Rowe Brothers and Co
of 192 High Street, Exeter and later of 33 Queen Street, Exeter. Also of Bootle, Birmingham, Bristol.
1839 Company established.
Sometime traded as Edward James, Rowe and Co
ca.1880 the Rowe Brothers and Co commissioned Herbert Jones, a Bristol based architect to design and build a lead rolling works at Canons Marsh wharf in Bristol's floating harbour. The Company originally started in nearby Exeter manufacturing and selling brass and sanitary ware.[1]
1892 Mention of Charles Arthur Rowe a partner on the company.[2]
Traded as James Edward Rowe and Co.
1900 Incorporated as a limited company.
1914 Manufacturers of Sheet Lead, Lead Pipe, Red Lead, Litharge, &c., Corroders and Grinders of White Lead, Builders' Merchants. Registered Offices: 192, High Street, Exeter. Directors: C. E. Rowe, J.P. (Chairman), E. C. Philp, T. B. Rowe, C. A. Rowe. Secretary: H. C. Rowe, J.P. Premises: Offices and Works at High Street, Exeter; Canon's Marsh, Bristol; Berkley Street, Birmingham; Pall Mall, Liverpool; Red, White, and Orange Lead and Litharge Works, Old Quay, Runcorn. Specialities: Sheet Lead, Lead Pipe, Red and White Lead, &c. Patents: Pipe Press with double container, No. 10444 (1901), and others.[3].
1924 Merger of Locke, Lancaster and W. W. and R. Johnson and Sons Ltd, the white lead, red lead and litharge works of Rowe Brothers and Co Ltd of Exeter with works at Bootle, and the lead, antimony and other manufacturing interests of Cookson and Co; shareholders would receive, in exchange for their shares, shares in Associated Lead Manufacturers Ltd. The 3 companies were all private companies; they would continue as separate entities with their existing management[4].
1949 Share issue. Directors are: Kenneth Charles Harold Rowe; Reginald Dainton Belcher; Wilfred Samuel George Edgecombe; and Donavan Charles Birch. 'In 1839 the late Mr. Tom Rowe settled Exeter and in partnership with his uncle took over an existing Oil and Colour Merchants business situated there. the origins of which are unknown. Some 12 later he was joined his younger brother, thee late Mr. C. E. Rowe (the grandfather of the present chairman).
Branches were then opened at Bristol, (1879), Birmingham (1894) and Liverpool (1895). The business developed as partnership until 1900. Its original style was Edward James Rowe and Co but the branch businesses were under the style of Rowe Bros. & Co. and this style was adopted for the whole undertaking when on the March, 1900, the business was incorporated a private company. The capital upon incorporation was £185,000. The Company was converted into Public Company on the 19th day of January 1949.
During the last century the oil trade was a major interest of the original partnership but when the Canon's Marsh premises were built at Bristol in 1884 a sheet lead rolling mill was installed to supplement the lead pipe press which had been operating in Exeter since 1879. This point marked the commencement of the partnership becoming seriously interested the lead trade far the supply of plumbers' requirements for the building and chemical trades was concerned. Pipe presses were later erected at Birmingham and Liverpool and at the letter place a rolling mill for sheet lead was also installed. Resulting from these beginnings the Company has now been considerable manufacturer lead sheet and pipe for many years, position which it still holds despite the present restricted tonnages allowed. In view of the present high price lead and the world shortage of this commodity the Company is investigating the possibility of opening an abandoned working in this country. This investigation, which Contract No. (11) refers, has not yet reached the stage where a reliable opinion on its success can formed, but the Company is not committed to heavy liabilities in this respect.
In addition to the interests referred to above, the Company has built extensive builders' merchants business and handles a variety goods used by the building industry, such as glass, paints, plumbers' brasswork, sanitary appliances, boilers, ranges and fireplaces, metal windows, tools and electrical goods. New departments have been added from time to time to keep pace with the needs the building and allied industries, and one the latest of these is a section specialising the supply of all types caterers' plant and equipment. The four principal Branches established by the original partnership still form the main centres the business, but to meet specific needs a showroom and small depot have been running at Blackpool for over 20 years, London Office deal with inquiries from Architects. Public Authorities, and Contractors and firms whose businesses are centralised in London has been in operation for the last 15 years.'[5]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Architectural Decor
- ↑ Bristol Times and Mirror - Saturday 06 February 1892
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ The Times, 4 December 1924
- ↑ Western Morning News - Monday 24 January 1949