Tootal, Broadhurst, Lee Co. Ltd., of Manchester and Bolton, cotton manufacturers, later textile spinners and manufacturers.
1888-1972
Archives
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Memorandum and articles of association, with alterations, from 1907-1954; minutes of Board and General Meetings, 1888-1972 (22 volumes); private minutes (Directors remuneration etc.), 1888-1950 (4 volumes); minutes of General Management Committee, 1888-1889 (1 volume); Mills Management Committee minutes, 1888-1941 (18 volumes); Finance Committee minutes, 1888-1937 (16 volumes); Research and Education Committee minutes, 1917-1921 (1 volume: only 18 pages used); photographs of Sir Kenneth Lee, Bart (3 items). Pattern Book - Robia Registered Novelties. Patented Crease Resisting Finish. White and Plain Dyes, 1937 (1 volume)
Related Material:The Local Studies Library holds a copy of Denis Tracy, 'Silk and Muslin: the Story of Tootal Broadhurst Lee. Co. 1816-1963', q. 338.767739 TO (628)
Place:/Manchester/Manchester/Lancashire/England
Title:
Tootal, Broadhurst, Lee Co. Ltd., of Manchester and Bolton, cotton manufacturers, later textile spinners and manufacturers.
Date of work:
1888-1972
Reference number:
GB127.M461
Level of description:
Fonds
Includes:
Custodial history:
The company was founded in Manchester in 1799 by Robert Gardner, a textile merchant. Tootal family involvement began in 1842. After several name changes, the firm became Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co. Ltd. in 1888. Sunnyside Mills, Bolton and Newton Heath Mills, Manchester, were acquired in the 1860s. In 1918 a research department was established, which carried out early work on creating crease resistant fabric. The company was notable for its early use of brand names and was a leader in the field of selling direct to retailers. By 1939 the firm had spinning, weaving and yarn dyeing factories in Bolton and factories in Newton Heath, Manchester, weaving silk and wool and producing handkerchiefs and ties. There were branches in Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds, London and Glasgow and overseas in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand. The company had agencies throughout the world. Subsidiaries' activities included dress manufacture, bleaching, dyeing and crease resistant finishing. New factories were opened in St. Helens, in 1947, and in Devonport, Tasmania, in 1952. The company became a subsidiary of the holding company Tootal Ltd., which joined English Sewing Cotton Co. Ltd. in 1963. This in turn merged with the Calico Printers' Association in 1968, becoming English Calico Ltd. This became Tootal Ltd. in 1973, Tootal Group PLC in 1982, and is now part of Coats Viyella plc.
(This historical account is mainly based on L. Richmond and B. Stockford, 'Company Archives' (1968)).
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Use restrictions:
Unrestricted
Topics:
Record types:
Manchester Archives and Local Studies
Language:
English
Record number:
7195706
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Total copies: 1