Catalogue description BROOKHIRST SWITCHGEAR LTD

The collection mainly comprises copies of Intercom, the magazine issued by Brookhirst Igranic Ltd. and subsequently by Cutler Hammer Europa.

Brookhurst Switchgear Ltd, electrical engineers

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The records listed below were deposited in the City Record Office on 6 July 1983 by F.S. Williams, esq., Rock Ferry, Birkenhead via Mrs B. Savage, Handbridge, Chester.

This electrical engineering firm was established in 1898 by John A. Hirst (d. 1945), a pioneer in electrical invention and development. His partner in the firm was Percy Shelley Brook.

The firm's original works were in Victoria Road, later moving to George Street and subsequently to Newry Park. Owing to the inspiration of John Hirst, the firm was in the forefront of technical development in the switchgear industry during its early years. By the 1920s, major orders from abroad were being received, especially from foreign mercantile navies.

By 1960, the firm had been renamed Brookhirst Igranic Ltd., with sales headquarters in Bedford. In the late 1960s, the Northgate works in Newry Park were closed, but production continued at Bedford and the name Brookhirst Igranic Ltd. was used until the firm became part of Cutler Hammer Europa.