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The Thornewill Company from 1732 to 1929
My grandfather's notes on the family history of his wife, Ella Violet nee Thornewill:-
4/10/1719 Thomas Thornewill[1] was baptised in Burton Parish Church, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Thornewill (Thornwell in the register)
8/7/1722 Francis Thornewill was baptised in Burton Parish Church, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Thornewill (Thorniwell in the Register).
1732 The Thornewill firm is said to date back to this year, but there appears to be no documentary evidence to prove this. It is quite possible that either ‑ Thomas Thornewill (sen.) was concerned in making iron goods, or Thomas Thornewill (jun.) was apprenticed in that year, at the age of thirteen.
20/10/1746 Thomas Thornewill (Thorniwell in the Parish Church Register) married Elizabeth Astle. The latter was the widow of Francis Astle, a noted feltmaker and hatter who had died in 1735.
He had left most of his properties to his wife Elizabeth (by a will of 20/5/1735), including a freehold house etc., on the south side of New Street. She was to have the use of this house for the remainder of her life, and it was then to be sold by Astle's executors, Thomas Towndrow (gentleman) and John Downes (feltmaker), and the proceeds invested in land worth £5 a year to provide clothing for four poor boys of Richard Alsop's Charity School in Burton.
2/3/1747 Thomas Thorniwell of Burton (Edge Tool maker) settled the property and its contents on his wife Elizabeth, so that, if he died, they would pass to her.
3/7/1751 Thomas Thornewill (Edge Tool maker) leased a garden, adjoining his freehold property on its eastern side, from William Jordon (cooper) for an annual rent of six shillings. This is significant in that it was the first move towards an expansion of the Thornewill property between New Street and Park Street (Park Street was then known as Pinfold Lane).
8/7/1765 Elizabeth, Thomas Thornewill's wife, died. It was now the duty of Francis Astle's executors to dispose of the freehold property in accordance with his will.
21/7/1758 The freehold property was advertised for sale in the "Derby Mercury".
10/10/1760 Thomas Thornewill of Burton (Edge Tool maker) and Francis Thornewill his brother, of Clay Mills (Edge Tool maker) purchased the freehold property in New Street from Thomas Towndrow, the surviving executor or trustee of Francis Astle, for the sum of £140.
1760 By 1760 the Thornewill brothers appear to have built a small business in the making of edge tools (presumably axes, knives, spades, etc.). From this time they began to systematically expand their property in New Street.
The reference to Clay Mills in the 1760 indenture is highly significant, as it suggests that the Thornewills were already in possession of the Forge Mill there. The latter was sited on the Mill Fleam, a watercourse branching from the .River Dove, on or near the site of an old water corn mill. The exact dates when the Thornewills leased the mill and opened the .forge are not known, but were probably around the year 1740.
Water power was needed for working the bellows and hammers in the forge and also to operate rolling and slitting mill. The forge usually consisted of a "finery" in which the iron was hammered into blooms and a "chafery" in which the blooms were reheated and beaten into bars. In the rolling and slitting mills the iron was rolled into sheets and then cut into rods ready for the nailers. The Thornewill's forge may not have had rolling and slitting mills attached in 1760, but it certainly had in 1807 when they purchased the premises outright.
In 1760 about 25,000 tons of iron were imported annually into England (approximately 50% of the requirements) mainly from Russia and Sweden. The Thornewills used this imported iron, which they purchased from the Burton brewers of the time, such as Benjamin Wilson, John Walker Wilson and Samuel Sketchley. The brewers normally accepted some iron, flan or timber as part payment for the beer that they exported along the Trent to the Baltic countries.
23/9/1762 Thomas Thornewill (ironmonger) leased the White Hart Inn in High Street from the Earl of Uxbridge.
6/11/1769 Thomas Thornewill, (spademaker), sub‑let a house and garden on the north side of New Street (which he must have previously leased from the Earl of Uxbridge) to John Shorthose (turner). In a property lease of 1770 John Shorthose is described as a spademaker, and was obviously an employee at the Thornewill works in New Street.
