O Bickers and Co, Manufacturers of Bradford

[poytheboy]

Whilst helping to piece together details of a family tree for a friend, I have discovered that one of the ancestors during the late 19th Century and early 20th Century may have had their own manufacturing business. Census reports and overseas passenger lists show him as a textile buyer, and merchant.
Does anyone know how I could find more information about the firm O. Bickers and Co. The O in the name may be Oswald. They were based in Bradford, Yorkshire, and were at 43 Hall Ings until at least the 1930's.

[Christine in Herts]

There are a whole lot of papers with references to J Bickers and Co of Manchester - shirting dealers/manufacturers I think - which come up on Access to Archives...

Reference GB 026 D3580
Covering dates 14th-20th Century
Held by Derbyshire Record Office
Extent 13 series
Conditions of access Open
Source of acquisition These papers were deposited in Derbyshire Record Office in February 1992.
Creators Longsdon family of Little Longstone, Derbyshire

But Manchester ain't Bradford - not even in Yorkshire.

Christine

[poytheboy]

Christine,

Many thanks for your quick response. Its Interesting that there is a firm in Manchester, but as you say, its not Bradford. I know Oswald Bickers lived in Shipley, and appears in early phone books (1921 for Bradford), as does his son who was an architect. Next to Oswald's name is an entry " O.Bickers & Co, Manufacturers and the address in Bradford. I may have to see if there isn't something held in a records office for the area. Oswald was originally from Ipswich.

[ayse]

I've been having a look at 19C newspapers online - there is a company called W and J Bickers of Leeds that were mercers and costumers. They were situated at 7 Commercial Street, Leeds - established since 1854. Leeds Mercury, April 14th 1891 issue 16542. Perhaps the owners (William and John from a different advert) had some relationship with your O(swald) Bickers.

Can't find anything else at the moment.

Ayse

[ayse]

Kelly's Directory Bradford 1881 at 43 Hall ings is a company called Barstow, Thomas and Matthew, worsted spinners and manufacturers.

Just a snippet Ayse

[Mary from Italy]

The partnership Comfort, Bickers and Co. between Walter Comfort and Oswald John Woods Bickers, trading at 43 Hall Ings, Bradford, was dissolved in 1914:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29007/pages/10735

[poytheboy]

The partnership Comfort, Bickers and Co. between Walter Comfort and Oswald John Woods Bickers, trading at 43 Hall Ings, Bradford, was dissolved in 1914:

Mary and Ayse

Mary, many thanks for your help. I'm very grateful to you for finding the Gazette entry, this is the Oswald Bickers I am looking at. I didn't know he had a partnership, but I do know that when he died in 1926 he left his wife very comfortably off with nearly £5000 in his will.

Ayse, It would seem the building at Hall Ings was used by a few companys over time. I'll look into a possible connection with William and John Bickers.

I am so pleased I posted my request/question, even after many years of research I didn't even think to look at the Times site or similar web sites. I'd heard of the Gazette, but didn't realise it was searchable online. Again - many thanks for taking the time to help and come up with a positive result.

[Toin]

Mary and Ayse

Mary, many thanks for your help. I'm very grateful to you for finding the Gazette entry, this is the Oswald Bickers I am looking at. I didn't know he had a partnership, but I do know that when he died in 1926 he left his wife very comfortably off with nearly £5000 in his will.

Ayse, It would seem the building at Hall Ings was used by a few companys over time. I'll look into a possible connection with William and John Bickers.

I am so pleased I posted my request/question, even after many years of research I didn't even think to look at the Times site or similar web sites. I'd heard of the Gazette, but didn't realise it was searchable online. Again - many thanks for taking the time to help and come up with a positive result.

A bit late perhaps, but then I've only just joined the forum. I came across this thread while researching my wife's family tree. Her great grandfather (Arthur Davy 1872 - 1944) is in the 1906 phone book as being at 43 Hall Ings and he, too, was a "stuff merchant". We think he owned Bridgehouse Mill at Haworth but no-one can find anything in his name and we don't know the name of his company(ies) - just that he was (from Whittaker's Red Book 1914) a manufacturer and merchant in cotton, dress goods, worsted material (stuff?) and wool. I wonder whether he was involved with Bickers and Co.

[Elaine ..Spain]

Toin, welcome to the forum.
Have you looked for a will for Arthur Davy to see if that gives you any information as to what he owned.
If I have the right death, then an entry is shown on the Probate Calendar on Ancestry which implies he left £160,000+ - quite a lot of money at that time.

Arthur Davy of Blankney Grange Wyke Yorkshire - died 19 Oct 1944
Probate to Malcolm Walter Hill solicitor, Arthur Normington certified accountant and Thomas West textile managed.
Effects totalled £164,666 0s 5d.

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&rank=0&gsfn=arthur&gsln=davy&sx=&f42=&rg_81004031__date=1944&rs_81004031__date=0&f33=&f35=&f31=&f38=&f25=&f27=&rg_81004011__date=&rs_81004011__date=0&gskw=&prox=1&db=onsdeath93&ti=5538&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&pcat=34&fh=0&h=32655902&recoff=

[Toin]

Thanks, Elaine, yes that's him, according to Daily Mail's calculater it was just under £6 million in today's money. I found the summary on Ancestry but have not "pulled" the will itself - although I am thinking of downloading the office copies of Blankney Grange from the Land Registry's web site. Not sure that the info will go back that far though. Intriguingly, although there are references to him buying Blankney Grange in 1922 we've found that the bed and wood panelling that he commisioned for the grange was actually done and on show in the Bolling Hall museam, Bradford in 1919. I'm beginning to think that as "stuff" went into worsted material then he may have been involved in making cloth for military uniforms and WW1 helped him make his money. The search continues.....