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The Jones Sewing Machine Company A brief history of Jones sewing machines and William Jones
Sewing machine Tension Problems SORTED!
For decades the finest sewing machines in England came from the Jones Sewing Machine Company in Guide Bridge near Manchester. Their machines were found in homes from the working classes all the way up to Buckingham Palace. No other sewing machine makers in the world can claim to have such a royal patronage. Starting with Princess Alexandra during the lifetime of Queen Victoria, Jones sewing machines were approved not only by the princess (later to become Queen Alexandra) but her successor, Queen Mary, wife of King George V. Their workmanship epitomised British engineering at its finest. The story of Jones Sewing Machines is one of opportunity, positive action and a little luck thrown in. Come with me on a journey and learn about these magnificent men and one of the oldest sewing machine makers in the world. William Jones 1835-1911 Somewhere around the middle of the
1850s a
young
jobbing engineer
named William Jones became fascinated in the new sewing machines that
were coming across from America. At the time William and his brother
John Jones were already well established running a small engineering plant that
specialised in steam engines to power factory
equipment such as pumps, lathes, jigs and other machinery of the period.
William Jones must have been a little like many of us for he was spellbound by any new fangled contraptions. He would visit the latest shows and exhibitions buying up weird and wonderful contraptions. He would take them apart, find their weaknesses, then put them back together, often improving on them. He knew
from all the new adverts appearing in the press that there was big money to be made in sewing machines and Britain was ready.
It was the manufacturing heartland of Europe and all
the latest equipment was at his fingertips. He also knew he could undercut the expensive imports of the time
being shipped all the way from America.
The serpentine Jones is one of the most sought after British machines made in the Victorian period and it ticks all the boxes for collectors, it is pretty, beautifully engineered, and made a great stitch. It had a RS, reciprocating shuttle (similar to the Singer 12 transverse TS shuttle but moving to and away from the operator rather that sideways across the bed). The earlier models had metal gears and the later fibre ones. William Jones was in the
centre of England, close to where the
Industrial Revolution
had all kicked off.
New ideas and businesses were everywhere, springing up like mushrooms on
a warm autumn evening.
Chadwick & Jones 1859 Strike Strike! The story of how William Jones and Thomas Chadwick started their first sewing machine business together is fascinating. Elias Howe and Wheeler & Wilson, the American sewing machine inventors and manufacturers, had been looking for engineering firms on this side of the pond to handle their work. Unfortunately for them the first business they picked in 1852, Platt Brothers in Oldham, went on strike! Better working conditions and more pay was the cry outside the factory gates. Enter Thomas Chadwick into our tale. He had been one of the main strikers at the Platt Brothers Engineering Works in Oldham. The strike was a turning point in British sewing machine history. If the Platt Strike had not happened at so crucial a moment, it is possible that Jones, our oldest English sewing machine company may never have been born. The Platt Brothers Strike was in 1852. Chadwick either left or was sacked from Platt Brothers and for the next few years he tried tried in vain to start up his own sewing machine business. Each attempt ended in failure until he found William Jones. By 1857, William Jones, now 22, was already well under way with ideas to manufacture sewing machines but he needed some financial help for new specialist machinery. It is hotly debated amongst the old sewing machine enthusiasts of my generation exactly when this partnership first started. Firstly, you have to think that my research is mainly pre-Internet. I know, I'm old school. In the 1980s, sewing machine research was long and arduous. Letters posted to patent offices and factories sometimes got a reply, often not. Information grew slowly. Today it is all done in a flash online and much of it because of all the research that was done before that was then pumped into these new fangled boxes in our homes. The facts are these. At some point between 1852 and 1858 Thomas Chadwick and William Jones started working together. Their common interest in sewing machinery was the key that joined them. His older brother John Jones had stayed at his firm continuing to make steam engines while William set up shop with Thomas Chadwick. They found a space to rent above an old furniture and cabinet makers in Cavendish Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Near Manchester. Each month they paid rent to Mr Higham (who worked below them making and repairing furniture). Here the pair worked their lathes making parts and tools for other engineering firms. More importantly, they also repaired sewing machines. The big step came around 1859 when they rented their first small factory unit, newly built on some open ground along Shepley Street, not far from the cabinet makers in Ashton-under-Lyne. Many years later they bought the factory, enlarged it beyond all imagination and named it Stamford Works. Today Brother Sewing Machines still hold a premises where the original factory once stood, backing onto the River Tame. At the factory, with further investment from Thomas Chadwick (and others, probably family members) they set about building their first complete sewing machine.
