford. The main shareholders were the Deacon family.

The name is pronounced "Chris Elko" as it is taken from the original trading style of the CRYStal ELectric COmpany.

During the 1930s the Company had prospered so well that it was regarded as a monopoly by the Government and was split up and sold to two smaller rivals: Philips and General Electric Company (G.E.C.)

Lamp manufacturing continued at the Bedfordshire site until the late 1950s when production was transferred to other UK plants by the parent companies. Light fittings had been produced by Cryselco since the early 1950's and this became the main output of the Company up until 1988 when the 40 acre site that the Company occupied was sold for housing.

 The factory re-sited about a mile away to its current site (shown in the photographs here - the office features Cryselco's own FLY range lights) and continued to manufacture light fittings. In 1992 the Company was sold to a London financier who was building up a large lighting group.

Several Companies of this new group got into financial difficulties in 1993 and this lead to the collapse of the whole group. The Cryselco element had been trading profitably during this time and numerous offers were made to purchase Cryselco Lighting.

The assets of the Company were purchased by the landlords in December 1993 and the 17,000 square foot (1,600 square meter) property was subsequently transferred to the Company as an asset.

Cryselco continues to trade profitably and supplies the electrical wholesale trade with commercial light fittings. The light fittings produced by the Company have been specified by many well known Companies, including major Banks, many large high street retailers and Public bodies such as the Benefits Agency, Inland Revenue, and many schools and hospitals.

by Paul Green

Gibbs and Dandy Ltd.

 The company can trace its roots back to a time when Luton was a country town without a railway. The founders of the firm were not called either Gibbs or Dandy, but in fact were Frederick Brown and Joseph Green, who sold their ironmongery business in George Street to George Frederick Gibbs.

The first Dandys came on the scene in 1894 when the business was purchased by William and Percy Dandy. Mr Gibbs retired, but the Dandy brothers (who originally hailed from Peterborough) maintained the local connection by naming the newly-acquired business Gibbs and Dandy.

The brothers continued trading as a partnership until 1920 when a private limited company was formed. The company prospered, new premises were acquired in Luton and Dunstable and in July 1953 Gibbs and Dandy was floated on the Birmingham Stock Exchange.

In 1968 the company acquired Frederic Gale Ltd, a Bedford-based public company in the same line of business. Land was later acquired in Barker’s Lane, Bedford, to which this and other associated businesses were relocated in 1975. A new branch was opened in Northampton in 1985, specializing in decorating and electrical supplies.

Meanwhile Gibbs and Dandy had continued grow in Luton, with the result that it now had three sites in different parts of the town. This was clearly inefficient, and in 1987 these operations were consolidated onto a single 7-acre site in Dallow Road, which also became Head Office. It was a brave move that paid off and 3 years later the company was back on the acquisition trail, buying two branches in St Neots and St Ives (Cambs) from David Smith (St Ives) Ltd.

In 1996 the company’s foothold in Northampton was strengthened when it moved to larger premises in Heathfield Way, adopting a one-stop product profile which now included plumbing, heating, sanitary ware and heavy side.

In the following year came another acquisition, this time to the south of the company’s existing trading area, when it bought the two branches of Miller, Morris and Brooker Ltd in Slough and  Maidenhead. To further establish its presence in the Thames Valley, Gibbs and Dandy acquired Elliott & Co (Henley) Ltd. in January 2002.

The company then strengthened its position in Northamptonshire by acquiring Brackley Timber & Joinery in December 2004 and Timber Force UK, Kettering in August 2005. It moved into Leicestershire when it acquired Carson Fletcher Timber in Market Harborough in 2007 and added a further branch in the county when it took control of EP Builders’ Merchants, South Wigston in 2009.

by Paul Green

The Imperial Bank Limited

The Imperial Bank Limited was based at 6 Lothbury, London. Formed in 1862, it closed in 1893.

The following article was published in The London Gazette January 6th 1893:

At an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members of the said Company, duly convened, and held at the Offices of the Bank, 6, Lothbury, London, E.G., on the 20th December, 1892, the following Special Resolution was duly passed; and at a subsequent Extraordinary General Meeting of the said Company, also duly convened, and held at the same place on the 5th day of January, 1893, the following Special Resolution was duly confirmed :—

That it is desirable to amalgamate the business of the Imperial Bank Limited, with that of the London Joint Stock Bank Limited, and accordingly, that the Imperial Bank Limited, be wound up voluntarily, and that Alfred Brown, James Dickson, and Edmund Theodore Doxat, be and they are hereby appointed Liquidators thereof, with power to any two of them to exercise all the powers of such Liquidators, 'and be and they are hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with the London Joint Stock Bank Limited, in the terms of the draft submitted to this Meeting, and to carry the same into effect with such (if any) modifications as they may approve, and generally to exercise for the purpose aforesaid all the powers vested in them by clause 133 of the Companies Act of 1862, and all or any powers capable of being vested in them by virtue of clauses 159, 160, and 161 of the said Act, and with full power to sanction the continuance of the powers of the directors of the Imperial Bank Limited, to such extent as the Liquidators may consider expedient.

