Elwell-Parker, Brotherton Tubes, A.J.S. etc.

The final factory in this section stood on the corner of Commercial Road and Lower Walsall Street, next to the Crown Nail Company. Little is known about the building other than documents relating to mortgages, conveyances and leases. Sadly no photographs of the building seem to survive. It was probably demolished in the late 1930s.


The location of the building (in red).

A building is shown on the site, on the 1842 tithe map but it is much smaller than the later factory and on a different orientation, so it must have been replaced by the larger building.

At this time the site was occupied by William Gibbons who bequeathed it on his death to Elizabeth Gibbons in January, 1857.

It seems that the building was used by a number of small businesses. Their owners included Benjamin Nicholls, John Hawksford, Richard Ward, John Edward Reeve, Sydney Hodges, and Thomas Bayley.

On 24th June, 1882 Paul Bedford Elwell purchased part of the building for the use of his company; The Patent Tip & Horse Shoe Company. Details of the company can be found elsewhere in this section. After joining forces with Thomas Parker to form Elwell-Parker Limited, Elwell leased his part of the building to Elwell-Parker Limited on 1st September, 1886. On 12th March, 1887 Elwell-Parker Limited began to rent another part of the building from John Ryan Danks and Benjamin Danks.

On 8th September, 1887 Elwell-Parker Limited purchased Paul Bedford Elwell’s part of the property, which they owned until 16th June, 1890 when it was sold to the Electric Construction Corporation, which they became part of.

The Electric Construction Corporation sold their part of the building to John Brotherton and Francis Simms for the use of Brotherton Tubes Limited. The company seems to have acquired much of the property, which was conveyed to the New Brotherton Tube Company Limited on 26th October, 1897. In 1903 another part of the building was occupied by the Metropolitan Bank of England and Wales Limited.


An advert from 1902.

In 1901 Wolverhampton Corporation purchased another part of the building, and sold it to the New Brotherton Tube Company Limited on 26th February, 1903. In 1912 Brotherton Tubes and Conduits Limited leased another part of the building, which they purchased on 13th February, 1920. The story of Brotherton Tubes can be found in part 1.

On 28th October, 1925 motorcycle manufacturer A. J. Stevens and Company (1914) Limited purchased the whole of the building, or at least the land on which it stood. It may have been demolished before they purchased the site, if not they demolished the building. Nothing seems to be known about their activities on the site. At the time they produced motorcycles, sidecars, car bodies, and radios. Their story will be found in part 3.

A. J. Stevens went into voluntary liquidation in 1931. The land was sold towards the end of 1934 to W. E. Jones, timber merchants and timber importers, who occupied the site for many years.


An advert from 1954.

 W. E. Jones (Timber Importers) Limited claimed to be the first timber importers to open stockyards in the Midlands.

After starting life at the port of Hull, the business moved to Wolverhampton, initially using an office in Queen Street until the Commercial Road site was acquired.

The firm had a good range of machines for sawing, planing, and producing mouldings of all kinds.

The stock included timber from all of the Scandinavian countries, Canada, and Europe, imported via the ports at Hull, Garson, Sharpness, and London.

Around 1950 the firm was acquired by William Mallinson & Sons, hardwood importers based at London.


A close-up view of the company's offices from the advert above. The building could well have dated back to the days of Elwell-Parker.
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