| AdminHistory | The origins of this snuff manufacturing business can be traced back as early as 1746, and was moved by Joseph and Henry Wilson (who had previously been in business with their cousins William and George at Sharrow Mill) to the newly-built Westbrook Mill in 1833; it was incorporated as a limited company in May 1895. It continued in local ownership until 1953 when the elderly proprietors, having no successors in business following the death of John Wilson Harland in a R.A.F. flying accident, sold the concern to the Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain and Ireland) Ltd.
Imperial Tobacco, formed in 1901, conducted its business through large 'Branches' based on its original constituents; Joseph and Henry Wilson Ltd was placed under the management of the Ogden Branch (best known for its 'St. Bruno' and 'St. Julien' pipe tobacco brands) in 1953 and production moved in 1962 from Westbrook Mill to the Ogden Branch factory at Boundary Lane, Liverpool.
It should be noted that the original Wilsons and Company (Sharrow) business has continued in existence as a separate firm, and that for virtually all of the period covered by the archives the two Wilsons snuff firms - despite sharing a common origin - were commercial competitors. |
| CustodialHistory | At some point after 1962 the records were moved from Sheffield to Liverpool. Many remained in excellent condition, some of the account books being stored in a glass-fronted display case in the Boundary Lane board room on account of their fine leather bindings. Others however were moved, with the Ogden Branch's own records, into storage on the floor of a damp ground level room where they suffered accordingly. A proportion of the records were transferred at an unknown date to the Redcliffe (Bristol) Headquarters of Imperial Tobacco where they remained until late 2002. As part of a project to overhaul and document the Group's archives, the Ogden Branch records including J. and H. Wilson Ltd. were re-assembled at Liverpool Record Office where they were sorted and catalogued on behalf of the Group in 2002-2003, prior to return of the Wilson records to Sheffield Archives. |