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Gaskell and Chambers

O

O.C.

Guest
Sir Cornelious Chambers J.P. in 1941 at the age of 80 left to his successors a great Birmingham factory which made everything for the inns and pubs except the beer
Gaskell & Chambers.
In the 50's they made the Dalex stainless steel beer engine allowing beer to be pumped straight from the cellars through stainless steel pipes, allowing even cider to be dispensed without corroding the pipes.
The main factory had four cabinet and joinery works making everything for the modern bar of the time like bar fittings and furniture, tailor made to suit each room, individually.
In 1939 Gaskell & Chambers had a dramatic turn round and swung full force in making armament production for the war effort making mine detectors, fuses for the Anti "U" boat campaign and ammunition boxes.
Two employees were awarded British Empire Medal for services they put in to the war effort
Bottom Photo shows a typical cellar with the beer barrels linked up to the Patent Hygex Sillerite Telescopic Drop Pipe System
 
Weren't they good old names in them days, Cornelius, Josiah,Theodore,Ebenezer and of course who could forget the good old, rock solid name of John.
 
1946 i left school at 14 yrs and worked in upholstery shop at Gaskell and Chambers
it was not very nice in there because all the pub seating was packed with horse hair i was told by my doctor to get out of it and left after about 15 months Allen
 
hi my grandfather worked there for many years has a bar fitter i know he was there in 1936 it was on marriage cert
his name was michael burns known has frank does anyone know him
kim
 
Gaskell an Chambers

I worked at Gaskell an Chambers in the 50s as a bar fitter, travelling all over fixing on site i.e. in pubs and hotels, bars and fittings etc. until I got wed, I then went back to shopfitting which was`nt so hectic and I was home most nights.
 
Hi can anyone shed any light on the origins of Gaskell & Chambers? My gerat, great uncle, Sir Cornelius Chambers, was Chairman of G&C in the early 20th century. I have evidence of him as a clerk in 1891, but assume that the company existed prior to Cornelius, and how he came to be chairman. And who was Gaskell? I have made enquiries to the modern day company but they don't appear to have any historical records.
Any information anyone can pass on would be greatly appreciated!
 
I have a book by Ray Shill called Workshop of the World,Birmingham's Industrial Heritage and there are a couple of pages in there regarding Gaskell and Chamber's.It is available at the library.It is a brilliant book if you are into Birmingham industry as are all of Ray Shill's books.BobS.
 
Did you get Ray Shill's book out of the library? I wonder if it included a silverplating works Jarrett & Rainsford whre my grandfather worked in the 1920's? I would like to know their address and what they produced.
Regards, Biddy
 
I assume this is the one, from the 1921 Kelly's, but same in 1932 edition. Don't know if they silverplated hairpins.
Jarrett Rainsford & Laughton' Limited, hair pin manufacturers,Kent street & Lower Essex street.
mike​
 
mikejee said:
I assume this is the one, from the 1921 Kelly's, but same in 1932 edition. Don't know if they silverplated hairpins.
Jarrett Rainsford & Laughton' Limited, hair pin manufacturers,Kent street & Lower Essex street.
mike​
Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

This is the company that became Eddystone Radio. I think it was in Bromsgrove Street, and later at West Heath. Plenty of info on the
internet re Eddystone and its origins.

Kind regards Dave
 
HI FROGY - JO,
THERE WAS A GASKELL & CHAMBERS AT 38 - 44 COLESILL ST BAR FITTERS, THEY HAD BIG SHOWROOM
WINDOWS WITH A SHELF AT THE BOTTOM,ON WHICH WHERE BIRDS DRINKING WATER FROM GLASSES, THEY NEVER STOPPED MOVING , WE AS KIDS LOVED THEM , VERY AMUSING, THE SHOWROOM WAS FACING THE GAIETY PICTURE HOUSE THIS WAS THE 50, s
THEY WAS THERE IN THE 1941 KELLYS DIR ,
I HOPE THIS HELPS A LITTLE, TERRY
 
I recently purchased a rather nice antique 1 pint pewter tankard, on the bottom of which is stamped Gaskell and Chambers Ltd. Birmingham. Would anyone happen to know where Gaskell and Chambers was situated and/or anything about the history of the manufactory?
 