Thomas Chadwick & William Jones Chadwick & Jones was officially
born in 1859. The first machines that Chadwick & Jones
produced were
Howe and
Wheeler & Wilson
sewing machines. This was not enough for our young lad,
he wanted, not only to make copies, but also improve upon them. Oh! And to
make some serious money as well. Interestingly family history tells us that William Jones (with help from the family again) made his own steam engine and purpose built boiler room (built behind the factory). With the steam engine turning long revolving shafts inside the building they could operate over a dozen machines from presses to drills and lathes. All these were operated from drop down leather belts, running from two main top shafts that ran the entire length of the building. A series of gears and pulleys engaged and disengaged each machine as needed and water was pumped by steam engine from the river. The heavy engineering was on the
ground floor and upstairs
was for the finishing, polishing and setting up of the sewing machines
and parts
before being lowered onto carts for delivery to the railway and agents.
I have never discovered if the site of the original factory
Jones & Co Ltd
John Thomas Jones
For some reason, many of
the sewing machine patents that William Jones patented were
also in his brother’s name,
John Thomas Jones (three years older than William). Maybe John was instrumental in their invention?
Possibly it was to keep the patents quiet from his big American
counterparts and competitors. The first Jones Sewing Machine Jones Model A
.
Jones sewing machine fiddlebase sewing machine made to compete with the bestselling machines of the 1870s, the Singer 12k. The name fiddlebase was due to the curving shape of the sewing machine bed. If you get a second read
about
Bradbury sewing machines they are fascinating and go hand in hand
with Jones until 1905. They
were the main competition for Jones besides Singer and like I mentioned there is a real
twist at the end of the Bradbury tale. For now we are still hot on the heels of William
Jones and Thomas Chadwick. The Jones Family Sewing Machine 1870
Chadwick & Jones dissolve! Things could not have gone too smoothly between partners Chadwick and Jones for within three years the partnership was dissolved. William bought out Thomas, lock, stock and barrel. Thomas Chadwick was still not a happy bunny. He even took out adverts to publically announce his split from William Jones. Chadwick, had the bitter taste of failure before, from former partnerships that had come to nothing. Now it happened again. A flurry of adverts announced that he would be trading in sewing machines and everything else to do with them, from needles to reels of thread. He started a wholesale premises, running out of 255 Stamford Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, but that did not last long either. What he eventually did was go off to Bradbury Sewing Machines, Jones’ greatest English rival. I bet that was a sore point in the Jones household in Park Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne, around the supper table! Bradbury had set up in 1851 and were well established by the time Chadwick made his move to them. Chadwick had known Bradbury from days of old. In fact they had both been locked out of Platt Brothers together and had stood on the the picket line arm in arm, blocking other workers from getting into the factory during the 1852 strike. And this is where Thomas Chadwick leaves our story and his part in setting up Jones Sewing Machines.
Back to our story. Whilst the old
workmates, Chadwick &
Bradbury had got back together, it left William
Jones and his brother John, free to operate without
restrictions from their former partner.
By 1869, Jones had patented their own machines and
managed to get a large contract for Burtons the tailors to supply
heavy duty industrial machines to some of their factories. The successes
of their industrial and domestic machines lead to their small business
growing beyond all imagination.
Interestingly, although Jones made heavy duty 'boot
closing' machines, with roller wheel feed and walking feet (which they
called 'step feed') in all my years in the sewing industry, I have only
come across one Victorian Jones industrial machine.
That was
in a ship chandlers that had the machine from new in
Latimer Road, Eastbourne. My dad was involved with the
chandlers and I carried on servicing the machine many years later. The
industrial Jones sewing machines could be
quite rare today. Please don’t phone me if you have just found a dozen!
Jones Sewing Machine Company, Tel: Ashton-Under-Lyne 2274
Jones Sewing
Machines District Depots By the 1880s a great factory
started to grow in Shepley Street,
Guide Bridge, near Audenshaw, on the outskirts of Manchester.
A three storey building stood on the site for a 100 years.
If you read the stories at the end of this piece you
will meet some of the people who knew the factory. At the
'Stamford Works' site they
eventually employed thousands of workmen and the machines became a household name in
Britain, much like Jaguar, BSA or Marmite! Don't tell me you've never heard
of Marmite! It's part of our British constitution.
In its heyday the Jones, Stamford Works, factory at Audenshaw employed thousands of skilled workmen.
1889 Jones Sewing Machine Company is Registered The Jones saga was a true story of a small acorn becoming a giant
oak. In July of 1889, 30 years after the first
business started, the Jones Sewing Machine Company was
formerly registered. This allowed for directors, multiple ownership and allotment
of shares. This is when a business has grown to such an extent that it
will probably outlive its original makers. On the death or departure of one or more of the
directors or shareholders, the company will continue to trade. The
business raised £108,500 and £50,000 in shares for William and John
Jones. In today's money many millions. John
Jones became managing director and William oversaw the factory as
Company Director of the Jones Sewing Machine Company. As the years rolled by William took a back seat and became the Chairman of the Board overseeing important matters and his brother John stayed as Managing Director. William and his brother went on to make some superb sewing machines, many of which still survive to this day. They copied popular machines of the day like the Singers New Family machine and the German 'high arm' transverse shuttle machines and added their own unique models like the Cat Back. In 1905 the Jones Sewing Machine Company took control
of Bradbury Sewing Machines (that was the twist in the tale). Interestingly the same year that Singer
acquired Wheeler & Wilson in America. William had only outlived his
wife by a few months when he died in 1911 (he was 77 and living in Birkdale). The
Jones Sewing machine Company continued under the supervision of his two nephews.
