A Gazetteer of Lock and Key Makers

Jim Evans

this gazetteer is copyright Jim Evans, 2002

SAUNDERS AND HADDON,  STRINGERS LANE,  WILLENHALL

Manufacturers of motor slam locks, railway carriage and budget locks, rim, dead, mortice and ship lock makers.  Founded about 1885, they continued to make the same kind of locks and latches as made by R. Saunders, Doctors Piece, Willenhall. Existing in 1948 when the proprietor was Robert Saunders, but not in 1970.  Nothing else known.

Lock and bag frame manufacturer.  Established prior to 1819.  Sydney Frank Sanders (1904-1991) was the last member of the family to run the business. (LMNL No 13)

 

SIDLOCK LTD,  FARNHAM TRADING ESTATE,  FARNHAM,  SURREY

Originally Sidleen Ltd, who manufactured a cylinder lock.  By 1991 they had moved to Horsham, West Sussex, where they manufactured cam locks, switch locks and filing cabinet locks.  There were also locks they had made in the Far East to supplement their range.

JOHN SAWBRIDGE AND SON LTD,  127 BLOXWICH ROAD,  WILLENHALL

They were in existence in 1909 manufacturing mortice, rim, case, asylum, mortice gate, park gate, South American, Portuguese and ship locks.  At that time they had been granted Royal Letters Patent. Still in existence 1974, when they had a reduced range that also included padlocks.

 

SECUREFAST LTD,  MEADOWDALE WORKS,  DIMMINGSDALE,  WILLENHALL

Jack Appleton was a freelance salesman from Blackburn who at various time represented the Erebus Manufacturing company and Arthur Hough and Sons.  In the late 1950s he set up manufacturing mortice locks with Stan Davenport, the proprietor of H Davenport and Sons of Victoria Road, Wednesfield, in Davenport's premises.

This did not last long before, in 1960, Jack formed his own company, Key Cutters Ltd., in Haley Street, Lane Head, where he made a range of mortice locks.  During this time he set up a factoring company selling locks, keys and lock furniture, run from the same premises.  It was named M. D. Appleton.  This was using his wife’s name, who at this time ran both businesses while Jack was out on the road looking for business.  As the business grew, they outstripped their Haley Street premises and moved into larger works in Croft Yard in Willenhall.  In about 1970 both companies moved into larger premises in Dimmingsdale and shortly after the factoring business was closed down.  Between 1972 and 1974 they changed the name to Jack Appleton (Willenhall) Ltd and started to sell under the SECUREFAST brand name.

Following the death of Jack Appleton in November 1987, the company was purchased by Honing Equipment of Cheltenham and in March 1990 they changed the name to Securefast.  They later purchased Enoch Pinson (q.v.), the padlock makers who were in premises next door, and now run the works as one unit, although still selling under both names.  The firm is run by Paul Crenshaw, who is a relation of Jack Appleton's second wife, and who joined the company in 1983.

Security Engineers plc was formed to run both companies when they were bought from the group, with Mr David Sebire from Gloucester as major shareholder, together with Mr A Reid and J Morrall as Company secretary.

In March 1998 they took over the padlock business of Willenhall Engineering (Stockwell Industries) i.e. Old English type, to add to their Pinson range.

In March 1998 they employed 55 people and sales were £2,195,045 for the year.  And the works covered an area of 22,000 sq. ft.

Paul Crenshaw left the company in April 1999 and was replaced as MD by Duncan Crawley.

In 1999 the company launched ControlSoft.  This is a joint venture with a South African company, ControlSoft, which will distribute leading edge network access control systems.

In existence in 1972 and 1976. Safe makers who also made their own locks.  Part of the Mather & Platt group.

Set up by Arthur Birch, Eric Hayward and Mr Green, a tool maker, after the 2nd World War in premises that had previously been a cowshed used by farmer Abe Tarbuck, in New Invention, opposite the Co-op.  They made padlocks with a flat key and combination padlocks.  The padlocks were sold to Willen Key Co Ltd at Willenhall, which at that time was being managed by W H (Billy) Deering (Padlock Harry).

They did not last very long. (Harold Fletcher).  In existence in 1953 Kelly’s Directory.  Not in existence in 1970.  Nothing else known.

Established in 1809. They manufactured mortice and cylinder locks at premises in Gypsy Lane Willenhall.  They also owned Shaw Foundry Co., who produced such items as brass and iron castings of all descriptions, including casement stays and fasteners, bed fittings and mattresses etc..  In 1935 they employed between 700 and 800 people.  About 1968 they ceased production as their equipment and methods became outdated.

They then became more of a factoring company, specialising in the supply of security and safety fitting for windows and doors in 1996.    They re-organised under the name of Arthur Shaw Manufacturing Ltd and moved to premises at No 1 Rose Hill Willenhall, the site of their former foundry.   The Gypsy Lane premises were sold to Josiah Parkes Ltd, who moved one of their manufacturing units to the site and named it Tame Works.  Parkes moved out c1990 and in 1992 Workspace Ltd converted the works into offices and workshops for rent.

advert from 1950

advert from 1912, kindly provided by Trevor Dowson.

This letter head, provided by Trevor Dowson, is dated 1954.  The letter itself is about a price increase in Builder's Ironmongery.  Many lock making companies also made door furniture and the like.  Arthur Shaw was only different in that it ran the two operations as separate companies.

 

JOHN SHAW & SONS LTD., WOLVERHAMPTON

John Shaw & Sons was a large company which acted as wholesalers of a wide range of tools, some of which they manufactured themselves but many of  which they bought in from other makers.  (For further information about the company, click here).   They are not known to have been the actual manufacturers of any locks.

The lock shown above is an iron plate lock on oak.  It carries the two labels shown to the right.   The top one is for John Shaw & Sons.  The lower one is for John B. Banks, ironmongers, of Cockermouth, Cumbria.

But neither Shaws nor Banks were the makers of the lock.  Shaws would have bought in the lock, probably from a Wolverhampton or Willenhall maker, and have added their own badge and then another for Banks, the retailers.

The premises of J. B. Banks Ltd. in Cockermouth are shown in the photo (left). The company was founded in 1836 and, although locksmiths, they were not lock makers.  The shop is a modern ironmonger's shop but retains a traditional facade and interior.   The current Mr. Banks (to whom we are indebted for information and permission to take these photos) has a large collection of old locks. Shaws are included in this Gazetteer as an interesting example of the problems in identifying the maker of a particular lock.

 

FRED SHEPHERD,  HEATH WORKS,  CLOTHIER STREET,  WILLENHALL

Advert (undated) from Trevor Dowson

Manufactures of brass and iron padlocks.  Fred Shepherd was born in 1906 and, like his father, George (died 1945), started in the lock trade as he left school.  He worked at Lowe and Fletcher Ltd. and later joined his father at Clifford Bros. in Villiers Street.   In 1930 they decided to "have a go on their own" and manufacture brass and iron padlocks, under the name of "Shepherd", in a shed at their home in Regent Street.  Business was good and the family moved to live at 163 Clothier Street in 1933.

Again they used a shed as their workshop.  The house next door had been used by a doctor and had had a surgery built on to it.  This became vacant in 1937.  This provided the opportunity to move to better premises and later in the same year F. Shepherd Brass and Iron padlocks moved out of the shed and into the "surgery".  It was simply moving next door.  Work expanded to fill the new premises and this became known as Heath Works.

Frank Shepherd retired in 1971 and Heath Works closed.  He died in 1999. (LMNL No 14)

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