Waring and Gillow
of 164-180, Oxford Street, London, and of Lancaster
1893 Samuel James Waring junior encouraged his father to allow him to open 2 branches of S. J. Waring and Sons, furniture makers and dealers, in London's Sloane Street and Oxford Street. Initially these shops made losses. To gain attention for the new shops, Waring supplied the interior décor for the Hotel Cecil at considerable loss. This attracted more business from other hotels, including the Carlton and the Ritz, as well as attracting customers to the home décor shops.
1896 The S. J. Waring and Sons company was registered as a public company on 27 October to take over the business of furniture manufacturers and dealers of a private company carried on under the title of S. J. Waring and Sons. [1]
1897 In July, the business of Gillow and Co was acquired, and the name was changed to become Waring and Gillow; Samuel Waring became chairman. Later in the year it was announced the the business had been amalgamated with that of Collinson and Lock, which had gone into voluntary liquidation.[2]
1903 The company acquired the whole of the ordinary share capital of Hampton and Sons. Both firms had stores in Oxford Street, London and it is said that the expiry of the former's lease prompted the two firms coming together.
1911 John William Waring was also a director of the company[3]
1914? Carried out the decoration of the First Class Garden Lounges of the passenger liner Aquitania. [4]
WW1 The firm built aircraft for Airco through a company they formed called Alliance Aeroplane Co
WWII Manufactured parts for the De Havilland Mosquito. [5]
1985 It remained an independent firm until 1985 when it was taken over by a group led by Cyril Spencer[7].
See Also
Sources of Information
- Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing) by J. M. Bruce. Published 1982 ISBN 0-370-30084-x
- AA. [2] Image courtesy of Aviation Ancestry