2/3/1772 Thomas and Francis Thornewill leased, from the Earl of Uxbridge, two tenements and a garden to the east of their freehold property, and also a property to the west. Thomas Thornewill also leased land at Stretton, including some waste land near the forge.
1778 By 1778 the Thornewill's business had grown considerably. They were in possession of extensive properties in Burton, particularly in New Street, and at Clay Mills, Stretton. They were purchasing large quantities of imported iron, (for example, in August, 1778 Thomas Thornewill bought 658 iron bars imported by John Walker Wilson from St. Petersburg, Russia, for £273‑7‑6) and were manufacturing considerable quantities of spades, iron hoops, iron plate and other forms of hardware. They were probably the main suppliers of iron hoops to the Burton brewers of the time, and this was no doubt the way in which the firm developed as brewery engineers.
6/1/1784 Thomas Thornewill made his will, and in this he left his leasehold properties to his daughter Sarah Spiers. After Thomas's death Sarah sold the property lying to the east of the freehold property, to George Wood for £125, and it was not until 1834 that the Thornewills were able to buy it back from George's son William. The Wood family, together with William Shorthose, Philip Port and William Smith were also, at this time, eager to acquire land on the south side of New Street, where they operated (approximately 1775 ‑ 1835) a large screw‑making works. No doubt the Thornewills supplied this firm with iron.
1786 Thomas Thornewill (sen.) died, and the firm came under the management of Thomas, his son, and Francis, his brother.
1/8/1801 Thomas Thornewill leased two more properties on the South side of New Street.
12/10/1805 Francis Thornewill made his will ‑ this shows Francis to have been a man of considerable wealth. He left the bulk of his estate to his sons, John and Francis, but he was still able to leave £500 to his daughter Anne; and £200 to his grand‑daughter Anne Neal.
1807 Francis Thornewill died. He had done much to build up the business. He had been one of the Townmasters in 1792 and was a Feoffee in 1794.
3/3/1807 Thomas Thornewill (jun.) purchased outright for £3,220, extensive properties and rights at Clay Mills from the Earl of Uxbridge. These included :‑
(a) "Cliffcroft" ‑ 7 acres of land containing Dove Cliff House, that was built for him about 1700, gardens, plantations, pleasure grounds, etc.
(b) Clay Mill forge ‑ with "all those iron works and all the slitting mills, forges, warehouses, buildings and works belonging thereto".
(c) A warehouse and tenement near the Grand Trunk Canal in Stretton.
The Grand Trunk Canal had been opened in 1770 and was a considerable improvement on the Trent navigation.
1811 Thornewills were operating a forge at Wichnor as well as at Clay Mills. At the latter there was also a foundry and a iron‑casting house.
1818 Bradshaw & Parsons in their Directory of Staffordshire listed two Thornewill establishments in New Street? ‑
J. & F. Thorniwell ‑ spade manufactures.
John Thorniwell & Co. ‑ merchants.
There were also living in the area around the works an iron founder, a foundry man, three spade‑maker, end three nailers, in addition to six patten‑ring makers and fourteen screw‑forgers who worked at the nearby screw‑mill.
Thornewill & Co. also held the forge at Stretton (Clay Mills) and William Gretton was the iron‑master there.
1834 White in his Directory of Staffordshire listed in New Street
John & Francis Thornewill ‑ Iron and brass founders and spade manufacturers.
John Thornewill & Son ‑ Iron Merchants.
1835 ‑ 36 Renewal of the leases for the properties on the south side of New Street.
25/9/1837 Will of Thomas Thornewill. By this time Thomas was 77 years of age and had taken little part in the running of the business during the previous twenty years. A few of the main clauses of his will illustrate the considerable wealth that the Thornewill family had acquired since 1760 when Thomas (sen.) and Francis (sen.) had raised the £140 to buy the freehold premises in New Street.
(a) To Mary, his daughter ‑ £3,600.
(b) To Ann Fenwick (daughter) ‑ £3,700.
(c) To Jane (daughter) ‑ £3,100.
(d) To Frances Hewitt (daughter) ‑ £1,000 q + £2,700 in trust.
