H. D. Rawlings

H. D. Rawlings was a carbonated drinks manufacturer established by John Rawlings in London in 1784. The company made fruit juices, squashes, cordials, and carbonated water.

In the Victorian era, the entire Rawlings empire eventually came into the ownership of a rich widow named Sarah Rawlings. A young clerk by the name of Henry Doo was employed by Sarah. She became infatuated with him and proposed marriage, offering Henry full control of the business, provived that he changed his surname to Rawlings. Henry agreed and the couple were duly married. Henry took control of the company, which now became H. D. Rawlings.

In 1891 H. D. Rawlings was acquired by rival carbonated drinks producer, R. Whites, and is now part of the Britvic Group.

by Mark Matlach

Silber & Fleming

Silber & Fleming were manufacturers and wholesalers of a vast range of products from ceramics and glass to furniture and silverware. The company was founded c1854 by Albert Silber, an immigrant from Germany, who, together with his partner Mr. Fleming, established a wholesale fancy goods business in Cheapside, London.

For a short period in 1868, Albert Silber was confined to his bed by illness. Wishing to see the time at night, he invented a little contrivance that soon became extremely popular. This was a stand to carry a nightlight within a glass globe, on which the hours were marked in bold figures. Silber experimented with the common Argand burner and found that it could be much improved by the introduction of an inner tube, which supplied a better current of air to the interior of the flame. This was the general principle underlying the "Silber" burner, and it was modified to suit illuminants of every description. In c1870 Silber produced a lantern for an Argand burner that was subsequently used for the purposes of naval or military signalling. Silber's last achievement was the production of a series of railway lamps, both for the lighting of carriages and for signalling.

In 1882 the premises of Silber & Fleming were completeley destroyed by a fire, but within two years a huge new replacement warehouse was built on the same site.

In 1886 Mr. Fleming retired. Albert Silber was left as sole proprietor and he converted the business into a private limited company. Silber died from smallpox later the same year and subsequently the fortunes of the company declined dramatically. In 1898 the firm was acquired by Faudel Phillips & Son.

by Mark Matlach

Smiths English Clocks Ltd.

Smith English Clocks Ltd. was one of the most prolific clockmakers of the 20th century. The company was begun in 1931 when S. Smith & Sons Ltd. (a motor-parts manufacturing company) decided to enter the domestic clock market and formed a new company, Smiths English Clocks Ltd., with the main factory in Cricklewood, London.

Smiths was one of the first companies to produce synchronous electric clocks, which were put on the market in late 1931. In 1934, synchronous alarm clocks were manufactured. This was followed in 1935 by the "Synfinity", which Smiths described as "the clock that never stops". If the electric supply failed, the clock would run for up to six hours and rewind when the power returned.

During the Second World War, Smiths' production expanded. There was a demand for motor, aircraft, and marine instruments for the Services. Fuses for shells were also manufactured. At the end of the war, the Cricklewood factory returned to clock production. Another factory at Carfin, Glasgow, began producing alarm clocks that sold for less than £1. A new factory for the manufacture of alarm clocks was opened at Wishaw in Scotland in 1951 as Carfin was not able to keep up with demand.

Advertisement, 1947

In c1955 Smiths English Clocks Ltd. changed its name to Smiths Clocks and Watches Ltd. The latter half of the 1970s saw the decline of clock and watch manufacturing by all European and British companies as they were unable to compete with lower cost products offered by manufacturers in the Far East. In 1977 Smiths Clocks and Watches Ltd. ceased trading.

by Mark Matlach

The Fore Street Warehouse Company Ltd.

The Fore Street Warehouse Company was a wholesale drapery business established by Joseph Todd in London. During the 1820s, James Morrison married Joseph Todd's daughter Mary Anne, and, together with his partner John Dillon, took over his father-in-law's business. The company was renamed Morrison, Dillon & Company. Morrison quickly made it into one of the most profitable businesses of its kind in the world. By 1866 the company had been renamed and was listed in the Post Office Directory of this year as the Fore Street Warehouse Company Ltd., trading at 104-107 Fore Street, London.