Gaskell & Chambers Ltd were bar-fitters. You name it, they made it for the licensed trade. At some point in the fairly distant past they were bought out by IMI and traded as IMI Cornelius Ltd in Alcester. I believe they're still in business, but maybe not in Alcester. I used to sell them sealing washers for beer-pumps.

Big Gee
 
Gaskell & Chambers.
Cornelius Chambers acquired the pewtering business of Peter Gaskell in 1892 so creating what would be one of the only two Birmingham pewtering enterprises to survive well into the 20th century. Gaskell traded from 60, Stafford Street which had previously been the premises occupied by another prominent Birmingham pewterer Joseph Morgan (also of Manchester). In 1902 he acquired the old James Yates business and in 1910 that of Samuel Mason so a large part of the inheritance of West Midlands pewtering came to this business. (Research suggest that in 1860 the two Birch boys, who has inherited their father's interest in Yates and Birch separated themselves from Yates and went into a partnership, fairly short lived, with Samuel Mason in Dale End Road. Mason later continued on his own and it was presumed this was the business Gaskell and Chambers bought in 1910 when it had gone bankrupt. Harry Mason who had been running it then, presumably son or grandson or something similar, of Samuel apparently tried to restart the enterprise a year or two later.)
Of course like most of their 19th century predecessors Gaskell and Chambers did not just deal in pewter but also bar fittings, pumps and many other related products.
Gaskell and Chambers Birmingham premises were bombed in 1941 and most of their own and their inherited records were destroyed. In the early 1970s they sold their traditional pewter making enterprise to another Birmingham firm, James Smellies, who continued with the work until 1983. The closure of James Smellies pewter manufactory left only one traditional pewterer in Birmingham, A.E.Williams.
Gaskell and Chambers catalogues showed the same wide range of products as their 19th century predecessors but the bulk of their production was again beer mugs and measures including bellied measures and handless balusters for the Irish market. Their products are normally marked under the base ‘Gaskell and Chambers Brmingham’. Sometimes they have inside the base an ‘X’ or Crowned ‘X’ with a triangle below. In the early 20th century Gaskell and Chambers were also dated earlier than they should have been. Len.
Images unfortunately lost
a_Yates_5_a.jpg

a_Yates_5_b.jpg

a_Yates_5_c.jpg


Harry Mason Ltd Birmingham​
a_Yates_5_d.jpg

a_Yates_5_e.jpg

a_Yates_5_g.jpg
 
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Blimey, Len, where'd you find all that??? Impressive.

My wife worked for David J Hill Ltd, barfitters, and Harry Mason Ltd was a partner company. Harry Mason Ltd is still trading in Nechells.

Good to know that an old-established Brum firm is still trading in these tough times.

Best,

Big Gee
 
Big Gee said:
Blimey, Len, where'd you find all that??? Impressive.

My wife worked for David J Hill Ltd, barfitters, and Harry Mason Ltd was a partner company. Harry Mason Ltd is still trading in Nechells.

Good to know that an old-established Brum firm is still trading in these tough times.

Best,

Big Gee
Click to expand...


Hi Big Gee,

I'm so glad you mentioned David J. Hill's. I was reading the thread, and
thinking who was that other local firm of barfitters, and you came up with the answer! I remember dealing with them when I kept the accounts for
the old Met Club at Ward End, but I can't remember what they supplied
them with.

Kind regards

Dave
 
Hi, there where a lot of pewter tankard makers (metal spinners) in Birmingham, some independent, some who did contract work for Gaskell and Chambers. Most of which where exported to the USA, then in the seventies (I think) there was a scare in the states about the lead content in pewter and ‘’over night’’ the market crashed and never recovered.
Barry
 
Thanks, guys, fascinating stuff. I'm a bit worried now about the lead content of my tankard as I have been using it to quaff ale. Is there any truth to the theory that it may damage health?
 
