William Clowes Ltd.

Last updated

William Clowes Ltd. is a British printing company founded in London in 1803 by William Clowes. It grew from a small, one press firm to one of the world's largest printing companies in the mid-19th century. The company merged with Caxton Press, operated by William Moore in Beccles, Suffolk in the late 19th century and concentrated its business in the town following World War II. It is one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of directories and reference books and continues to operate out of its large printing factory at Ellough near Beccles as part of the CPI UK group. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Clowes established the firm on 21 October 1803 at 2 Villiers Street, London next to the Strand. The company was small in the beginning, having only one printing press and one assistant. [3] Clowes worked for three days and nights to finish his first job, which satisfied the customer. Business soon grew from word of mouth, as customers were impressed with the company's speed and accuracy.

Expansion and steam powered presses

The company expanded in 1823 with the purchase of Northumberland Court and the installation of its first steam-powered presses (made by Applegath and Cowper). [3] However, the new noisy presses disturbed the Duke of Northumberland, whose palace was nearby, and he ordered the company to cease operation. When Clowes refused, the case was tried in court in June 1824, where the printer won with the help of his attorney John Copley. [3] [4] Clowes agreed to move the presses though in exchange for a sum paid by the Duke. The exchange proved fruitful for Clowes, as the bankruptcy of Archibald Constable caused a short period of bad business that afflicted the London publishing industry and the Duke's compensation helped offset the large losses Clowes experienced during this time. [4]

In 1826, the company purchased and moved to premises on Duke Street that had previously been occupied by Applegath and Cowper. The firm, which was renamed at William Clowes and Sons in 1839, grew rapidly, and by 1843 was one of the largest printing companies in the world: it operated 24 presses and had its own type and stereotype foundries, 2500 tonnes of stereotyped plates (at the time worth at least 500,000 pounds sterling), and a collection of 80,000 woodcuts. [4] In 1847, Clowes died, and three of his sons, William Clowes the younger (1807–1883), Winchester, and George, took over running the company. [3] In 1851, the company secured a large contract to print half a million catalogues for the Great Exhibition. The project involved the use of 50 tonnes of type, 30,000 reams of paper and three tonnes of ink. [5]

Merger with Caxton Press

In 1873, William Clowes the younger's eldest son, William Archibald Clowes (1843–1904), and his nephew William Charles Knight Clowes (1838–1917) entered a partnership with William Moore, who operated the Caxton Press in Beccles, Suffolk. Although Moore suddenly disappeared, leaving a considerable debt, the firm survived and was re-established as Clowes and Clowes. It grew from operating four presses to 15 in just three years. In 1880, Clowes and Clowes merged with William Clowes & Sons to form William Clowes Ltd. [5]

Relocation to Beccles

The company continued operating into the 20th century, but suffered a setback during World War II, when the Blitz destroyed its Duke Street offices. Following the war, the firm decided to concentrate on expanding its presses in Beccles. In the late 1970s, computerised phototypesetting was introduced to the company which has continued to invest in digital technology. The company sold its old Beccles premises in 2003 and moved to a new, custom-built factory at Ellough on the outskirts of Beccles in 2004. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beccles</span> Town in Suffolk, England

Beccles is a market town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The town on the A145 and A12 roads, situated 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Norwich and 33 miles (53 km) north-northeast of Ipswich. Nearby towns include Lowestoft to the east and Great Yarmouth to the north-east. The town lies on the River Waveney on the edge of The Broads National Park.

William Clowes was a British printer who developed the use of steam-powered printing presses in the industry. He founded the printing firm that became William Clowes Ltd. in London in 1803.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Caxton</span> English merchant and printer (c. 1422–c. 1491)

William Caxton was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books.

This article is a list of the literary events and publications in the 15th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wynkyn de Worde</span> English printer and publisher

Wynkyn de Worde was a printer and publisher in London known for his work with William Caxton, and is recognised as the first to popularise the products of the printing press in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type foundry</span> Company that designs typefaces (fonts)

A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Before digital typography, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces for hand typesetting, and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and Monotype, for letterpress printers. Today's digital type foundries accumulate and distribute typefaces created by type designers, who may either be freelancers operating their own independent foundry, or employed by a foundry. Type foundries may also provide custom type design services.

