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English Companies and their Founders
The goal of this topic is to identify and honour the people who started English Companies, both National and International. A list of the people who have been classified as a founder of an English company can be found at Founders of English Companies category. There are no doubt many more to add, and to categorise.
Small print
Not all of the founders of English companies were/are English, but to feature on this page the companies had to be started in England.
Some of the company links are to categories for the company on Wikitree, which may include founders and employees, others are links to external websites relating to the company.
The Companies
There have been so many English companies, this is only a small selection. The subheadings on this page are a bit arbitrary, and who is included is probably not up to date with who has a category on wikitree ...
Often what a company does now, in the 2020s, is not at all what they started out doing! And many are no longer trading.
Aircraft
- Hewlett & Blondeau, manufacturer of aeroplanes founded by Hilda Beatrice (Herbert) Hewlett (1864-1943) and Gustav Blondeau in about 1910.
Automotive manufacturers
- Aston Martin founded by Robert Bamford (1883-1942) and Lionel Walter Birch Martin (1878-1945) in London in 1913.
- Dennis Brothers automotive manufacturers, set up by brothers Herbert Raymond Dennis KBE (1878-1939) and John Henry Cawsey Dennis (1871-1939) when they started building bicycles in Guildford, Surrey in 1895.
- Rolls Royce Ltd. car manufacturer set up by Charles Stewart Rolls (1877-1910) and Frederick Henry Royce (1863-1933) in 1906 in Manchester, Lancashire.
Cycles
- Halfords motoring and cycle products retailer, founded by Frederick Rushbrooke in Birmingham in 1892, originally as a wholesale ironmongers.
- Raleigh Bicycle Company founded in 1885 in Nottingham by Richard Morriss Woodhead and Paul Eugene Louis Angois, joined by William Ellis and later Frank Bowden JP FRGS (1848-1921).
Chemicals
- Singleton Birch who quarry lime, founded in 1815 by minerals merchant William Singleton Birch (abt.1800-1866).
Confectioners
- George Bassett and Co Ltd confectioners, founded by George Bassett (1818-abt.1886) in Sheffield, Yorkshire in about 1842.
- Cadbury chocolate started when John Cadbury (1801-1889) started selling tea, coffee and drinking chocolate in Birmingham, Warwickshire, in 1824.
- Fox's Confectionary Ltd was founded by Walter Richard Fox (originally as Joyce & Fox) in Braunstone, Leicester in 1880. His son Eric developed their most famous product, Fox's Glacier Mints in 1918.
- Mackintosh's founded in 1890 in Halifax, Yorkshire by Violet (Taylor) Mackintosh (1866-) and John Mackintosh (1868-1920).
- Rowntree's of York was founded in 1862 when Henry Isaac Rowntree (1838-1883) bought a simple cocoa works in York and turned it into a confectionery company. Henry was joined in business in 1869 by his brother Joseph Rowntree (1836-1925) who eventually took over and transformed the company’s fortunes.
- Terry's of York evolved from a business founded 1767 in York. Robert Berry and William Bayldon were the original proprietors but by 1828 the sole owner was Joseph Terry, who had married a relative of Berry's. The Chocolate Orange was introduced in 1932 when his grandson Frank and great grandson Noel were running the company.
Cosmetics
- Lever Brothers soap makers, now Unilever, founded by William Hesketh Lever (1851-1925) and James Darcy Lever (1854-1910) in 1885 in Warrington, Cheshire.
- Pears Soap started by Andrew Pears (bef.1768-1845) in London in 1807.
Department Stores
- British Home Stores (BHS) was founded in Brixton, London in 1928 by a group of American entrepreneurs.
- C&A is Dutch but once appeared on many English high streets.
- Fenwick Limited was founded by John James Fenwick in 1882 with its first branch in Northumberland Street, Newcastle, which is still operating.
- Harrods founded by Charles Henry Harrod in 1824.
- John Lewis Partnership founded by John Lewis (1836-1928 FS) in 1864 on Oxford Street, London.