Dated the 5th day of January, 1893.

J. DICKSON, Chairman

by Paul Green

Thomas Lea & Co.

In the 1820s Charles Lea became a coal merchant in London. His sons, Thomas, Charles, and John, followed him into the family business to form Lea & Sons. In 1836 Charles Lea retired and dissolved the partnership with his sons. Each of the sons then went into business for himself as a coal merchant.

The 1841 the London Post Office Directory listed the business address of Thomas Lea & Co., coal merchants, as Northumberland Wharf, Augustus Street, Regents Park Basin.

Thomas Lea lived in Middlesex and would drive to work in London each morning with two loaded pistols. He feared being robbed in Highgate, which was the northern approach to London and still had a reputation for highway robberies at this time. Thomas Lea was never robbed and died a very wealthy man in 1874.

Portrait of Thomas Lea (1807-1874) by the artist Henry Charles Heath

by Mark Matlach

BBL (Brown Brothers Ltd.)

Brown Brothers Ltd. was a manufacturer and wholesaler of bicycles and cycle accessories, and later in its history, of motorcycles and aircraft parts.

In 1889, Albert and Ernest Brown rented the company's first premises at 7 Great Eastern Street, London, and began dealing in bicycles, cycle parts, and tools. In that same year, Dunlop patented and developed the pneumatic tyre. By 1890, practical tyres had replaced the solid tyres that had been used until then, and bicycles suddenly became hugely popular. The 1890s were the bicycle trade's first boom years and Brown Brothers were in an ideal position to capitalise. In 1891 the premises at Great Eastern Street were expanded and in the following year the company opened a branch in Paris.

The beginning of the 20th century saw a slump in the bicycle market and Brown Brothers Ltd. diversified into the motorcycle and motor car business. Brown motorcycles were manufactured from 1902 until 1915. After the First World War, all production of motorcycles had ceased and the company focused on motor accessories, aircraft parts, and the popular Vindec bicycles.

Brown Brothers Ltd. continued until at least 1989. The site of the company's original premises in Great Eastern Street is now occupied by an office block.

Brown Brothers original premises in Great Eastern Street c.1900

Despite the long history of Brown Brothers, the B B L overprint appears to have been used only in the George VI period on SG 465 and SG 488.

by Mark Matlach

British Jaeger Instruments Ltd.

British Jaeger Instruments Ltd. was a manufacturer of speedometers, tachometers, and other motoring instruments. The origins of the company can be traced to 1880 when the renowned French watchmaker Edmond Jaeger established a company in Paris. Jaeger devoted his life to developing mechanisms for measuring speeds and was a pioneer in the development of chronometers, tachometers, and automobile and cockpit clocks. Jaeger's company grew to become the largest manufacturer of speedometers in the world.

A British arm of the French company, called Edmond Jaeger (London) Ltd., was soon established. In 1927 this company was acquired by Smiths, the well-known clock-making company. In 1931 the business was renamed British Jaeger Instruments Ltd.

British Jaeger continued with the French styling of the speedometers it manufactured, which typically featured a black face imprinted with stark contrasting white lettering, numerals and indicator needle. Other instruments made by the company included: tachometers, electrical themometers, car clocks, water, oil and temperature gauges, and fuel indicators. The vast majority of British cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles manufactured from the late 1920s to the 1990s were equipped with instruments manufactured by British Jaeger.

by Mark Matlach

Spero (Richard Haworth & Co. Ltd.)

The Spero overprint belongs to the textile manufacturing company Richard Haworth & Co. Ltd. The overprint is notable for its uncommon V1f  style.

In 1852, Richard Haworth established a company in Manchester as a yarn and cloth commission agent. The firm prospered and expanded by leasing a large mill at Broughton Bridge and spinning was added to cloth weaving. Further mills were added, Egyptian Mill (1864), Tatton Mill (1870), and Ordsall Mill (1872). Richard Haworth died in 1866 and his two sons, G.C. And J.F. Haworth, took control of the business, which they converted into a limited company.

The early part of the 20th century was a boom time for the company. Richard Haworth & Co. Ltd. began to offer a wide range of products under the trade mark "Spero", such as dress fabrics, handkerchiefs, corsets, blankets, and sheets. The company also produced canvases for tents and sails. The major portion of the manufacturing was carried out at the company's factories in Salford, Padiham, and Hinkley Green, which employed a total workforce of 2400 people.

Today the company is part of the Ruia Group that comprises of a number of companies that import, supply, and distribute household textiles and hosiery. Richard Haworth & Co. Ltd. supplies bed linen, table linen, and towels to the hospital, hotel, and restaurant markets.

by Mark Matlach