James Morrison (1790 – 1857)

The large warehouse in Fore Street supplied retailers with a huge variety of linens, toweling, and ribbons. James Morrison was one of the first English traders to depend on his success on the lowest remunerative scale of profit. He endeavored to secure a very rapid circulation of capital, his motto being "small profits and quick returns". Morrison became a multimillionaire from his business, and he spent much of his fortune buying up land in Berkshire, Yorkshire, and Scotland. Morrison also invested heavily in the United States railway industry and built up a valuable art collection that included works by Constable, Cuyp, Rembrandt, and Rubens. James Morrison died in 1857 but The Fore Street Warehouse Company Ltd. continued until at least the Second World War.

by Mark Matlach

Gellatly, Hankey, Sewell & Co.

Gellatly, Hankey, Sewell & Co. was a shipping company that was established by Edward Gellatly at 109 Leadenhall Street, London, in 1862. The company operated for a hundred years, closing in 1962.

Unfortunately, the records of the early history of Gellatly, Hankey, Sewell & Co. were burnt in a fire in the company offices; however, in 1862 the firm purchased a sailing ship called the Edwin Fox for the sum of £7600. The ship's nickname became the "Tea-tub", probably due to connection with the tea trade coupled with the fact that she was "tubby" in shape, as against the slimness of her contemporaries. The ship sailed the trade routes to Bombay, Calicut, & Cochin in India, returning with cargos of Calico linen, ginger, pepper, and other spices. Gellatlys sold the Edwin Fox in 1873. The ship was later used to transport emigrants from Britain to New Zealand. The Edwin Fox made four such voyages (which lasted 4 – 6 months) to the distant new colony.

The Edwin Fox, built in 1853

In 1884 Gellatly, Hankey, Sewell & Co. bought a steamship called the SS Bengal. Only a year later the ship was wrecked off Milton Reef near Java, when on passage from Saigon to Sourabaya with a cargo of rice.

by Mark Matlach

Glyn & Co.

Glyn & Co. was founded as the private bank, Vere, Glyn & Halifax, in the City of London in 1753 by Joseph Vere, Richard Glyn, and Thomas Halifax. The bank prospered, developing a large business as the London agent for many of the growing provincial banks and providing banking facilities for more than 200 of the new railway companies.

The bank became known as Glyn, Mills & Co. in 1851 and, after acquiring the business of Curries & Co. in 1864, it was restyled Glyn, Mills, Currie & Co. In 1890 the bank played a major role in preventing the collapse of merchant bankers Baring Brothers, thereby saving a number of London's financial institutions from ruin. By that time the bank had established many international links and was handling share issues for major companies and governments at home and abroad.

A prestigious new head office was established for the bank in Lombard Street in 1933. However, with war looming, Glyn, Mills' private partnership status and relatively small size had made it unviable and in 1939 it was acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Glyn, Mills & Co. continued to trade separately, managed by its own board of directors and offering its own range of services.

In 1970 the Royal Bank of Scotland merged its two subsidiaries in England and Wales, Glyn, Mills & Co. and William Deacon's Bank, to form the new Williams & Glyn's Bank. In 1985 William & Glyn's was fully absorbed into the Royal Bank of Scotland plc and ceased to trade separately.

by Mark Matlach

W. Greenwell & Co. (W. G. & Co.)

W. Greenwell & Co. was a stockbroking firm founded in London in 1868 by Walpole Greenwell at the age of just 21. The company would become one of the wealthiest and most prominent stockbroking firms in the City of London.

Walpole Greenwell was also a keen agriculturist, a prominent breeder of pedigree stock (particularly Shorthorn cattle and Shire horses, for which he was awarded numerous championships), and was President of the Royal Shire Horse Society. His Shire stud was considered the finest in the country. Walpole was created 1st Baronet Greenwell, of Marden Park, Godstone, Surrey on 19th July 1906. Sir Walpole Greenwell died in 1919 at the age of 72.

Caricature of Walpole Greenwell published in Vanity Fair in 1898

W. Greenwell & Co. was acquired by Midland Bank in 1987. Following the HSBC takeover of Midland Bank in 1992, the company became HSBC Greenwell, which would become the largest treasury trading operation in Europe.

by Mark Matlach