- Marks & Spencer founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds in 1884.
Entertainment
- EMI has its origins in The Gramophone Company founded in April 1898 in London by William Barry Owen and Edmund Trevor Lloyd Wynne Williams, commissioned by Emil Berliner (inventor of the gramophone record). They produced records under the label His Master's Voice later abbreviated to HMV. In 1931 they merged with The Columbia Graphophone Company - originally established in the US but since 1922 the British subsidiary had been independent. The merged company was renamed Electric and Musical Industries Ltd, but came to be known as EMI.
- Odeon Cinemas founded by Oscar Deutsch (1893-1941) in Staffordshire in 1928.
- Littlewoods football pools, mail-order catalogue and retail stores was founded in 1923 by John Moores in Liverpool.
Foods and beverages
- Batchelors Foods founded by William Batchelor in Sheffield, 1895.
- Boddingtons Brewery founded 1853 in Manchester by Henry Boddington, now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
- Chivers and Sons started by market gardeners then jam manufacturers John Chivers and his son Stephen in Histon, Cambridgeshire. Both Chivers and William Hartley & Sons Limited (founded 1884 in Bootle by William Pickles Hartley) were acquired by Premier Foods who decided to produce the Hartley's brand at Histon, and divested Chivers to an Irish company, Boyne Valley Group.
- J & J Colman was founded by miller Jeremiah Colman when he bought the mustard business of Edward Ames in 1814 and moved production to a mill at Stoke Holy Cross, Norfolk. In 1903 they bought Keen Robinson & Co (Robinsons barley water, founded by Matthias Robinson 1775-1837 in 1820s London). In 1838 it merged with Reckitt & Sons (household goods), founded by Isaac Reckitt in Hull, 1840) to form Reckitt & Colman, bought by Unilever in 1995.
- Crosse & Blackwell started out as a company called Jackson's (est. 1706) evolving into West & Wyatt, picklers to the King, before being bought in 1830 by employees Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell.
- Fox's Biscuits was founded in Batley in 1853 by Michael Spedding. He and his daughter were married to Foxes.
- Greggs plc bakers, started on Tyneside, Northumberland in 1939 by John Robson Gregg (1909-1964).
- KP originally Kenyon Produce. Nuts, crisps and snacks. Founded by Charles Kenyon (1833-1893) of Rotherham around 1860, originally making jam and sweets until Lithuania-born nut fanatic Simon Heller 1906-1989 joined the company after his Hercules Nut Company factory burned down. He became chairman and introduced salted peanuts in 1953.
- Liebig's Extract of Meat Company may not be a household name, but they came up with the brands Oxo and Fray Bentos (tinned meat - named after a port in Uruguay). The company was founded in London in 1865 by a group of entrepreneurs led by German chemist Johann Justus von Liebig
- Paxo poultry stuffing said to have been invented by Eccles butcher John Crampton in 1901 but he is proving a difficult man to pin down in census records...
- Pimm's was created by London shellfish bar owner James Pimm around 1823 to aid customers with digestion. Now owned by Diageo.
- Rank Hovis McDougall make flour, bread and biscuits. Hovis began in 1886 in Macclesfield, produced by Samuel Fitton & Sons, millers (who existed at least 50 years earlier), based on a production process patented by their miller Richard "Stoney" Smith (1836–1900), the name "Hovis" coming from a public competition. In 1957 it merged with McDougall Brothers, another flour producer, started in 1864 by John McDougall and his 4 brothers. In 1962 Hovis-McDougall was bought by J Rank Ltd, founded by Joseph Rank in Hull in 1875. The merged company later acquired Be-Ro (founded by Thomas Bell 1848-1925 in Longhorsley, Northumberland, originally as Bell's Royal Flour). They also introduced the Mr Kipling range of cakes, sadly Mr Kipling was a fictitious invention for marketing. The whole company was acquired by Premier Foods in 2007.
