Catalogue description PARK WEBB LIMITED

Financial, administrative records and photographs

E R H Platt, Leigh, chiropodist

The following records have been the subject of separate gifts, as follows:

Acc. no. 2058 Mr. Rickard, Managing Director, Park Webb Limited

Acc. no. 2064 Dobson Park Industries, per Mr. O. C. Lace, former Company Chairman of Park Webb Limited.

Acc. no. 2067 Dobson Park Industries

All are accession no. 2064, with the following exceptions:

D/DY PW/B1/2-3; E1/1-35 (acc. no. 2058)

D/DY PW/E2/1-12; E4/4-7; F1/1 (acc. no. 2067

Acc. Nos. 2058, 2064

2067

This firm of forgemasters started as the Wigan Slitting Mill, founded by William Parks in 1787. There were a number of changes of name before the firm became William Park and Company in 1824. It merged with Joseph Webb and Sons Limited of Bury in 1968, becoming Park Webb Limited. As such it became a member of the Dobson Park Industries group in 1969 but was wound up in 1979, with John Folkes Hefo Limited of Stourbridge in the West Midlands taking over the outstanding orders.

The works were originally situated at School Common, Wigan, but were moved to Clarington Forge in 1889. Further expansion took place in 1944 with the purchase of the Ince Forge Company. With the company coming to an end in 1979, this site was taken over by Gullick Dobson, which is also part of the Dobson Park group.

The company has long been involved in the manufacture of edge tools and in 1930 it formed a separate company, English Tools Limited. Other edge tool companies were absorbed, for example, A. and F. Parkes of Birmingham (see D/DY PW/F2) and in 1979 the title of the company was changed to Bulldog Tools Limited, which continues to trade under the Dobson Park umbrella.

The company also acted as steel stockholders. The first warehouse was in Millgate, Wigan; this was later moved to the Wiend in Wigan and again to Clarington Forge in 1950. This side of the business was transferred to Bulldog Tools Limited in 1979.

For further historical details, see D/DY PW/E3-4. As regards the Ince Forge Company, this was established in 1856 by the Melling family who were originally involved in the Haigh Foundry. For records of the Haigh Foundry, see the place-name index under "Haigh".

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