Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Registered UK Charity (No. 1154342)

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 167,645 pages of information and 247,064 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Dawson, Payne and Elliott

From Graces Guide

of Atlas Works, Otley, Yorkshire. Telephone: Otley 2275. Cables: "Wharfedale Otley". London Office: Dawson, Payne and Lockett, Saint Bride's House, Salisbury Square, EC4.

1830 William Dawson went into business as a joiner

1849 William Dawson employed David Payne and Robert Elliot in a little back-street joiner’s shop in Otley, establishing an iron foundry.

1856 The first Wharfedale Machine was built - this type of machine went on to revolutionise the printing industry; thousands were built subsequently.

1859 Elliott died.

1866 Payne left to establish his own business; presumably around this time the business became William Dawson and Sons

1866 Dissolution of the Partnership between William Dawson, David Payne, and Thomas Galloway Dawson, as Machine Makers, at Otley, in the county of York, under the style or firm of Dawson, Payne, and Co., so far as regards the said David Payne, as and from the 7th day of November, 1866[1]

1921 Acquired Payne and Sons

The company became Dawson, Payne and Elliott

1947 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Manufacturers of Automatic Feeders, Guillotines, Letterpress Machinery, Lithographic Machinery. (Olympia, Ground Floor, Stand No. B.1469) [2]

1961 Printers engineers. [3]

As recently as 1965, an order was placed with Dawson, Payne and Elliott for 28 of the machines to print the Holy Koran in Pakistan.

c.1960 Company acquired by Venesta[4]

1965 R. W. Crabtree and Sons acquired the letterpress business of Dawson, Payne and Elliott[5]

Dawson, Payne and Elliot went on to become part of Vickers Printing Machinery Group



An example of the Wharfedale Machine can be found in the Otley Museum. Invented and built in the mid-19th century by the company, it is installed in the museum of the Liberty of Otley.

The museum machine is one of the originals, dating back to 1862. It was presented by the late Mr. James Stott, former sales director of Dawson, Payne and Elliot, reassembled and restored to working order.

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. London Gazette 15 February, 1867
  2. 1947 British Industries Fair p80
  3. 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
  4. The Times, May 03, 1962
  5. The Times, Aug 17, 1965
  • [1] Otley Museum