THOMAS PERRY AND SON LTD

Highfield Works, Bilston



This firm started out, in 1806, as a general iron foundry and plate rollers.  Their main business was as enginners, making heavy machinery for use in the iron and steel trade.

At some point the developed a speciality making armour plate and probably they saw that as a good basis on which to move in to safe making.  They do not seem to have made their own locks and keys, which would have been readily obtainable locally.

This company is said to have made the safes aboard RMS Titanic.

This advert (undated but probably about 1900) is in the Willenhall Lock Museum.
This Thomas Perry safe was bought (by Terry, who also supplied the photos) in North America.  In recent decades safes have been exported to Canada and the USA as antiques.  But, despite what must have been their enormous weight, they were exported around the world, including to North America, where there was a large security industry.

This fine, brass maker's plate is on the safe shown above.

The advertising folder shown below is undated but appears to be from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.  Presumably B. Farringdon of Brighton was not their only agent; and agent's name could have been printed into the space.

The brass safe plates below come from the collections of Reg Aston and Frank Sharman:

This safe plate (below)  indicates that either the firm moved to West Bromwich or they were taken over by someone in West Bromwich.

 

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