(e) Residue from the sale of two farms at Yoxall and Hadley End, and other estates; personal effects; and Dove Cliff House, together with the nearby forges, workmen's houses furnaces rolling and slitting mills, watercourses, weirs, fisheries, and adjoining lands, ‑ all to pass to Edward, his son.
25/9/1837 Most of the New Street premises including the freehold property were already in the possession of Robert, John and Francis who were running the business.
1839 ‑ 52 This was a period during which further expansions took place in the extent of the New Street premises. Also the firm constructed a number of new buildings on its existing land.
1839 A large area of land extending to Pinfold Lane was purchased by Robert Thornewill from Thomas Lambert.
1840 The date above the archway signifies alterations to the premises.
1845 A large two storied building was built ‑ the smithy shown on Spooner's plan of 1855. Mr. William Jones, the tenant of the neighbouring property, wrote a letter to Robert Thornewill complaining about the number of windows in the upper storey of the new building.
1/2/1847 Robert Thornewill purchased the leasehold premises, to the west of the freehold property, from Thomas Cooper. These very old premises had, for the previous one hundred and fifty years been used by Francis Astle, Thomas Cooper and others, as a hat factory. At a later date the houses were demolished or extensively modified to form the present offices.
1852 Robert Thornewill purchased from William Wood a piece of land adjoining the west side of the works in Park Street.
Thus, by 1852 the Thornewill premises were considerably more extensive than they had been in 1839, and they now occupied approximately 2 acres of land between New Street and Park Street.
2/7/1849 Indenture of partnership between Robert Thornewill (sen.) and J.R. Warham (engineer) ‑ described as engineers, ironfounders and iron merchants.
It was probably about this time also that the business changed considerably in the types of goods that it produced. From its beginning to about 1845 it was little more than a hardware firm making iron, copper, and brass goods for use locally, particularly in the Burton breweries. From 1845 onwards it became an engineering firm in the true sense, and it is significant that Bagshaw, in his Directory of Derbyshire of 1846, lists the firm of Robert Thornewill of New Street ‑ iron and brass founders and steam engine makers. These early engines were probably sold mainly to local collieries and breweries.
1851 White, in his Directory of Staffordshire, stated that Thornewill and Warham Ironfoundry and Engine and Machine Works in New street "employs 75 men and 25 boys". He also mentioned that Thornewill & Co. had an ironworks at Clay Mills, and that Edward Thornewill lived at Dove Cliff House.
1858 Robert Thornewill (sen.) died and his share of the business passed to his wife Martha Hammond Thornewill (neé Wright), in accordance with his Will of 20/2/1856.
1860 An article in The Burton Weekly News of 30/3/1860 said "apart from brewing, the only considerable manufactory now is Messrs Thornewill and Warham's iron foundry and Engine and Machine Works."
By this time the firm was producing approximately fifteen to twenty steam engines annually. These consisted of pumping, haulage and winding engines and tank locomotives which were sold mainly to collieries in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. A few were sold to Burton breweries and to ironworks and lead‑mining companies in the Midlands.
25/11/1868 The partnership of M. H. Thornewill and J. R. Warham was dissolved to allow Robert Thornewill (son of Robert Thornewill (sen.) who had died in 1858) to enter. At this time the property, stock and other assets of the firm were valued at £43,048‑1‑6 of which M. H. Thornewill held £27,720‑15‑7 and John Robson Warham £15,327‑5‑11.
Under the new partnership agreement J. R. Warham was to control 6/12ths, M. H. Thornewill 5/12ths, and R. Thornewill 1/12th of a total capital of £44,000.
13/11/1878 Thornewill and Warham purchased a piece of land with a number of properties, on the corner of Lichfield Street and Park Street, from Frederick Gretton, a brewer of Burton, for £2,500. It adjoined John Bell's brewery on its north‑east side. In 1879 some of this land was sold to the Midland Railway Co., who built a line through Thornewill and Warham's premises from the south side of Station Street to the Bond End Railway.
19/4/1880 Thornewill and Warham purchased n property on the south side of New Street, to the west of their own premises, from the Trustees of G. R. Bircher. This consisted of premises fronting New Street, originally an inn known as the Old Queen's Head, and 423 sq. yds. of ground to the rear.