Along with the British arm of Singer, Bradbury and Jones were the most successful British sewing machine makers of the Victorian era. Today there is hardly a British collection that does not contain a Jones and Bradbury in its collection. Now collectors from all around the world are seeking out these beauties, made by the companies right at the birth of the sewing machine industry in Britain.
'Elegant in design, superior in workmanship
Joseph Watson & Sons Ltd
World War One During World War One, the Jones Sewing Machine Company produced (under order) munitions for the War Effort. Profits were drastically reduced during the next few years as sewing machine fell to a very low output. Net profit in 1913 was £14,109 and by 1917 it was down to £10,260. However the company still paid dividends to shareholder from their reserves. This kept the shareholders happy and stopped a flood of shares hitting the stock market. This difficult period saw the downturn of several traditional sewing machine makers around Europe. Many in Germany collapsed altogether. The Jones Company went on to produce many different models for over 120 years. If you ordered more than 100 machines you could have your own name put on the machine. This is something that Singers never did. This is why so many Jones machines turn up in different dresses today. Eclipse sewing machine, sorry about the crooked picture, the paper I scanned was in bits.
The Eclipse sewing machine, like the Rushby sewing machine below, were both produced by Jones sewing machines and sold by the individual agents under their own brand names.
The Jones Cat Back, Swan Neck or Serpentine. One of the prettiest of all Victorian hand machines and very collectable today. The shuttle sweeps in a straight line back and forth and is known as a 'reciprocating shuttle' or RS shuttle. The machine also came after 1890 with royal approval from HRH Princess (and later Queen) Alexandra. You cannot get a much higher recommendation than that! This model was sold under many names by countless retailers in the United Kingdom. Henry Webster, Queen Alexandra & the connection to Jones Sewing Machines When The Princess of Wales used Jones machines at one of her technical schools for a year at Sandringham, a testimonial to its reliability came from Marlborough House in London praising Jones sewing machines. the Jones Company was quick to act. They marked their machines with Princess Alexandra from then on. On the 9th of
August 1902, with great pomp and circumstance, Prince Edward was crowned
King Edward VII of England. Princess Alexandra, King Edward's wife,
became Alexandra, Queen
Consort. Jones machines were then marked
— as supplied to
HRH Queen Alexandra.
A testimonial from Princess Alexandra was used to promote the Jones Serpentine machines and later put on the CS model though it was the Serpentine that she actually approved. Princess Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia, Alex, was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century town house next to the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the age of sixteen she was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and heir to Queen Victoria. She won the hearts of the British people as the Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title. Alexandra was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India from 1901 to 1910 as the consort of King Edward VII.
1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925 Queen Alexandra
The
Testimonial March 5th 1890 To the Jones Sewing Machine Company. "Sirs, both your treadle and hand sewing machines have been used in HRH, The Princess of Wales' technical schools, Sandringham, for more than a year. They have given every satisfaction both in dressmaking and sewing of undergarments. They are easy to work and in everyway superior to other makes I know." The testimonial from Marlborough house came with consent from Princess Alexandra and with her approval. This was to be a huge boon to Jones for decades. All machines were marked with her Royal Approval and when she became Queen (after Victoria's death) the machines were marked with Royal Approval Queen Alexandra. After the death of her husband, Alexandra the queen empress consort to King Edward VII, became the Dowager Queen and Queen Mother to the new King George V. She moved out of Buckingham Palace and lived at Sandringham. Alexandra died in November of 1925 at the age of 81. She was buried with her husband at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. While King George V, and later George VI ruled, the Jones Company still held government contracts and cleverly altered their advertising. They had not lost the Royal Warrant with the death of Alexandra. Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom and British Dominions from 1910 to 1936, with her husband King George V, also approve the Jones Sewing Machine Company.
Jones Sewing
Machines have been supplied to Jones cleverly combined their advertising with new and old Royal Warrants and the ongoing government contracts. To my knowledge only Jones Sewing Machines had this extensive longevity of Royal Patronage. This brilliant image turned up in the side box of an old Jones CS sewing machine which had arrived on my doorstep for a repair and service. It was an envelope with a 1938 King George VI stamp, showing that the Jones Company were still using their old ‘royal connections’ many years after Alexandra and Mary. Jones sewing machines were once indeed proud makers by 'Royal Warrant'.
