Liberty and Co
Liberty's of London is a long-established department store in Regent Street and Great Marlborough Street.
1875 The business was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty to sell ornaments, fabrics (for which it became especially famous) and miscellaneous objets d'art from Japan and the Far East.
1875 Acquired the lease of half a shop at 218a Regent Street, opposite where he used to work, and called it Liberty and Co. William Judd, a former colleague, joined his company and they began to sell ornaments, fabrics and other items from Japan.
1876-7 The other half of the shop was acquired.
1882 Company owned premises at 218-220 Regent Street, London.
1885 Company purchased 142-4 Regent Street, to sell carpets and furniture.
1888 Partnership dissolved. '...the Partnership heretofore subsisting under a deed dated 18th June, 1887, between us the undersigned, Arthur Lasenby Liberty and Frank Brunton Goodyer, carrying on business at Chesham House, Nos. 142, 144, 148, and 150, Regent-street, East India House, Nos. 218 and 222, Regent-street, and 2, Argyll-place, all in the county of Middlesex, as East India Merchants and Oriental Warehousemen, under the style or firm of Liberty and Co., has been dissolved, by mutual consent...'[1]
1890s Work was commissioned from leading English designers.
1894 Became a limited company. Directors are Arthur Lasenby Liberty, Mr. Street and Mr. Howe who have been partners for the past five years.[2]
LIBERTY & CO., Ltd., London, Paris, and Birmingham. Makers, Importers, and Dealers in Furniture, Furnishing and Dress Fabrics, and Eastern and Western Decorative Wares (wholesale and retail). London: ("Chesham House" block), Nos. 138 to 154, Regent Street, and 18 to 20 and 25 to 34, Warwick Street, and 2 to 6, Beak Street; ("East India House" block), 208, 212 to 218, and 222, Regent Street, and 32, 35 to 39, and 42 to 46, Kingly Street, W. Workrooms: 5 to 14, Little Marlborough Street, Factory: Highgate. Paris: 3, Boulevard des Capucins. Birmingham: 117 and 119, Corporation Street. Staff: Over 1,300. Founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1875. Incorporated as a Limited Company in 1894. Directors: Sir Arthur Liberty (Chairman), William Street, John Llewellyn (since Feb. 25th, 1898), Alwyn Ernest Lasenby (since March 3rd, 1903), Harold Close Blackmore (since March 6th, 1905), the last-named acting also as Secretary and Solicitor to the Company. Specialities: The production of Furnishing and Dress Fabrics, Costumes, and Decorative Wares in artistic Designs and Colourings, and the manufacture of Artistic Furniture and Jewellery.
1924 The new Tudor building was built using timbers of two ships, HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan. The front of the store on Great Marlborough Street is the same length as the Hindustan.
1957 Liberty's celebrated its centenary.
2008 Liberty plc still sells products designed by leading artists.
Merton Print Works
1904 Liberty's purchased the Merton print works. Shortly afterwards a number of the early weatherboarded buildings on the site were demolished. Liberty's gradually replaced the old weatherboarded workshops in brick.
In 1940 Liberty's leased part of the factory, set aside for screen-printing, to Parnall Aircraft Components Ltd, an aircraft manufacturer. Parnall's also leased the 1929 shop. The work included the assembling of gun turrets for the Bristol Blenheim Fighter Bomber.
1945 Liberty's took back the building that had been leased to Parnall's and finally set up their screen-printing shop.
1972 Liberty and Co. ceased production at the Merton Abbey Works but textile production continued at Merton by Vita-Tex Ltd., Riseline Ltd. and finally Merton Fabrics Ltd.
1982 The Merton premises finally closed.
See Also
- [1] Liberty website