1885 In approximately 1875 Thornewill and Warham exported three engines to Japan to be used for winding and hauling at Taskanna Colliery. After 1885 the number of engines made for export increased considerably ‑ the following extracts from the firm's order book illustrates this : ‑
c.1886 ‑ two pumping engine for a sewage works at Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1889 ‑ two engines for pumping and winding to the Taeping Colliery Co. in China.
7/7/1892 ‑ a winding engine for the Dundee Coal Co. in Natal, South Africa
25/9/1897 ‑ a pumping engine for a Gold Mining Syndicate in British Guiana.
8/5/1902 - a winding engine sent to the Rajah of Sarawak in Borneo.
Not only did Thornewill and Warham considerably expand the extent of their market, they also greatly extended the range of their manufactures. By 1880 they were producing a full range of brewery equipment, including various types of refrigerators, and indeed were capable of producing all types of machinery and metal goods.
26/3/1886 J, R. Warham died, leaving his share of the business to his wife, Anne Jane Warham of Birmingham, and to his son, William Warham (gentleman) of Seaham Harbour, Co. Durham. M.H. and Robert Thornewill purchased these shares and thus the business became an entirely family concern again after a break of 37 years.
1889 Thornewill and Warham built the Ferry Bridge ‑ opened 3/4/1889, and the viaduct linking it to Bond End ‑ the total cost was just over £10,000.
24/4/1889 Martha Hammond Thornewill died, and her share of the business passed equally to her three sons, Rev. Charles Francis, Robert and Arthur, in accordance with her will of 1/2/1889. Charles Francis sold his share in 1890 and Arthur his in 1893, leaving Robert in control of the business.
1895 By 1895 Thornewill and Warham were manufacturing approximately twenty steam engines a year. Between 1870 (approx.) and 1895 they made 500 (including locomotives). Of the 329 that can be traced in the engine order book they were installed in the following types of works :‑
Collieries 202
Breweries 50 + 16 locomotives in Burton breweries
Waterworks 12
Ironworks 10
Potteries 10
Engineering 6
Sewage Works 5
Railways 4
Gasworks 3
Quarries 3
Lead mines 2
Building works 1
Brickworks 1
Canal company 1
Flour mill 1
Dock company 1
Woodworks 1
31/7/1907 Assignment of the business from Robert Thornewill Esq. to Thornewill and Warham Ltd.
22/11/1914 Robert Thornewill died, leaving two daughters, Ella Violet (married Gerard Arden CLAY, 25/4/1906, and Kathleen Hamilton (married Bertram SARGEAUNT, 1910)
26/6/1919 Thornewill and Warham Ltd. went into liquidation and a new company of the same name was formed.
12/8/1929 S. Briggs & Co. Ltd. purchased Thornewill & Warham Ltd.
1906 Violet married Gerard
16/4/1907 Gervas is born to Violet
31/7/1907 Assignment of the business from Robert Thornewill Esq. to Thornewill and Warham Ltd.
18/4/1908 Ralph is born to Violet
1910 Kathleen married Bertram Sargeant
22/11/1914 Robert Thornewill died, leaving a son, Rev. Robert Surtees, and two daughters, Ella Violet (married Gerard Arden CLAY, 25/4/1906, and Kathleen Hamilton (married Bertram SARGEAUNT, 1910)
23/2/1919 Ella died, buried Stretton, 28/2/1919
1919 Fenella is born to Bertram and Kathlee
26/6/1919 Thornewill and Warham Ltd. went into liquidation and a new company of the same name was formed.
12/8/1929 S. Briggs & Co. Ltd. purchased Thornewill & Warham Ltd.
1940 Robert Surtees Thornewill died unmarried and childless
1962 Kathleen Sargeaunt, nee Thornewill die
22/12/1980 Ella Violet Clay nee Thornewill died
The end of this line of Thornewills
“John Thornewill & Sons, Stockholders” (Est. 1796?) was, until about 2000, a subsidiary of British Steel
[1](Note : The spelling of Thornewill / Thorniwell in the original document has been retained)
