Axminster Carpets
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Carpet manufacture |
| Founded | Axminster, Devon (1755) |
| Founder | Thomas Whitty |
| Headquarters | Axminster , England |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Harry Dutfield |
| Products | Carpets |
Number of employees | 130 |
| Website | Axminster-Carpets.co.uk |
Axminster Carpets Ltd is an
Background
Whilst visiting
Whitty's carpets, looking much like horizontal-
In 1800, the company made a 74-by-52-foot (23 m × 16 m) carpet for
Decline
In 1828, a disastrous fire destroyed the weaving looms. In 1835 the company owner, Samuel Rampson Whitty, the founder's grandson, was declared bankrupt. Blackmores of Wilton, Wiltshire, near Salisbury, bought the remaining stock and looms and extended their business to include hand-knotted carpets, which were still called Axminsters.[1]
In July 2012, Axminster Heritage Ltd bought the now
Refoundation
In 1929,
Returning home, Dutfield formulated a business plan to move his company to Axminster and relaunch Axminster Carpets Ltd.[5] He persuaded the Southern Railway to extend its station at Axminster, and from 1937 lease him land on which to build a suitable factory.[6]
At the outbreak of World War II, Dutfield converted the factory to produce stirrup pumps and later aircraft parts, while Dutfield himself was an officer in the Home Guard.[4]
After hostilities ceased, and with severe shortages of raw materials, keen fisherman Dutfield bought a woollen mill at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, which came with salmon fishing rights on the River Dart.[4] This enabled Dutfield to establish the company on its original basis, being the complete "from fleece to floor" carpet maker.[5]
After handing over day-to-day running of the company to his son Simon, Dutfield semi-retired from the company to pursue his hobby of fishing. Awarded an MBE for his services to British exports, Dutfield died at his home in Axminster on 21 May 1999.[4]
Present
Today, Axminster Carpets is the only manufacturer to purchase, wash, card, spin and dye its own yarn before weaving the carpet itself.[7]
To celebrate 250 years of carpet weaving in Axminster, in 2005 a commemorative rug was produced. Paraded by the company's weavers through the town, it was then blessed by the
The modern Axminster-type power loom is capable of weaving high quality carpets with many varying colours and patterns, and is manufactured all over the world. Due to their hard-wearing and durable nature, Axminster carpets are most frequently used in country homes, luxury hotels, global airlines and train carriages.
On 19 February 2020 it was announced that the company had gone into administration.[10] However it was bought out of administration in March 2020 by a group of investors including the former owners.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-904434-30-4.
- ^ "The Most Famous Axminster Carpet of all". Axminster Heritage. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ "Axminster Heritage buy Thomas Whitty's factory". Axminster Heritage. July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Harry Dutfield – Obituary". The Independent. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Our History". Axminster Carpets Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ISBN 0-86093-525-6.
- ^ a b c d "Axminster Carpets: a history". The Daily Telegraph. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ "Meet the company making carpets for Wetherspoon and the Queen". The Independent. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ The secret life of Wetherspoon's freaky carpets The Guardian 10 January 2016
- ^ "Axminster Carpets collapses into administration". BBC News. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
Further reading
- Bertram, Jacob (1970). Axminster Carpets (Hand-Made) 1755–1957. Leigh-on-Sea: F Lewis.