Carrington and Dewhurst
of Eccleston, Chorley
1885 Formation of Carrington, Woods and Co as a partnership[1]
- Grove Mill, Eccleston; 930 looms,twills, dobbies, satteens, &c.
- Freckleton Street Mills, Kirkham; 930 looms, twills, satins, serges, printers, &c.
- Hohne Mills, Nelson; 980 looms, twills, jeans, stripes, &c.;
1891 Directory (Chorley): Listed as Cotton manufacturers. More details
1891 Directory (Preston): Listed as Cotton spinners and manufacturers. More details
1891 Directory (Nelson): Listed as Cotton spinner and manufacturers. More details
Later traded as Carrington and Dewhurst
1909 Formal transfer to Carrington and Dewhurst Ltd
1928 Incorporation of Carrington and Dewhurst Ltd, controlled by H W Carrington ( - 1950) and S H Sagar - Carrington and Sagar Ltd
1929 Decision to stop cotton weaving in favour of rayon weaving
By 1934 the conversion to rayon had been completed
WWII Produce balloon fabric, nylon parachute cloth and utility rayon cloth; New Mill was closed from 1941 to 1944
Postwar: established an engineering division because of the shortage of machinery[2]
1950 Incorporated as a private company. Converted into a public company Carrington and Dewhurst. Facilities were:
- Grove Mill, Eccleston
- New Mill, Eccleston
- Greengrove Mill, Rochdale
- Douglas Mill, Standish near Wigan
1961 Acquired B. Cohen and Co; and Collins and Cawthron.[3]
1962 Carrington and Dewhurst was the largest maker of filament fabrics in Europe[4]. As part of a policy of developing a vertically integrated group of companies involved in man-made fibre cloths, acquired Grout and Co[5]
1963 Further vertical integration was achieved when Bradford Dyers Association acquired a stake of 7.5 percent in the company as part of an agreement to work closer on development of new fabrics and finishes; the cash would be used to reduce the overdraft[6]. Soon after Courtaulds acquired 10 percent of the company, helping to ensure use of their fibres by the largest of the British specialist weavers in man-made fibres[7]; ICI followed suit in November taking a 9 percent interest[8] which put the company finances in a good position for expansion.
1964 Acquired William Tatton and Co.[9]
1964 Continued acquiring related companies. Name changed to Carrington and Dewhurst Group[10]
1965 Further funding by loan from ICI. Acquired 30 percent of Irving Air Chute of Great Britain[11]
1966 A joint company might be formed with the Airborne Industries in connection with use of balloons for logging in Canada[12]. Acquired J. Mandleberg (Dyers)[13]. Further loan from ICI. Margins were constrained by lower priced imported goods[14]
1967 Bought the Falcon Mill and Prospect Mill of Barlow and Jones, mainly spinning Terylene-cotton blended yarn, from English Sewing Cotton Co[15]
1967 With the success of the balloon logging in Canada, a joint venture Carrington Airborne Developments was formed with Airborne Industries [16]
1968 Courtaulds sold its shares in the company[17]. Acquired Robert Hirst and Co, coat makers[18]. Ended textile engineering activity[19]
1969 ICI announced a bid for Viyella and plan to merge it with Carrington and Dewhurst[20]
1970 Recognition that the company's foray into Europe, in support of ICI's strategy for its fibres, had been a costly mistake[21]. ICI acquired Viyella and later in the year Carrington and Dewhurst, forming Carrington Viyella of which ICI owned 64 percent[22].
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times Jul 18, 1950
- ↑ The Times, Jun 26, 1968
- ↑ The Times, June 22, 1961
- ↑ The Times Jan 06, 1962
- ↑ The Times, Jul 26, 1962
- ↑ The Times, Jun 13, 1963
- ↑ The Times, Jun 22, 1963
- ↑ The Times, Jan 29, 1964
- ↑ The Times, December 16, 1964
- ↑ The Times, Dec 11, 1964
- ↑ The Times Dec 13, 1965
- ↑ The Times, Jun 06, 1966
- ↑ The Times, Aug 22, 1966
- ↑ The Times, Dec 09, 1966
- ↑ The Times, Feb 14, 1967
- ↑ The Times, Jun 06, 1967
- ↑ The Times, Jan 04, 1968
- ↑ The Times, May 13, 1968
- ↑ The Times, Jun 07, 1968
- ↑ The Times, Dec 24, 1969
- ↑ The Times, Sep 28, 1970
- ↑ The Times Aug 08, 1970