Fownes Gloves
of 71 Gresham Street, London, EC2. Telephone: Central 1192. Cables: "Fownes, London". Factory: Fownes Gloves Ltd, Talbot Street, Worcester
- [1] John Fownes, a barrister, who was born in 1682, had a son also called John. He had three sons, the youngest being George Fownes and he lived his life in Hanbury, Staffordshire. John Fownes, the founder of the glove business, was the second son of George Fownes.
1777 The glove making business was established[2] by John Fownes in Worcester.
1781 John Fownes (1754-1827) married Lucy Jane Dymock (1765-1835) at the church of St. Lawrence in the City of London[3]. He had a large family of eight sons and three daughters. Henry, Thomas and Edward joined the business and the children of Mary, one of his daughters who married William Urwick in 1824, also joined later.
1808 The factory was moved to Battersea; Thomas and Edward became partners in the business which changed its name to John Fownes and Sons.
1827 John Fownes died on the 20th September, and was buried in the church of St. Lawrence Jewry in London.
1829 John Fownes and Sons, of Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, were leather dressers and glove manufacturers[4]
After John's death, the firm became Fownes Brothers.
1848 The firm opened in Cheapside, under the name Fownes Brothers.
Thomas and Henry Fownes died shortly afterwards; the only survivor was Edward who formed a partnership with Mr. Samuel John Urwick, the son of Mary Fownes, and Mr. J. W. Spall, an associate in the fabric trade.
1856 The business became Fownes Brothers and Co.
The factory moved a number of times in the late 19th Century but most of these were to different locations in the City of London, all close to the church of St. Lawrence Jewry.
1877 Offices were set up in Ryders Court, Leicester Square, London.
1884 Building work started on the Worcester site; it took three years to complete. Shortly after the establishment of the new factory, the sons of Mr. S. J. Urwick and A.J. Spall joined the firm. The family connection has been maintained for the remainder of the life of the business with the great grandsons of Edward Fownes, Mr. A. J. Spall and William Gardener Ridgden, being partners.
1887 Fownes Gloves moved to Worcester. At that time the company employed more that 1,000 people and was one of the world’s leading glove makers with offices and factories in many parts of the world.
1904 Fownes Brothers and Co, established in 1777, claimed to be the Manufacturers of the gloves known all over the world...[5]
1914 Glove Manufacturers and Merchants, 71, 73, and 75, Gresham Street, and 1, Aldermanbury, London, E.C. Principals: William Gardiner Rigden, Henry Urwick, William Fownes Rigden, Edward Fownes Rigden, and Stanley Fownes Rigden. Premises: London warehouse, with staff of 110. Branch warehouses at New York, San Francisco, Montreal, Melbourne, Paris, Parma, and Hamburg. Factories: Worcester; Charlbury; Gillingham; Battersea; Tipperary; Evesham; Amsterdam, N.Y., U.S.A.; Gloversville, N.Y., U.S.A.; Johanngeorgenstadt, Saxony; and Paris.
1921 Sir Henry Urwick and Lyndall Fownes Urwick retired from the firm.[6]
1947 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Manufacturers of Gloves. (Earls Court, 1st Floor, Stand No. 446b) [7]
1969 Acquired by Dent, Allcroft and Co, another glove maker. Became Dent Fownes
1974 Following the decline of the glove industry due to fashion, the business and manufacture of gloves was transferred to Warminster in Wiltshire, and the Worcester building became derelict.
1985 the site was acquired and plans developed to convert the building into a city centre hotel catering for the needs of the local business community.
- For pictures of the Worcester factory see [2]
See Also
Sources of Information
- [3] Gloves timeline