440:
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357:, umbrella-makers, round the corner at 23 St James's Street decided to join forces. From 1943 until 1990 the company traded as Swaine, Adeney, Brigg & Sons Ltd, with Edward Swaine Adeney Jr appointed chairman for life. Brigg's gave up its shop on St James's Street but kept its manufactory for sticks and umbrellas at Newbury Street in the City of London. Whips and other leather goods continued to be made at the Piccadilly shop and at Zair's factory in Birmingham.
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687:, the firm wrote: "We beg to announce that . . . we have purchased the old-established business of Messrs. J. Köhler & Son, Bromley, Kent, Hunting, Coaching and Signal-horn Manufacturers. The factory will be retained as before, and customers can therefore rely on obtaining the unique tone and excellent qualities that have made their specialties so famous for over a century."
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Although Robert had nursed the firm back into trading with a small profit, he and the Adeney and Brigg family shareholders decided in the summer of 1990 to sell their 80 per cent stake in the company for a reported £4 to £5 million. The new controlling shareholder was the Ensign Trust, the investment
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The attempted expansion overseas coincided with the opportunity to acquire the lease on the shop next door at 186 Piccadilly, affording the firm a wonderful double frontage on
Piccadilly. Unfortunately the firm overreached itself, moving too far away from its core strengths, and nearly collapsed. The
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Not long after
Slocock's retirement in 1825, James Swaine invited William Isaac to become a partner, which role he assumed from at least 1829 to 1848. After George IV's death in 1830, Swaine & Isaac were re-appointed as whip-makers to his brother William IV and in 1837 to the new queen, Victoria.
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The firm of Swaine & Adeney was said to have been founded in London in 1750, but the earliest documentary evidence goes back to around 1760 when a saddler named John Ross set up a whip manufactory in London. His first-known factory was in
Marylebone Street (now incorporated in Glasshouse Street),
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as successor to Robert Adeney; he was followed by Rohan
Courtney in 1993–4; and then John de Bruyne, the Cambridge entrepreneur, who had grand ideas of making the company into a British Hermès or Gucci. De Bruyne achieved big savings by moving the shop from Piccadilly to cheaper premises in Old Bond
305:
The sporting press in March 1863 reported the appointment of Swaine & Adeney as whip-manufacturers to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. The patronage of the Prince of Wales helped determine the firm's future direction. As the growing railway network ate into the demand for coaching whips, the firm
301:
In 1845, some three years before
William Isaac resigned, Edward Swaine took into partnership his nephew and son-in-law James Adeney, who had served a seven-year apprenticeship with him. For a short time the firm was known as Swaine, Isaac & Adeney, and then for almost a hundred years, from 1848
324:
When Swaine & Adeney were registered as a limited company, Edward Swaine Adeney Jr was named as the managing director. He was to remain at the helm of the firm until his retirement in 1949. It was thanks to his commitment and passion that the firm was able to survive in challenging times. He
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Ross sold his business in 1798 to a whip-maker named James Swaine, who had been apprenticed to
Benjamin Griffith & Co., whip-makers of High Holborn, and the firm of Swaine & Co. (James Swaine in partnership with Benjamin Slocock) carried on business from the Piccadilly address. The first
408:
Gilbert's son Robert Edward John Adeney, who became chairman on
Gilbert's retirement, was to be the last of the family to run the firm. With the expiry of Zair's factory lease in 1965, and the compulsory purchase of the factory in Newbury Street in London, Robert decided to consolidate all the
368:
The firm continued to prize good design but embraced the use of new technologies and of some new materials. Nylon fabric replaced the hand-woven silk for the canopies of some umbrellas and at Zair's factory nylon increasingly replaced rare whalebone for the core of many whips made under the
455:
The company was reincorporated as
Pictology Ltd, but continued to trade as Swaine Adeney Brigg. The financial challenges were not over, however, for the firm was running at annual losses of more than £3 million even as it went through various chairmanships. First came Anthony Tryon, 3rd
412:
In the 1980s the firm decided to open an
American branch in San Francisco to meet the growing demand from America and contain the risk of currency fluctuations between the pound and the US dollar. The experiment was not successful and the San Francisco shop was surrendered.
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The whips each have a braided shaft in black leather with white leather keeper, thong and lash. The firm had made the postilion whips for the wedding procession in 1863 of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and
Princess Alexandra of Denmark. See
260:. Ross's Marylebone Street premises were lost in a fire in July 1769, but by the following year he was trading at 238 Piccadilly on the south side of the street just a few doors away from the largest coaching inn, the White Bear, at No. 235.
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That same year Edward Swaine Adeney brought out a booklet extolling the virtues of handcraftsmanship. "This, then, is the formula," he wrote: "honest material and the finest craftsmanship that can be put into the moulding of it."
