W. Birch and Co
William Birch, furniture maker, of High Wycombe
1840s According to family tradition Birch began chairmaking in the 1840s
1853 First appeared in trade directories.
1883 William son's Walter started his own chairmaking business in Castle Street, after beginning some years before at the back of The Woolpack pub in Oxford Road.
By 1888 Another son, Charles, had started a furniture factory in Queen’s Road and carried on in business until World War One.
1895 Walter took over his father’s firm as Birch and Company with premises in Denmark Street.
1898 The Denmark Street factory was rebuilt according to the latest modern specifications. The factory burned down very soon after it was built, despite being designed to be fire-proof.
Birch’s opened a second site in Wycombe at Leigh Street
1931-5 The whole business concentrated in Leigh St.
The firm seems to have been among the first to branch out into general furniture making in addition to chairs alone, around the turn of the century. It pioneered the development of Arts and Crafts influenced furniture locally, and employed well-known designers such as EG Punnett, George Walton (who worked with Mackintosh) and Whitehead. Employed 350 in 1938. Made range called ‘Birchcraft’ circa 1950s.Birch’s was taken over by Gomme’s 1954
1954 Acquired by E. Gomme
See Also
Sources of Information
- Furniture Makers of High Wycombe [1]