- Sarsons vinegar set up by James Thomas Sarson (bef.1790-1850) and son Henry Sarson (1825-) in London.
- The Smiths Snackfood Company better known as Smiths Crisps was founded in 1920 in Cricklewood as a family enterprise by Frank Smith. After a series of corporate ownership changes, the Smiths brand was largely dropped in favour of Walkers in the 1990s, but remains on some products in the UK and Australia.
- Spillers Ltd Pet food (Winalot) and flour (Homepride). Began when Joel Spiller started milling in Bridgewater, Somerset in 1829. Bought by Dalgety plc in 1979 who sold the bakery side of the business to Allied Bakeries, the flour milling business to Kerry Group and the pet food business to Nestle.
- Tate & Lyle, food processing, originally sugar refiners formed from the 1921 merger of longstanding rival companies Henry Tate & Sons founded in 1859 in Lancashire and Abram Lyle & Sons founded in 1887 in Scotland, but both operating out of huge warehouse factories in Silvertown in London. The two company founders reputedly never met each other.
- Thomas Wall & Sons sausages, meat pies and ice cream, established in 1878 by Thomas Wall, son of pork butcher Richard Wall who reportedly first sold meat in 1776 (aged 9). Thomas's son Thomas Wall introduced ice cream as a way to avoid summer lay-offs when demand for meat fell. The businesses are now split, with Kerry Foods owning the meat business and Unilever the ice-cream side.
Glass
- Pilkington plc founded in 1826 as the St Helens Crown Glass Company by John William Bell, Peter Greenall, James Bromilow, John Barnes, Thomas Bell, and William Pilkington junior.
Manufacturing
- East Riding Garage and Engineering Works, later the Armstrong Patent Company, set up by Fullerton George Gordon Armstrong (1885-1969) in Beverley, Yorkshire in 1907, making (amongst other things) shock absorbers for the automotive industry.
- Rylands Brothers Limited wire drawers, started in Warrington, Cheshire in 1805 by John Rylands (1771-1848).
- Thorn Electrical Industries electrical/electronic goods Sir Jules Thorn (1899-1980) founded the company with his business partner Alfred Deutsch in March 1928 as The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd. Merged then de-merged with EMI from 1979-1996.
Pharmacies
- Boots the Chemist founded as a herbal medicine shop by John Boot (1815-1860) in 1849 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire.
Publishing
- Hodder & Stoughton, evolved from Jackson and Walford after Matthew Hodder in 1861 and Thomas Wilberforce Stoughton in 1868 joined the business and the previous partners retired.
Retail
- Currys electronic goods, founded by Henry Curry in Leicester, 1884 (initially selling bicycles), incorporated by his sons in 1927. Acquired (by)/merged with Dixons, PC World and Carphone Warehouse.
- B&Q Home improvement outlets. Founded by Richard Block and his brother-in-law David Quayle in Southampton, 1969. Now owned by Kingfisher plc.
- Rumbelows electronic goods rental, founded by Sidney Rumbelow 1909-1974, later acquired by Thorn Electrical Industries, who merged it into the eponymous group of shops founded by Fred Dawes in 1969, but using the Rumbelows name. It was merged into Radio Rentals in 1989 and the Rumbelows name was gradually phased out, although it briefly sponsored the English Football League Cup from 1990-1992.
Shipbuilding
- John I Thornycroft and Company, Shipbuilders, founded by John Isaac Thornycroft (1843-1928) in Chiswick, Middlesex in 1864.
Shoemakers
- Church's Shoes luxury footware company founded in Northampton, Northamptonshire in 1873 by Thomas Church (abt.1825-1905).
- C & J Clark Ltd (Clark's Shoes) founded by Cyrus Clark and James Clark in Street, Somerset, 1825
- Loake Brothers Ltd shoemakers, founded by brothers Thomas Loake (1850-1915), John Loake (1856-1930), and William Frederick Loake (1858-1935) in 1880, in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
- Timpson Ltd shoe makers, now known for shoe repairs and key cutting, started by William Timpson (1849-1929) and his brother in law Walter Joyce (1835-1878) in Manchester, Lancashire in 1865.
