Farrar and Young
Previously Farrar, Whitley and Co.
1899 William Farrar joins Smithson Young to form a new company and after taking temporary premises in Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, Farrar and Young moved to their new purpose-built factory in Elder Road, Bramley in May 1900.[1]
The "Paragon Engineering Works" of the company was positioned close to both the Haley and Whitley factories, and workers were probably pirated from these firms to staff the new plant.[2]
1903 The first patent taken out by Farra and Young was for a leather stuffing drum with means for supplying hot air and measured quantities of grease.[3]
1906 Produced a self-contained endless band splitting machine, disinegrators, Jackson scouring machines and tanning paddles.[4]
1908 A patent was granted for a spring loaded roller for shaving machines, which by now, were also included in the machinery range.[5]
1911 William Farrar wrote and published a descriptive booklet in April of this year, giving instructions for erecting and working bandknife leather splitting machines.[6]
1911 Granted patent for an improved graining machine.[7] This was to become one of the best selling products of the firm, with sales of over 500 and repeat orders up to 12 machines claimed in an advertisement placed in the Leather Trades' Review in February 1926. Farrar and Young's improvement enabled the cork rollers to be positioned after the steel blade carrying the hide had reached its working position. It was claimed this machine was the only type with variable pressure allowing an equal grain on all parts of the skin.[8]
1916 January. The company was listed as a member of the British Manufacturers' Association.[9]
1916 May. The firm was formed into a Limited Liability Company with a nominal capital of £5000.[10] The four directors were all members of the Farrar family, but the firm still traded under the same title of Farrar & Young Ltd.[11]
1921 William Farrar died on 9th September 1921 at the age of 67.
The business continued under the control of William Farrar's sons, manufacturing the same line of machinery which had been marketed before the war. Their specialised range of machinery included the bandknife splitting machine, boarding, embossing, measuring, levelling, shaving and buffing machines, along with wooden drums and machinery for the leather belting industry.[12]
Trading became extremely difficult for the British engineer during the twenties when the increasing imports from Germany forced a contraction of the local specialised industry. A major rationalisation of the leather trade engineers took place in this period.[13]
Being the smallest of the four leather trade engineers in Leeds, Farrar and Young Ltd. managed to survive the 1920's, but either from lack of engineering design ability or from lack of capital, the firm struggled to keep pace with modern machinery developments.[14]
Eventually the market for their particular range of machinery declined, and in 1936 an arrangement as made and the firm ceased to trade.[15]
Edward Wilson & Son Ltd, acquired the services of Thomas William Farrar, and the machinery, patterns and other assets of the old firm were transferred to Bootle in June 1936.[16]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 6 Leather Trds' Rev., 1900. 33, 373.
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Farrar and Young. Patent Class 76, 24020, 5 Nov. 1903
- ↑ Farrar and Young. Leather Trades'Catalogue, 1906
- ↑ Farrar and Young. Patent Class 76, 22597, 24 Oct. 1908.
- ↑ 13 Leather Trds'Rev., 1911,44,324.
- ↑ Farrar and Young. Patent Class 76. 23237. 7 Oct. 1910
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Leather World, 1916,8,32.
- ↑ 17 Leather Trds'Rev., 1916,49,382.
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Early Leather Trades' Engineers of Leeds, Part IV, Farrar, Whitley and Co and Farrar and Young by T. Lyons (Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists (SLTC), Vol 73 (1989), pp160-163).
- ↑ Leather Trds' Rev., 1936, 69, 788.