Augustus Applegath was an English printer and inventor known for the development of the first workable vertical-drum rotary printing press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutford</span> Village in Suffolk, England

Mutford is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk District of the English county of Suffolk. The village is 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Lowestoft and 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Beccles in a rural area. The parish borders Barnby, Carlton Colville, Gisleham, Rushmere, Henstead with Hulver Street, Ellough and North Cove. The village gave its name to the Half Hundred of Mutford which is named in the Domesday Book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RR Donnelley</span> American printing and communications company

R.R. Donnelley is an American integrated communications company that provides marketing and business communications, commercial printing, and related services. Its corporate headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. In 2007, R.R. Donnelley was the world's largest commercial printer. In 2021, it was referred to as North America's largest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beccles Airfield</span> Aerodrome in Suffolk, England

Beccles Airfield, also known as Beccles Airport or Beccles Aerodrome, is located in Ellough, 2 NM southeast of Beccles in the English county of Suffolk. Built during the Second World War, it has operated as a heliport servicing the North Sea oil and gas industry and currently operates as a base for private flights, flight training and parachuting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dudley (bishop)</span> 15th-century Bishop of Durham

William Dudley was Dean of Windsor and then Bishop of Durham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A145 road</span> Road in Suffolk, England

The A145 is an A road in the English county of Suffolk. It runs from east of the town of Beccles, close to the border with Norfolk, to the village of Blythburgh where it joins the A12 road. It is around 11 miles (18 km) in length and single carriageway throughout.

Events from the 1470s in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellough</span> Civil parish in Suffolk, England

Ellough is a civil parish in the East Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk, located approximately 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Beccles. The area is sparsely populated with a mid-2005 population estimate of 40. The parish, which has an area of 4.5 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi), borders Worlingham, North Cove, Mutford, Weston, Sotterley, Willingham St Mary and Henstead with Hulver Street. The parish council operates to administer jointly the parishes of Shadingfield, Willingham St Mary, Sotterley and Ellough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weston, Suffolk</span> Village in Suffolk, England

Weston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is around 2 miles (3 km) south of Beccles in the East Suffolk district. The parish lies either side of the A145 road and is crossed by the Ipswich to Lowestoft railway line. Neighbouring parishes include Ellough, Ringsfield, Willingham St Mary and Shadingfield. The village is largely dispersed with a population of around 230.

The Surtees Society is a text publication society and registered charity based in Durham in northern England. The society was established on 27 May 1834 by James Raine, following the death of the renowned County Durham antiquarian Robert Surtees. Raine and other former friends of Surtees created the society to honour his memory and carry on his legacy, with the focus on publishing documents relating to the region between the Humber estuary and Firth of Forth in the east and the River Mersey and the River Clyde in the west, the region that had once constituted the kingdom of Northumbria. Membership of the Society is by annual subscription. Members receive the book published for the year of subscription.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church, Ellough</span> Church in Suffolk, England

All Saints Church is a redundant Anglican church in the parish of Ellough, Suffolk, England. The church is medieval in origin and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The church stands in an isolated position on the top of a low hill, some 2.5 miles (4 km) to the south-east of Beccles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Cove</span> Village in Suffolk, England

North Cove is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is part of the East Suffolk district, located around 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Beccles and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Lowestoft. It merges with the village of Barnby and the villages share some resources, although the two parishes retain separate parish councils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazell, Watson and Viney</span>

Hazell, Watson and Viney was an English printing and publishing firm with works in Aylesbury that operated from 1839 to c. 1991.

Edward Shickle Cowper (1790–1852) was an English printing engineer, inventor, and academic.

References

  1. ↑ William Clowes, CPI UK. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  2. ↑ Locations, CPI UK. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Weedon.A (2004a) 'Clowes, William (1779–1847)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press (available online), accessed 2011-06-25.
  4. 1 2 3 Smiles.S (1884) 'William Clowes: introducer of book-printing by steam' in Men of invention and industry (available online at Project Gutenberg). Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  5. 1 2 Weedon.A (2004b) 'Clowes, William, the younger (1807–1883)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, (available online), accessed 2011-06-25.
  6. ↑ Staff call for safe route to work, BBC news website, 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.