316:, the London makers of coaching and post horns in 1907, the new focus of the subsidiary was hunting horns and part of Swaine & Adeney's strategy was clearly to consolidate its position as suppliers of hunting equipment.
472:, the venerable firm of hatters of 38 New Bond Street in 1996. By that year the firm was making 2,500 briefcases a year; this was to be augmented with the acquisition of the luggage-making division of
312:
With the advent of the motor car, or "horseless carriage" as it was called, Swaine & Adeney turned to the manufacture of luggage sets as luxury motoring accessories. When the firm took over
350:. A range of animal heads carved in wood was made available for both umbrellas and walking sticks. Many of the heads were made by members of the Czilinsky family over several generations.
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first registered the maker's mark of ESA with the London Assay Office in 1902 and thenceforth the silver and gold collars of the firm's whips and sticks were stamped with this mark.
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In 2003 the firm again changed hands, being sold to the Birmingham company Harris Watson Holdings PLC. Then in 2009, Roger Gawn, a Norfolk businessman bought the company.
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was granted by King George III for carriage riding whips. Ledgers show that the Prince Regent and his friends – the "Prinny's Set" – figured among the firm's customers.
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During the First World War, the firm produced a range of "War Equipment", including kit items made to War Office specifications. In 1927 Swaine & Adeney bought out
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Village Settlement near Cambridge in 1997. De Bruyne closed down the Great Chesterford factory and set up a new factory at Bar Hill to the north of Cambridge.
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James Swaine left his business to his son Edward. By 1845, the firm of Swaine & Isaac had branched out into the sale of walking sticks of fine quality.
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When Edward Swaine Adeney retired in 1949 he was succeeded briefly by Bertie Walter Brigg, and then from 1950 by Edward's only son Gilbert Latimer Adeney.
540:. The move was done to help modernise the brand and with it the brand was rebranded to Swaine London. Along with these changes a new factory opened in
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555:. The flagship location is 7,000 square feet (650 m) and with the brands workshops located in the same building above the store along with the
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welcomed the opportunity to build custom among the hunting and racing community for whom the Prince of Wales stood out as the royal figurehead.
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firm found some financial relief when the Japanese conglomerate Fukuske Corporation paid £750,000 for a 20 per cent stake in the company.
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In a return to the line of business of the firm's founding fathers, Swaine Adeney Brigg made six postilion whips for the wedding of the
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390:'s original 1957 novel: "Q Branch had put together this smart-looking bag, ripping out the careful handiwork of Swaine and Adeney".
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That same year, Robert sold the firm's freehold factory at Great Chesterford and built a new 10,000 square foot factory nearby.
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653:, London: The firm Thomas Brigg & Sons (merged with Swaine & Adeney Ltd in 1943) wins the Grand Prix for umbrellas
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New opportunities were found in meeting the new and growing market for polo equipment, including mallets and polo whips.
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to 1943, the firm bore the name Swaine & Adeney, becoming Swaine & Adeney Ltd on incorporation in 1910.
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In the 1920s and 1930s the firm greatly expanded its range of handcrafted umbrellas. These used frames made by
632:: The firm G. & J. Zair (bought by Swaine & Adeney Ltd in 1927) wins first special prize for its whips
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Trade directories show that by 1822 the firm had moved a few doors west to 224, and an advertisement in the
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announced a further change of address in 1835 to "more eligible" premises at No. 185, next door to
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pandemic, the Swaine group (including Swaine Adeney Brigg) was sold to French Chargeurs Group.
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shop that has traded in London's St James's since 1798. The shop sells leather goods, Brigg
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The period of de Bruyne's chairmanship was not without success. Swaine Adeney Brigg bought
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Also in 1927, Edward patented a new polo stick head, followed by a stronger stick in 1928.
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595:(leather goods division) and Pendragon, Papworth, Cambridgeshire (acquired in 1997)
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company's manufacturing at one site in School Street at Great Chesterford, Essex.
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A Swaine & Adeney shop was opened in 1989 in the fashionable Jingumae in the
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In an open letter dated 2 February 1907 and published in the fifth edition of
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With the lease expiry on 54 St James's Street, Swaine Adeney Brigg moved to 7
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619:, London: Köhler (bought by Swaine & Adeney in 1907) awarded prize medal
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and production was now housed under one roof for the first time in decades.
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787:"SWAINE, THE UK'S OLDEST LUXURY GOODS BRAND, OPENS NEW BOND STREET STORE"
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A window display at Swaine Adeney Brigg's St. James's Street shop in 2010
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was closed in May 2022 and the brand relocated opening a store at the
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of Birmingham, the firm's biggest rivals in the field of whip-making.