Harrods Sewing machine, British Harrodia sewing machine by Jones
More Serpentine sewing machines
By the outbreak of WW2, I can find little mention of Royal Warrants in the company advertising. I presume that after WW2 and the ‘new age of manufacturing’ it was simply put to bed after the death of the King George VI in 1952. Royal Warrants have to be applied for and approved every five years until the death of the royal. You can use the warrant for an additional two years after the death of the 'royal' that approved the warrant but then it becomes void unless a new royal approves it. Interestingly, after 1925 no Jones machines I have ever come across carried any sign of Royal Warrants on their decals (although, as we now know, their paperwork and adverts did). This is a good way to date your Jones sewing machine if you have one. I find most serial number dating for Jones sewing machines only roughly accurate. Certainly no records from the factory survive for Jones sewing machine serial numbers. It seems to boil down to low serial numbers are early machines and late serial number, later models. Models with letter prefix, later still. The earliest machine with the Alexandra, Princess of Wales paperwork that I have come across for the Empress of India, Serpentine Jones, dates to 1875. The last model marked with Queen Alexandra decals, that I have come across, was a 1911 CS Jones. However you may have an identical CS Jones made as late as the 1930s that had no machine decals with Alexandra but still some paperwork referring to its old Royal patronage. Tricky but fascinating.
The Empress of India sewing machine
Now, back to Princess Alexandra (no it wasn't my nickname at school). The first machines that she actually approved were the early Jones machines of the late 1870s commonly known as the Serpentine model but actually called the Empress of India after Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra who were both Empress of India.
The name Swan Neck was also
used for the Serpentine model.
The name that stuck was Cat Back, as
it does have a familiar curve along the top arm to a cat’s back
when its sitting.
Although production of the Serpentine Jones was
reduced dramatically by the 1890s the popular model ran for 30 years from around 1875 to
around 1909 The perfect hand sewing machine
Having Royal Approval was a big money spinner as well as a pat on the back. Customers obviously thought if it was fit for the Queen it must be good.
The Jones Serpentine Sewing Machine
During WWII the Jones factory carried on producing sewing machines for the war effort but also produced uniforms and parachutes. The silk parachutes were dearly sought after by the servicemen for their sweethearts back home. You could be fined if caught with one, though they rarely did. This was unlike the great Singer factory in Scotland where production of sewing machines almost ceased for the duration. Bren guns were made and ammunition in massive quantities, some 20 million bullets per week rolled off the production lines.
1952 British Sewing Machines BSM & Jones By the austere 1950s, with rationing still biting hard in Britain, Jones was suffering. Poor basic models were being sold from one of the oldest sewing machine companies in the world. In 1952 the Jones Sewing Machine Company became part of BSM, British Sewing Machines which were part of Imperial Gas. With more investment, by 1963 they were updating and expanding their factory with a brand new purpose built administration block. However, cheap imports were hitting trade and hitting it hard. The downturn in British manufacturing was unstoppable and many huge old companies were in decline. Jones, like so many greats (including Singer at Kilbowie in Scotland) had just a few years manufacturing left in Great Britain. Out of my 35 books on Amazon I have written extensively on the downfall of the original Singer Company. Alex Askaroff books.
Jas Steel Jones Sewing Machines and Brother Sewing Machines A takeover by Brother industries saw
the Jones name continue on imported models. The
Jones name eventually disappeared from sewing machines in the late 1980s.
Machines went from being badged as Jones to being badged as
Jones-Brother. This became JB and eventually just Brother. A perfectly
smooth transition from British to Japanese had seamlessly taken place. The ghost of the great Jones
company
still survives today as part of the Brother
Industries.
A factory still stands
today where the huge original 1880 factory
once darkened the Audenshaw skyline. Brother Industries own the Jones
name though it is no longer used. Brother were originally famous
for their superb hand built pianos and now make a huge range of domestic and
industrial machinery, everything from computers to keyboards.
One final point worth repeating is
that
the Jones Sewing Machine Company would mark their machines with many
names such as 'The Lightning'
or 'The Favourite'. If a large haberdasheries or iron mongers
came to Jones with a order for over 100 machines they could have any
name they wished upon the machine like 'Victoria',
'Eclipse' or 'Harrods
Own'. It is one
reason we see so many Jones machines in different skirts - so to speak.
Here is an unusual badge on a Cat Back model of 1890 marked as the Jones "Favourite" sewing machine, Bridgnorth. Jones used countless names on their machines and often marked them to the customers preference if enough quantity was ordered.
1959
© Dear Mr. Askaroff, Sewing machine Tension problems sorted in a heartbeat!
Antique & Vintage sewing machines for sale
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