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Jessel Co Ltd Newhall Street

R

robjarman

proper brummie kid
please, can anyone help with info on a company called Jessel Ltd? they were based in 10 and 34 Newhall Street, acc to archives I have found for 1940, 1941 and 1950.
I am interested in a man called Eric Dudley Thompson, who described himself as Managing Director of Jessel Co Ltd in the 1939 England population Register - but he was living in Bournemouth at the time!
Eric was part of the Thompson brewery clan who managed Ind Coope, Allsopp, Ansells and eventually Allied Brewers.

What work was Jessel Co. engaged in?
many thanks, Rob Jarman
 
1940 directory
1635415665005.png
In 1901 and 1911 his father is described as a brewery manager.
 
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robjarman said:
please, can anyone help with info on a company called Jessel Ltd? they were based in 10 and 34 Newhall Street, acc to archives I have found for 1940, 1941 and 1950.
I am interested in a man called Eric Dudley Thompson, who described himself as Managing Director of Jessel Co Ltd in the 1939 England population Register - but he was living in Bournemouth at the time!
Eric was part of the Thompson brewery clan who managed Ind Coope, Allsopp, Ansells and eventually Allied Brewers.

What work was Jessel Co. engaged in?
many thanks, Rob Jarman
Click to expand...
Apparently at the time of the 1951 British Industries Fair, they made Fisholow metal bottle cases. What they were I cannot help
Bob
 
thanks all, really appreciate your help - yep, Grace's Guide was the 1950 ref I had - but it's not clear what Jessel Co did, were they suppliers of the 'Fisholow' products (= Fisher & Ludlow, metal pressings for many industries) in this case crates/racking for bottles? this makes sense in terms of the brewing businesses Eric Thompson's family were running.

would buildings at 10 or 34 Newhall Street have been used as offices, or for production?

what are 'crown corks'?? I've a lot to learn on this subject!!

I've constructed a full family tree for Eric on Ancestry, but the details of his life are v sparse - he travelled/cruised (1st Class) by ship regularly during the 1930s-1960s, but almost always gave his occup as 'none'!!
 
yep the Hazelwood School record is the right man - but some of that info is incorrect...e.g. the 1939 register has been mistranscribed as 'Tessel Co Ltd', he was not RNR or RNVR, he did not work for the Admiralty during WW2, etc!!... what's new!!
thanks for all your help - gold dust!!
 
Still listed at 10 Newhall Street in 1959 to 1970 phone books but are not in 1972 one.
 
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thanks Janice. I've now looked up 'crown cork' - ah = bottle tops!!
so, would the Newhall Street premises have been manufacturing, or admin?
given that all the beer production was in Burton on Trent, why would they have bottle top production in Birmingham city centre? they did not take Ansells over until 1961?
 
robjarman said:
what are 'crown corks'?? I've a lot to learn on this subject!!
Click to expand...
crown corks are metal bottle tops

Just read your post - at least we agree.
I would not have thought Newhall street would be manufacturing. I would have expected it to be admin. I could be wrong though.
 
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I now see from Kelly's 1930 that Jessel Co Ltd were based at 109 Colmore Row - which appears to be in the same building block as 33 Newhall Street - is that correct?
also, in this Directory Jessel Co are given as 'The Jessel Oil Co Ltd - oil importers'.
in the 1937 Kelly's, Jessel Co Ltd are listed at 33 Newhall Street but no trade or business is cited, frustratingly!!
does anyone have any history for the Jessel Co in this part of Birmingham? In 1884 Kelly's, Leslie Jessel & Co were at 33 Ludgate Hill, 'merchants', naming Edward Jessel also.
many thanks, Rob
 
robjarman said:
I now see from Kelly's 1930 that Jessel Co Ltd were based at 109 Colmore Row - which appears to be in the same building block as 33 Newhall Street - is that correct?
Click to expand...
It looks from this c1950s map(earlier maps don't show numbers) that 10 Newhall Street and 109 Colmore Row were is the same block. By 1950 33 is where a ruin is marked (yellow ring) - 10 Newhall street is the blue ring and 109 Colmore Row is the red ring, (Ignore the other red marker - I used that to find Colmore Row on the map site). Apologies for small writing but not easy to get them all on one shot.
1635515326030.png
 
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many thanks Janice - so a very local migration of offices is becoming clear!
1930 109 Colmore Row
1937 33 Newhall St
1940 33 Newhall St
1941 10 Newhall St
1959-70 10 Newhall St

I'm still trying to find out what Eric Dudley Thompson was doing as MD of Jessel Co - I've found two more passenger list entries for him, which do give an occupation! - in Jan 1930 he was on a Med cruise and he stated "oil business" as his occupation - and again in 1932 on a Med cruise he stated "oil business" - this happens to tally with Jessel Co as "oil importers" in the 1930 Kelly's. But by 1939 Jessel Co have become "crown cork" suppliers, a very different kind of business - implying that Jessel Co are commodity traders and not involved directly with manufacturing or distribution...
pjmburns said:
Post #2 gives the 33 address and lists them as crown cork manufacturers
Click to expand...
yes - that's in 1940 - but the 1937 Kelly's is silent on the nature of the business
 
Hi Janice - you're a star! I don't have access to any more Kelly's, so by filling in the missing link you've solved a riddle I think - they must have changed the focus of their business from oil by 1936
I just discovered an earlier passenger list from Dec 1926 where Eric gives 'oil business' - I'll keep looking for clues, back to 1919 when he was discharged from RAF as a seaplane engineer aged 20.
 
Thanks Lyn.
Rob - It is odd but you can't search 1930s Kelly's on Ancestry but sometimes they come up on a search and then you can look page by page. I came across it by accident so I keep one name to put in and then I have access to some extra Kelly's
Glad to help.
 
One should note that "oil business " could have referred to vegetable oil, which would, at the time, have involved corks , which possibly was the connection to the change in the business
 
mikejee said:
One should note that "oil business " could have referred to vegetable oil, which would, at the time, have involved corks , which possibly was the connection to the change in the business
Click to expand...
thanks v much for that pointer - that might provide a closer link with the family's primary involvement with the brewing business, which was massively scaled up and innovated during the 1930s and 40s - I'll pursue that avenue!
 
robjarman said:
many thanks Janice - so a very local migration of offices is becoming clear!
1930 109 Colmore Row
1937 33 Newhall St
1940 33 Newhall St
1941 10 Newhall St
1959-70 10 Newhall St

I'm still trying to find out what Eric Dudley Thompson was doing as MD of Jessel Co - I've found two more passenger list entries for him, which do give an occupation! - in Jan 1930 he was on a Med cruise and he stated "oil business" as his occupation - and again in 1932 on a Med cruise he stated "oil business" - this happens to tally with Jessel Co as "oil importers" in the 1930 Kelly's. But by 1939 Jessel Co have become "crown cork" suppliers, a very different kind of business - implying that Jessel Co are commodity traders and not involved directly with manufacturing or distribution...

yes - that's in 1940 - but the 1937 Kelly's is silent on the nature of the business
Click to expand...
To add to these:
1932 The Jessell Co Ltd, oil importers 33 Newhall St as listed in both street and commercial sections of Kellys
1933 The Jessell Co Ltd, oil importers 33 Newhall St as listed in street section, but no mention of "oil importers" in commercial section, though , of course this may not mean anything .
1936 The Jessell Co Ltd , 33 Newhall St, with no mention of what they do in either listing
 
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