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Street. A further move took place in 1998 when the shop opened at 54
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Luxury leather goods, Brigg umbrellas and hats from Herbert Johnson
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In Good Hands: 250 Years of Craftsmanship at Swaine Adeney Brigg
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In Good Hands: 250 Years of Craftsmanship at Swaine Adeney Brigg
813:"Swaine opens key New Bond Street flagship in radical rebrand"
583:, London (merged with Swaine Adeney Brigg in February 1943)
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In March 2023 the brand opened a new flagship store at 127
639:: The firm G. & J. Zair wins first prize for its whips
465:, not far from where Brigg's old shop at No. 23 had been.
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just to the north of Piccadilly. Among his customers were
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In February 1943, Swaine & Adeney on Piccadilly and
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International, Retail & Leisure (27 October 2022).
589:, hatters of New Bond Street, London (acquired in 1996)
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899:, 2012. The company no longer holds a Royal Warrant.
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361:Swaine, Adeney, Brigg & Sons Ltd (1943–1990)
86:Swaine, Adeney, Brigg & Sons Ltd (1943–1990)
685:The Coach Horn: What to Blow and How to Blow It
945:Organisations based in the City of Westminster
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646:, Paris: Swaine & Adeney wins Grand Prix
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893:Royal Warrant holders: the seal of approval
840:Prior, Katherine, with many photographs by
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451:The shop at 54 St. James's Street in 2010
940:Manufacturing companies based in London
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431:arm of the Merchant Navy Pension Fund.
393:For the 1961 British television series
762:"Burlington Arcade Hits Full Capacity"
930:British companies established in 1750
925:Clothing brands of the United Kingdom
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670:See timeline in the company history
625:, London: Köhler awarded prize medal
571:, London (acquired in February 1907)
258:George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont
749:First-half 2021 results – Chargeurs
320:Swaine & Adeney Ltd (1910–1943)
83:Swaine & Adeney Ltd (1910–1943)
766:Retail & Leisure International
637:Melbourne International Exhibition
397:Swaine Adeney Brigg made a custom
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382:(1963), Swaine Adeney Brigg made
288:Swaine & Isaac (c. 1825–1848)
74:Swaine & Isaac (c. 1825–1848)
254:Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland
710:"Whangee | Swaine Adeney Brigg"
630:Sydney International Exhibition
577:, Birmingham (acquired in 1927)
435:Swaine Adeney Brigg (1990–2022)
297:Swaine & Adeney (1848–1910)
80:Swaine & Adeney (1848–1910)
915:1750 establishments in England
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920:British royal warrant holders
623:1862 International Exhibition
516:With the onset of the global
563:Other firms within the group
264:Swaine & Co. (1798–1825)
103:; 226 years ago
71:Swaine & Co. (1798–1825)
476:, the manufacturing arm of
60:Manufacturing and retailing
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386:'s briefcase, faithful to
77:Swaine, Isaac & Adeney
871:Swaine & Adeney Ltd.
651:Franco-British Exhibition
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811:WW, FashionNetwork com.
150:Carine de Koenigswarte (
581:Thomas Brigg & Sons
542:Sawston, Cambridgeshire
355:Thomas Brigg & Sons
950:Umbrella manufacturers
725:magazine, August 1996.
697:"Good Hands" 1750–1927
644:Exposition universelle
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222:, known previously as
873:Good Hands: 1750–1927
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524:Swaine London (2022–)
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405:hidden in the shaft.
401:umbrella featuring a
379:From Russia with Love
369:trade-mark "Sabson".
282:Fortnum & Mason's
575:G. & J. Zair Ltd
330:G. & J. Zair Ltd
88:Swaine Adeney Brigg
27:British luxury brand
791:The Mayfair Musings
593:Papworth Industries
569:J. Köhler & Son
528:The store at No. 7
504:Catherine Middleton
474:Papworth Industries
224:Swaine Adeney Brigg
136:Number of locations
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18:Swaine Adeney Brigg
875:. London, c. 1927
817:FashionNetwork.com
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494:by Katherine Prior
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114:Piccadilly, London
860:978-1-898565-09-3
534:Burlington Arcade
530:Piccadilly Arcade
511:Piccadilly Arcade
500:Duke of Cambridge
463:St James's Street
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65:Predecessors
47:Company type
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559:workshops.
458:Baron Tryon
388:Ian Fleming
909:Categories
600:Awards at
384:James Bond
344:Samuel Fox
146:Key people
881:498208500
867:815728722
506:in 2011.
247:John Ross
232:umbrellas
175:Chargeurs
844:(2012).
822:22 April
796:22 April
771:22 April
739:, p. 78.
518:COVID-19
502:to Miss
478:Papworth
376:'s film
163:Products
156:Chairman
124:London,
57:Industry
538:Mayfair
422:Shibuya
399:Whangee
242:History
226:, is a
211:.london
204:Website
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98:Founded
51:Private
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553:London
209:swaine
649:1908
642:1900
635:1880
628:1879
615:1851
608:1851
403:sword
190:Brigg
171:Owner
877:OCLC
863:OCLC
856:ISBN
824:2023
798:2023
773:2023
372:For
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