Joseph Crosfield and Sons
of Warrington, Cheshire. Telephone: Warrington 800. Cables: "Crosfields, Warrington". (1929)
1815 Company founded by Joseph Crosfield, when at the age of 21, he started manufacturing soap at Bank Quay, Warrington.
1844 Company taken over by his brother George and his three sons on his death.
1853 Crosfield Brothers, manufacturing chemist, of 4 Temple Place, Liverpool[1]
1875 After the death of Morland Crosfield and George Crosfield's move to London in 1875, their brother John Crosfield (1832–1901) became solely responsible for the firm.
1881 Crosfields were Brunner, Mond and Co's largest customer for soda. When Brunners became a public company, John Crosfield invested in it, became its first chairman, and remained a director until his death.
1883 Crosfields was one of the first factories to install electric light.
1896 The company was registered on 11 July, to acquire a soap manufactory of the firm of the same name. [2]
1909 The company acquired the rights to the Persil soap product for the UK, this soon becoming successful.
1911 Brunner, Mond and Co acquired complete control of the soap manufacturers Joseph Crosfield and Sons of Warrington and William Gossage and Sons of Widnes[3].
1919 Brunner, Mond and Co sold its shares in soap manufacturers Joseph Crosfield and Sons of Warrington and William Gossage and Sons of Widnes to Lever Brothers[4].
1924 William Boby and Co became their sole agents for the "Doucil" base-exchange water softening material.[5]
1929 Listed Exhibitor. Manufacturers of Household and Toilet Soaps, "Persil" the oxygen washer, "Glitto" cleaning and polishing powder, "Carbosil", "Caustic Soda", "Silicate of Soda", Glycerine, Cement, and "Vebol" the pure vegetable cooking fat. (Stand Nos. M.62 and M.73) [6]
1952 Advert on this page. [7]
1953 Advert on this page. [8]
Until 1964, Crosfield operated as a separate company. All of the publicly held shares in the company were acquired by Unilever and cancelled[9] The production of soap powders, including the Persil brand, was transferred to Lever Brothers, and the company concentrated on its speciality chemicals business.
1997 Company was acquired by ICI.
2001 The company was sold off and became Ineos Silicas.
See Also
Sources of Information
- The History of Unilever by Charles Wilson. Published 1954 by Cassell and Co
- Trademarked. A History of Well-Known Brands - from Aertex to Wright's Coal Tar by David Newton. Pub: Sutton Publishing 2008 ISBN 978-0-7509-4590-5
- Biography of John Crosfield, ODNB [3]