Pinkham Gloves at a glance
No greater romance can be written of a business than that which is woven around W. Pinkham & Son Limited. Two childhood sweethearts joining forces and talents to build a glove making business that gained international recognition despite many setbacks.
Pinkham Gloves from 1871 - 1966
| 1871 | Rebecca Folwer, aged eight starts working part-time for sixpence a week in a glove factory in Great Torrington in Devon | |
| 1873 | William Pinkham, at the age of twelve starts an apprenticeship in a glove factory in the same town | |
| 1884 | William & Rebecca are married | |
| 1886 | Lilian Pinkham born | |
| 1890 | Leslie Pinkham born | |
| 1899 | William & Rebecca start making gloves in the kitchen of their house in Great Torrington | |
| 1901 | William & Rebecca move to Salisbury and continue making gloves in their home | |
| 1901 | William becomes Liberal Party agent for Maldon near Witham in Essex | |
| 1904 | William & Rebecca move to 11, Albert Road Witham & continue making gloves in their home | |
| 1904 | William & Rebecca form The National Glove Company (The N G C) employing ten girls | |
| 1905 | William & Rebecca expand the business & start a 'minature manufactory' at 13 & 14 Albert Road Witham | |
| 1905 | Engecie (N G C) becomes the trade mark of The National Glove Company | |
| 1908 | William & Rebecca's daughter Lilian joins the business | |
| 1911 | William & Rebecca's son Leslie joins the business | |
| 1912 | New factory built in Witham | |
| 1913 | Leslie goes to Germany to look at their manuafacturing methods | |
| 1916 | Leslie forms The National Association of British Fabric Glove Makers | |
| 1917 | Factories opened in Great Torrington & Barnstaple to support the war effort | |
| 1918 | New factory opened in Chelmsford managed by Lilian | |
| 1920 | Lilian marries Wilson Dawson, leaves the company and moves to Glasgow | |
| 1920 | 84 firms in England are employing 12,000 people making gloves | |
| 1920 | Exports to the US, Australia & New Zealand begin | |
| 1921 | Exports to Japan reach £8,000 a year | |
| 1921 | New factory built at Chelmsford | |
| 1922 | New factory at Matlock Bath opens | |
| 1923 | An office in Gresham Street London is opened | |
| 1923 | Leslie succeeded in in producing a high grade warp fabric with the appearance of suede | |
| 1924 | An average of 200,000 buttons a week are sewn onto gloves across the company | |
| 1925 | 152 employees working for the company | |
| 1927 | 8 firms remain in England employing less than 1,000 people making gloves | |
| 1931 | The company goes bankrupt, 500 job losses and the group of factories & machinery are broken up and sold | |
| 1932 | Lilian's husband Wilson Dawson lends William & Leslie enough money to buy back the Witham factory | |
| 1932 | The business becomes a limited company W Pinkham & Son Ltd | |
| 1933 | The Witham factory re-opens and is soon producing gloves at full capacity again | |
| 1933 | New factory at Dagenham opens | |
| 1938 | William dies whilst at work at the Witham factory | |
| 1939 | Gloves for the UK and US forces including mosquito-proof gloves for the Africa corps | |
| 1948 | Second factory built at Witham and glove production starts at South Moor Co. Durham | |
| 1948 | The company now has 600 employees producing 48,000 pairs of gloves a week | |
| 1955 | Two new collections of styles are now produced each year with designers in Paris, New York & Vienna | |
| 1959 | South Moor factory re-located to a new factory at Stanley Co. Durham | |
| 1959 | The company diversifies into making blouses | |
| 1966 | The company closes | |
Email your stories of Pinkham Gloves
nickpinkham@pinkhamgloves.co.uk
