| In 1870 the firm of Charles Richards and Sons Ltd.
was founded. The firm's founder, Charles Richards,
was born in Wednesbury in 1838 and served an apprenticeship with a local nut
and bolt manufacturer. With William Butler as partner,
he began to make his own nuts and bolts at the Lion
Works in Foster Street, with a staff of 40. Their main
products were carriage nuts and bolts for railways and
horse-drawn vehicles. Mr. Butler left the business, and
was replaced by Mr. Wynn and the firm became known as
Richards and Wynn. They produced a wide range of
products including:
bright and black
engineer's bolts, coach bolts, nuts and set
screws, collar screws, axle bolts, shoful,
clarence and bed clips, boiler studs,
shackle plates, "D" shackles, carriage bolts
from Swedish iron, deck bolts, handmade hot
pressed nuts, bolt ends and rivets, and
telegraph iron work.
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The three symbols inside the
Staffordshire knot represent the company's first three
factories - Lion Works, Oak Works, and Phoenix Works.
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An advert from 1937. |
Charles Richards' wife Louisa came from Wednesbury.
They lived at 45 Bull Street, Darlaston and had 7 sons
and 3 daughters. Their youngest daughter Louisa, born in
1878 would eventually marry Walter Wilkins, one of the
founders of Wilkins and Mitchell. As demand for the company's products increased, Oak
Works and Phoenix Works were also acquired. By 1881 the
company employed 130 people. Mr. Wynn
retired and four of Charles Richards' sons joined the
company making it very much the family concern that it
always was.
In 1891 the Imperial Works were acquired at Darlaston
Green and the company closed the original works and
moved into their new factory, formerly part the
Darlaston Steel & Iron Company. In 1904 Phoenix
Works were rented to the newly formed Wilkins and
Mitchell. Imperial Works covered three acres and
included stock and packing warehouses occupying
a space of 150ft. by 40ft., an oliver shop 200ft.
long, and a large machine shop for making blanks.
The works also included an extensive blank warehouse,
a screwing shop 140ft. by 80ft., blacksmith's shops, and
forges etc. Modern machinery was used throughout the
works including powerful engines to drive the machinery,
varying from 20 to 60h.p.
Goods were transported by the adjacent canal and
sidings from the nearby London & North Western Railway.
Only the best raw materials were used including Swedish
iron. |
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Charles Richards Jnr.
Charles Richards died in 1905 and was replaced by his
son Charles who had outstanding business abilities. The
company again dramatically expanded with a new factory
on the Flatts Estate, where they produced nuts and
bolts, repetition parts, and special turned bolts made
from hot or cold forgings.
An advert from 1909.
An advert from 1922.
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Some of the workers at
Charles Richards on 9th January, 1933.
Courtesy of Ian Stubbs. The names are
believed to be as follows:
Back Row - left to right:
Alfred Cadman, Joseph Ball, Fred Lamsdale,
Cyril Fellows, Jack Page,
Fred Parker, Sam Parker, Bernard Warden, and
Herbert Dean.
Front Row - left to right:
Will Randel, George Stanton, Arthur Day,
Jack Oldfield, and George Evans. |
An advert from the mid 1960s.
The various buildings eventually covered
many acres and were equipped with the most modern tools
and machinery possible, including a galvanising plant.
Blade hot forged products and rail and telegraph
fittings were added to the product range and sold
world-wide. The company became one of the world's
largest private nut and bolt makers and was also one of
the largest employers in the area. After World War 2
Harry Richards ran the company and was followed by his
son Phil. In June/July 1980 they were taken over by a
South African company who disposed of Richards' assets
and closed the Darlaston factory, which sadly brought
100 years of successful manufacturing to an end. |
| A long service award that
was presented to William Whitehouse on his
retirement from Charles Richards in 1942. It is
signed by Charles Richards junior and includes his
photograph.
Courtesy of Bill Whitehouse. |
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Brian Groves
certificate of apprenticeship, dated 19th
September, 1960.
It was awarded after he
completed his term of indentured apprenticeship
as a machine tool fitter at Charles Richards &
Sons Ltd.
They were a member of
WADMA the Wednesbury and Darlaston Manufacturers
Association.
Courtesy of Brian
Groves.
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Imperial Works as it is today.
Another view of Imperial Works.
| View some
photographs of Imperial Works |
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A presentation of long service awards.
Courtesy of Brian Groves.
| The photograph above was taken at a long
service awards presentation and dinner in about
1960. Charles W. Richards can be seen on the
left at the front. The dinner, an annual event,
was attended by about 180 people, many of whom
were retired. Certificates and cheques were
presented to Mrs Elsie Stain and Mr. Horace
Stevenson, both of whom had worked at Charles
Richards & Sons for 50 years. Mrs. Stain worked
in the welfare department, and Mr. Stevenson was
in the wages department. Five people received
awards for 40 years service, they were: Miss
Kate Garrett, Mr. Frederick Atwell, Mr. George
Wells, Mr. John Hardwick, and Mr. William
Skidmore. Others who received awards for 30
years service were: Mr. Elijah Bailey, Mr.
Frederick Gittings, Mr. James Thorpe, Mr. James
Fisher, Mr. Thomas Hutchinson Groves, Mr. Sidney
Underhill, Mr. George Powell,
Mr. William Fletcher, Mr. John Holdcroft, Mr.
John Blackhouse, and Mr. Victor Parsons.
Charles Richards & Sons
offices, Heath Road in 1976.
Looking down Heath Road at
what remains of Imperial Works.
A final view of the works
showing the extension built in 1936. |
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