Textiles
- John Foster & Sons weavers, formed in Queensbury, Yorkshire in 1819 by John Foster (1798-1879).
Tobacco
- WD and HO Wills Tobacco Company tobacconists founded by Henry Overton Wills I (1761-1826) and Samuel Watkins in 1786 in Bristol.
Feel free to add! And please add the category 'Founders of English Companies' to the profiles of the founders.
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Edward Barnard, who was manager of a silversmiths, went into partnership with Rebecca Emes and Henry Chawner in 1808 and then founded Edward Barnard and Sons in 1829. Edward Barnard & Sons made the royal christening font, the Lily Font, for Queen Victoria. Edward was the brother of my three times great-grandmother, Mary Barnard. The company merged with Padgett and Braham and the whole thing closed down in 2003; the original company had started about 1680.
Booseys the Music Publishers
Edward married Mary Boosey who was the daughter of John Boosey whose WikiTree entry by Trevor Pickup says, "The firm of Boosey & Co. originated as a lending library which was founded by John Boosey." Booseys became the music publishers still in business in partnership as Boosey and Hawkes. Many choral singers will be familiar with Booseys. Mary Boosey was a sister-in-law of my 3x great-grandmother.
edited by Judith (Sidaway) Brooksbank
To research: R White, Schwind and Pennington (Ladbrokes), Harold Pickup (Harpic)
For my own reference: McCain and Schwarz are Canadian; Woolworths, Birdseye, Proctor & Gamble and Hellmans are American; Knorr is German.
I posted a note on Frank Smith (Smiths Crisps) on how to find information on William Alexander (Golden Wonder), Charles Kenyon (KP) and Joseph "Spud" Murphy (Tayto) but didn't actually build them yet. KP is the only English one there. Please, anyone feel free to jump in if you feel like building a profile. Same goes for any bold names that aren't on Wikitree yet (I'll get round to them all eventually if no-one else does).
I've been looking into Walkers Crisps origin story ("In 1948 a butcher called Henry Walker...") and I find some elements difficult to believe. The repeated elements are he moved from Mansfield in 1880 and opened a butcher's shop in Leicester, then in 1912 moved premises to Cheapside. Let's set aside how old he would have to be in 1948. There was a Walkers butchers in Leicester as early as 1824 making pork pies (Walker & Sons, founder Mark Walker), and there's a Henry Walker and Sons shop in Oadby still trading today that is known for pork pies. Could the "Henry Walker" story be an attempt to claim pre-existing goodwill? I can find one Henry Walker in Leicester in the 1939 register born 1871, none of the Henry Walkers in 1911 or 1901 are described as butchers, and no-one else appears to have been able to pin down the Henry Walker who made his crisp breakthrough in 1948. I challenge Wikitree to find this man!
edited by Stephen Corkey
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Boddington-191
Herbert Raymond Dennis KBE and his brother John Henry Cawsey Dennis do not have individual Wikipedia pages, although Dennis Brothers does.
I would love to see more non-Americans featured, and would be happy for anything that might get these two profiles ready for an EPOW feature as supporting profiles. (Henry Ford is the Feature Profile.)
I have not nominated either of them, as they do not - currently - have a Notables sticker. They ARE Connected, both have pictures, and basic biographies.
Is there anyone who can help?
It would be great if there was an interested someone who'd like to expand on their company some day, and who would maybe do a space page for the company under this Topic header. Sadly, automobiles are not an area in which I am interested. (Authors, yes, cars, not so much -- even though I can appreciate a good-looking one. For example, the Dennis Brothers' VCC 1902 Dennis is a really pretty car. As is Genevieve - in which I was once privileged to be permitted to sit, and toot her horn. (I also had a silver pendant to commemorate the event, long since lost.))
Russell Gerrard-621