Courtauld and Taylor
1817 Samuel Courtauld, with his cousin, Peter A. Taylor, they founded the Company.
1818 They built Pound End Mill (located on South Street, Braintree and still visible today).
The cousins were soon in search of larger mills due to the expansion of the business, as a result Pound End Mill was rented to Daniel & Stephen Walters. Convinced that water-power would prove the key to expansion the cousins brought the last Essex bay mill in Bocking during 1820.
1825 When Samuel’s brothers, George and John Minton, joined the firm, the family decided to start making crape (crimped silk gauze), the textile which would make the company famous.
As the fashion for mourning spread throughout the growing middle-classes, encouraged by Queen Victoria after the death of Albert, this resulted in the enormous success of the firm that became known by the mid-19th century as Samuel Courtauld and Co.
In the early 20th-century, the company pioneered the production of artificial silk, later to be known as rayon, which revolutionised fashion and also "wash day" in the homes of millions.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Braintree Museum