Hi Nostromo
No need to worry there's no lead in the tankard, modern pewter is made up of tin,copper and antimony,tin is a soft malleable matal, a small amount of antimony is added to harden the tin and the copper to make it flow when the metal is cast
A.E.Williams pewter company was started by my father in 1920 and specialized in antique reproduction pewter
 
Thanks, that's a weight off my mind. I always thought it was going to be the beer that got me in the end, not lead poisoning!
 
Hi, sorry Nostromo if my comments worried you. The so called lead scare in America was just that but the effect was disastrous to some small firms in Birmingham. We used to make (spin) quite a few but some firms it was there bread and butter. At that time besides pewter tankards a lot of small brumie firms where manufacturing copper goblets by the thousands that where then silver plated and where exported to the states. A lot of this market dried up when new silver plating methods came in.These small firms where the unsung heroes. They helped with the balance of payments as it was called but never got any credit.
Barry
 
No problem, Baz. Incidentally, I've heard that Gaskell and Chambers converted to the production of armaments during one or both of the World Wars. Does anyone know if there is any truth in this?
 
I have had one of these in my possession for a few years and am now attempting to get it working from a pile of bits. It seems to be a very high quality piece of engineering, brass pistons and cylinder etc. A local publican (in Australia) wants me to get it working and install it in his pub. Does anyone have any information and tips about installation? A photo would certainly help!
 
"Britain's Biggest Barfitters!" Probably no empty claim either, their vans were all over the country. I got to drive one occasionally in the 50's, a Morris 8, delivering orders to pubs around the North West during school/college holidays. Royston Chambers was at the helm in those days and his two sons John and Martin were somewhere in the equation as well as other family members.

Both my great grandfather and grandfather were pewterers, first in London then Birmingham, the latter, if not both, with James Yates. My dad, Clem, joined G&C as an office boy in 1910 and, WW1 service apart, remained until his retirement in 1960, managing the Manchester branch for many years and ending up on the board of directors. Somewhere amongst old family papers I'm sure there's a letter or two from old Sir Cornelius to Dad - very formal.

My son has charge of the few remaining pewter pieces of my childhood home - a matching set of four (I think), gill to quart, plus a more plain, one-off pint tankard which is inscribed "Made by my father" on the base. One downside - we never had two matching glasses in the house, just a cupboard full of odd samples.

Brian
 
Wonderful account of your memories Brian. Welcome and as Mike says more please.
 
Hello
has anybody got any Catalogues from before 1946 I can copy or buy?
I am researching the pewter trade in Birmingham
Has any body seen the following trade mark ? possC then ystra with a W under, its on a victorian Gill measure
thanks
glyn
 
I worked for Gaskell and Chambers in the early 50`s as a bar fitter, i.e. travelling the country fitting out pubs and hotels etc. It was o.k for awhile but I got fed up with being away from home all the time, it did enable me to save for a deposit on a new house though, the overtime and expenses were very good compared to other Companys. The joinery factory was in A.B. Row the follow on to Ashted Row going towards the City.

Geff
 
Hi Jeff i remember this building i often walked past it on the way to town i always thought it was in Coleshill St almost opposite the Gaiety Cinema which was on the corner of Gem St. Dek
 
hi len ;
i read your thread wth great intrest and if i may just add
i beleive they was bombed when you said in that year was around the 1914 years which is correct
and there huge company building was in new cannal street when it got bombed completely
and it stayed delected for near on forty years along new cannal street opersite my grand fathers
coffee shop where my mother was born with my grand parents
and to my knowledge it was never been rebuilt nor windows ever put back in until
latifs the wholesalers moved in and rebuilt it today other wise i would it may have been demolished
and i can remember her telling me the storysof new cannal street in her growing up years
best wishes Astonian ;;
 
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