| Company type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electricity supply |
| Founded | 1883 |
| Founder | Frank Christy |
| Defunct | 31 March 1948 |
| Fate | Nationalisation |
| Headquarters | Chelmsford Essex , England |
Area served | North Somerset, West Devon, Culm Valley, Bude, Burnham, Aldeburgh, Holsworthy, Mid Somerset |
Key people | Christy family |
| Services | Electricity supply |
| £239,069 (1932) | |
| £29,755 (1932) | |
Number of employees | 500 (1932) |
| Subsidiaries | See text |
Christy Brothers and Company Limited was a UK electricity engineering company which provided equipment, staffing and management to a number of electricity undertakings, worked as subsidiary companies, in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Suffolk.
Christy Brothers was founded in 1883 as an electrical engineering and contracting firm. The company started to provide electric lighting of towns and villages from about 1900. [1] It acquired a controlling interest in eight electric power companies. [2]
The constituent companies: [2]
The generating capacity of the plant at each company was as follows. [5]
| Company | Generating plant kW |
|---|---|
| North Somerset | None |
| West Devon | 3 × 225 water, 2 × 500 oil, 3 × 650 water 2 × 350 water, 1 × 75 oil, 1 × 100 oil |
| Culm Valley | 1 × 12 water, 1 × 18 water |
| Bude | 1 × 170 oil, 2 × 150 oil |
| Burnham | None |
| Aldeburgh | 2 × 100 oil |
| Holsworthy | None |
| Mid Somerset | None |
Note: oil is oil-fired plant, water is water powered (hydro-electric)
The principal operating parameters of the constituent companies in 1937 is shown in the table. [5]
| Company | Electricity MWh | Connections kW | No. of Consumers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generated | Purchased | Sold | |||
| North Somerset | 0 | 34,207 | 29,586 | - | 20,835 |
| West Devon | 5,305 | 132 | 4,625 | 10,778 | 4,801 |
| Culm Valley | 175 | 1,481 | 1,403 | 3,108 | 1,967 |
| Bude | 132 | 919 | 858 | 2,863 | 1,358 |
| Burnham | 0 | 1,197 | 1,043 | - | 1,236 |
| Aldeburgh | 200 | 308 | 348 | 1,486 | 615 |
| Holsworthy | 0 | 237 | 227 | 900 | 308 |
| Mid Somerset | 0 | 797 | 713 | - | 1,125 |
The principal operating parameters of the constituent companies in 1947 is shown in the table. [6]
| Company | Electricity MWh | Connections kW | No. of Consumers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generated | Purchased | Sold | |||
| North Somerset | 0 | 109,554 | 96,563 | 31,459 | 30,962 |
| West Devon | 9,720 | 7,025 | 13,991 | 5,190 | 7,782 |
| Culm Valley | 172 | 8,437 | 7,906 | 2,616 | 3,015 |
| Bude | 91 | 2,008 | 1,915 | 800 | 1,745 |
| Burnham | 0 | 1,918 | 1,797 | - | 1,445 |
| Aldeburgh | 62 | 878 | 809 | 367 | 704 |
| Holsworthy | 0 | 809 | 777 | 350 | 479 |
| Mid Somerset | 0 | 3,155 | 2,952 | - | 1,336 |
The annual turnover and profit of Christy Brothers 1926-32 was as shown. [1]
| Year | Turnover £ | Profit £ |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 126,720 | 9,668 |
| 1927 | 169,823 | 12,826 |
| 1928 | 138,581 | 17,187 |
| 1929 | 148,731 | 15,233 |
| 1930 | 163,332 | 14,233 |
| 1931 | 196,575 | 17,130 |
| 1932 | 239,069 | 29,755 |
In March 1933 Christy company offered £225,000 worth of shares on the Stock Exchange. [1]
The company directors in 1933 were: [1]
The company's registered address was 171 Broomfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex. [1]
The Christy Brothers and Company Limited and all its constituent companies were abolished on 31 March 1948 when the British Electricity Industry was nationalised. [7] The generating plant and transmission systems devolved to the British Electricity Authority and the distribution systems to the appropriate geographical electricity board, for example the Eastern Electricity Board, the Southern Electricity Board, etc.
The company was one of five electricity undertakings that operated over large geographical areas. Its assets were divided between two or more area electricity boards. [8] The five companies were: