Crompton Parkinson
Encyclopedia
Crompton Parkinson was a British
electrical manufacturing company formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co., and F & A. Parkinson Ltd.
Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer founded by Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton in 1878 and had designed and installed electric lighting installations at buildings such as Windsor Castle
and Holyrood Palace
. F & A. Parkinson Ltd was a successful electric motor manufacturer founded by two brothers, Frank and Albert Parkinson. Frank Parkinson
(1887–1946) was a former student, and later a major benefactor of Leeds University; the university's Parkinson Building, opened in 1951 is named in his honour. Crompton Parkinson was taken over by the Hawker Siddeley aerospace group in 1968. The subsequent history is complex but it appears that Crompton Lighting is now owned by Cooper Lighting and Security Ltd while Crompton Parkinson is now owned by Brook Crompton.
There was a factory located at Writtle Road in Chelmsford, which was originally Crompton & Co. Very little of the original factory remains, although E2V (which is a descendant of Crompton Parkinson following the demise of Marconi) still occupies some of the site. Roads on the housing development include Crompton Street and Parkinson Drive.
s, electric generators, light bulbs, electric cables and batteries
. Some British Railways diesel locomotive
s (e.g. British Rail Classes 26
, 33
, 44
and 45
) had Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment. Crompton also manufactured an extensive range of electrical measuring instruments including voltmeter
s, ammeter
s and current transformer
s. Crompton also made car spark plug
s during the early part of its history.
, Kent
. He had also purchased Burndept, a well established wireless set manufacturer, and the combined company was called Vidor-Burndept. Cole had made his fortune from his previous company Lissen Ltd, a manufacturer of radio kits, accessories and batteries, which he sold to Ever Ready in 1928.
In April 1941 the Erith factory was almost completely destroyed by a German
incendiary
raid, forcing the company to relocate production to a former jute
mill at Dundee
, Scotland
. The company also opened other factories at South Shields
and Brechin
.
In the early 1960s Cole sold Vidor-Burndept to Royston Industries. Following the collapse of Royston Industries in 1968, the Vidor brand was acquired by Crompton Parkinson. The Vidor brand was later sold to Ray-O-Vac in 1989 and is now dormant.
A Vidor slogan from the 1950s was "They do say a Vidor battery lasts a month longer!".
They almost bought out P. R. Mallory and Co Inc
in the 1960s.
at its Guiseley, and Doncaster
factories.
near Leeds
where most of its lamp, and electric motor manufacturing was based. The lamp works closed in 2002, and the adjacent electric motor works closed in 2004. The entire site was demolished in 2006.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
electrical manufacturing company formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co., and F & A. Parkinson Ltd.
Crompton & Co. was a lamp manufacturer founded by Colonel Rookes Evelyn Bell Crompton in 1878 and had designed and installed electric lighting installations at buildings such as Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
. F & A. Parkinson Ltd was a successful electric motor manufacturer founded by two brothers, Frank and Albert Parkinson. Frank Parkinson
Frank Parkinson
Frank Parkinson was a British electrical engineer, most notable for early electric lighting installations, such as light bulbs and electric motors...
(1887–1946) was a former student, and later a major benefactor of Leeds University; the university's Parkinson Building, opened in 1951 is named in his honour. Crompton Parkinson was taken over by the Hawker Siddeley aerospace group in 1968. The subsequent history is complex but it appears that Crompton Lighting is now owned by Cooper Lighting and Security Ltd while Crompton Parkinson is now owned by Brook Crompton.
There was a factory located at Writtle Road in Chelmsford, which was originally Crompton & Co. Very little of the original factory remains, although E2V (which is a descendant of Crompton Parkinson following the demise of Marconi) still occupies some of the site. Roads on the housing development include Crompton Street and Parkinson Drive.
Products
Crompton Parkinson made a wide range of electrical goods including electric motorElectric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
s, electric generators, light bulbs, electric cables and batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
. Some British Railways diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s (e.g. British Rail Classes 26
British Rail Class 26
The British Rail Class 26 diesel locomotives, also known as the BRCW Type 2, were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company at Smethwick in 1958-59. Forty seven examples were built, and the last were withdrawn from service in 1993...
, 33
British Rail Class 33
The British Rail Class 33 also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962....
, 44
British Rail Class 44
The British Rail Class 44 or Sulzer Type 4 diesel locomotives were built by British Railways' Derby Works between 1959 to 1960. They were named after British mountains, and consequently nicknamed Peaks.-Description:...
and 45
British Rail Class 45
The British Rail Class 45 also known as the Sulzer Type 4 diesel locomotives were built by British Rail at their Derby and Crewe Works between 1960 and 1962...
) had Crompton Parkinson electrical equipment. Crompton also manufactured an extensive range of electrical measuring instruments including voltmeter
Voltmeter
A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale in proportion to the voltage of the circuit; digital voltmeters give a numerical display of voltage by use of an analog to...
s, ammeter
Ammeter
An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to measure the electric current in a circuit. Electric currents are measured in amperes , hence the name. Instruments used to measure smaller currents, in the milliampere or microampere range, are designated as milliammeters or microammeters...
s and current transformer
Current transformer
In electrical engineering, a current transformer is used for measurement of electric currents. Current transformers, together with voltage transformers , are known as instrument transformers...
s. Crompton also made car spark plug
Spark plug
A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol, gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark.Spark plugs have an insulated central electrode which is connected by...
s during the early part of its history.
Vidor batteries
Vidor was a manufacturer of radio and torch batteries, founded in 1934 by businessman Thomas Noah Cole in a former Vickers-Armstrong munitions factory at ErithErith
Erith is a district of southeast London on the River Thames. Erith's town centre has undergone a series of modernisations since 1961.-Pre-medieval:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. He had also purchased Burndept, a well established wireless set manufacturer, and the combined company was called Vidor-Burndept. Cole had made his fortune from his previous company Lissen Ltd, a manufacturer of radio kits, accessories and batteries, which he sold to Ever Ready in 1928.
In April 1941 the Erith factory was almost completely destroyed by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
incendiary
Incendiary ammunition
-World War I:One of the first uses of incendiary ammunition occurred in World War I. At the time, phosphorus—the primary ingredient in the incendiary charge—ignited upon firing, leaving a trail of blue smoke. They were also known as 'smoke tracer' for this reason. The effective range of...
raid, forcing the company to relocate production to a former jute
Jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....
mill at Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The company also opened other factories at South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
and Brechin
Brechin
Brechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era...
.
In the early 1960s Cole sold Vidor-Burndept to Royston Industries. Following the collapse of Royston Industries in 1968, the Vidor brand was acquired by Crompton Parkinson. The Vidor brand was later sold to Ray-O-Vac in 1989 and is now dormant.
A Vidor slogan from the 1950s was "They do say a Vidor battery lasts a month longer!".
They almost bought out P. R. Mallory and Co Inc
P. R. Mallory and Co Inc
P. R. Mallory and Co Inc was a US producer of dry cell batteries , electronic components including electrolytic capacitors, and audible warning devices , it also was the parent firm of Mallory Batteries Ltd., an Irish producer of Ever Ready batteries...
in the 1960s.
WWII ammunition manufacture
During the Second World War, Crompton Parkinson produced large quantities of .303 rifle ammunitionAmmunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
at its Guiseley, and Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
factories.
Guiseley factory
During the 1930s, the company built a large factory at GuiseleyGuiseley
Guiseley is a small town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Situated south of Otley and Menston, it is a suburb of north west Leeds. At the 2001 census, Guiseley together with Rawdon had a population of over 21,000. The A65, which passes through the town, is the...
near Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
where most of its lamp, and electric motor manufacturing was based. The lamp works closed in 2002, and the adjacent electric motor works closed in 2004. The entire site was demolished in 2006.
External links
- http://www.thevalvepage.com/tvmanu/vidor/vidor.htm
- http://vintage-technology.info/pages/domestic/vidorport.htm
- http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1970_1975/fulltext/081c04.pdf An interesting 1974 U.K. government report that mentions them and several other contemporary rival battery firms (PDF.)
- http://archive.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/2006/9/21/188270.html Article about the demolition of the former Crompton Parkinson factory.
- http://www.iec.ch/about/history/articles/colonel_crompton.htm Biography of Colonel Crompton.
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasa_m/2617309797/ Photo of the Parkinson Building