Keep Brothers Information

[PAUL.ENGLAND]

Hi Can anyone share any light on "Keep Brothers" Export Merchants, gun dealers I think. There is not a lot on the internet about them
I did find an old receipt which gave their address as Russell St, Birmingham. But cannot find Russell St on any O.S map
If anyone has any info, photo of premises, or map I would love to see it Thanks in advance Paul

 

[Pedrocut]

July 1964, Birmingham Post.

 

[Pedrocut]

In January 1878 Messrs Keep Bros announced that they were moving from 24 Russell Street to Broad Street.

 

[MWS]

Hi Can anyone share any light on "Keep Brothers" Export Merchants, gun dealers I think. There is not a lot on the internet about them
I did find an old receipt which gave their address as Russell St, Birmingham. But cannot find Russell St on any O.S map
If anyone has any info, photo of premises, or map I would love to see it Thanks in advance Paul

It ran between Weaman Row and Steelhouse Lane, parallel to Loveday St. Top left of this map...

View map: Ordnance Survey, OS town plan - Birmingham and its Environs - sheet XIV.5.3 - Ordnance Survey Town Plans of England and Wales, 1840s-1890s

...there are a number of gun works marked.

 

[Vivienne14]

To add to the above, some more information and history. Also two details of wills of two Frederic Keep's of Keep Brothers.

Source for all extracts : British Newspaper Archive

 

[Vivienne14]

Pulling more information from newspapers:
In 1859, 1864, 1868 and 1871 they had premises in Russell Street
In 1881 they had premises at 11 Broad Street
These fit with the location dates given in post #3.

And a few more newspaper extracts Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[Astoness]

no sooner said than done...brilliant info from our members...you would not get this response on face book pages...

lyn

 

[mikejee]

From directories:
Earlier directories than 1841 were often not complete , so that Keeps are not included does not mean they did not exist
1841-1845 Keep & Hinckley, factors, 25 Russell St
1849 Keep & Hinckley, merchants & factors, 24,25 Russell St
1855 it was Keep & Son, , merchants and f actors at 24,25 Russell St
1858 -1876 Keep Bros, merchants, 24 Russell st
1878-1900 Keep Bros. colonial merchants 11 Broad St
1903 - 70 Keep Brothers Limited, export mers. 35 & 36 Great Charles St#
1971 -73 Keep Brothers Limited, Keep Brothers Limited, export mers, buying, shipping &
confirming house, Rotunda, (New st)
1973 is last date of directories, so presumably they may have continued

The 1862 directory also gives the addresses of the two Keep Bros, Frederick (5, Westbourne Road) and Josh (Park Road)
The 1861 directory lists Frederick living at 28 George St

 

[Pedrocut]

Interesting that Messrs Keep Bros start to be mentioned around 1858. And in 1857 a mention of Messrs Keep And Son, merchants Birmingham.

There must have been a change around that time as they were both at Russell Street.

 

[Pedrocut]

There is a Messrs Keep & Son mentioned in Wellingborough from 1831.

 

[MWS]

John Keep, the father of the Frederick and Joseph mentioned by Mike appears to have died in 1857,

 

[Pedrocut]

Northampton Mercury, July 1840…

 

[pjmburns]

1983 phone book

 

[pjmburns]

Same phone directory as the entry above and with the same phone number

 

[pjmburns]

1867

 

[pjmburns]

1896

 

[pjmburns]

1984


Part way down the list

 

[Pedrocut]

Birmingham Daily Mail, April 1904, Death of Frederick Keep.

 

[PAUL.ENGLAND]

Thanks to All Great stuff

 

[Pedrocut]

In the obituary for Frederick Keep it mentions his religious work at Car’s Lane Chapel, and being one of the original founders of the Edgbaston Congregational Chapel in Francis Road. He was a deacon of the Chapel and superintendent of the Sunday Schools connected therewith for 40 years.

In Vivienne's post 5, and the last entry, we see the Keep Brothers received a telegram from Mafeking in 1900 asking to ship all good immediately. The Keep Brothers are described in some directories as Colonial merchants, well placed to send the carbines.