Merrythought
Encyclopedia
Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom
. The company specialises in children's soft toys, especially teddy bear
s. It is the last remaining British teddy bear factoryDean's Rag Book Co. is an older British teddy bear company (producing Dean's Bears since 1915) however their products are now manufactured overseas. and is located at Ironbridge
in Shropshire
.
The company's site in Ironbridge has a small museum and shop open to the public, as well as being where the toys are made. The site is a former iron foundry
building on the banks of the River Severn
, less than half a mile (0.7 km) upstream from the world-famous Iron Bridge
itself. The vicinity is known as Dale End, lying at the bottom of the Coalbrookdale
valley, and falls within the wider Ironbridge Gorge
World Heritage Site
.
The origin of the firm's name is uncertain but possibly derives from an archaic word for "wishbone
" – the company has used a wishbone as an emblem since 1992.
, Clifton James Rendle, as well as J. K. Farnell
based designs. Perhaps their most famous individual bear was "Mr Whoppit
", the mascot of land and water speed record breaker Donald Campbell
. The company first produced teddy bears based on the "Woppit" character (a teddy bear himself) from the Robin comic in 1956.
The company at first rented rooms at the Station Hotel in Wellington
before moving to a building in Coalbrookdale; in February 1931 Merrythought moved permanently to its present site in Ironbridge. Business grew rapidly, despite the Great Depression
, with the Ironbridge site becoming the largest soft toy factory in Britain in 1935 and by 1939 over 200 people worked for Merrythought. The company's site was rented at first, but was purchased from the Coalbrookdale Company in 1956. Merrythought has operated from the same site, situated between The Wharfage and the Severn, since 1931, with the exception of during World War II when the site was requisitioned by the Admiralty
(for map-making
) from the outbreak of war in September 1939. During the War, the company operated from Wellington and produced equipment for war use; Merrythought returned to their Ironbridge site in 1946. The oldest of the factory buildings were constructed in 1898 with further buildings added to the site during the 20th century as the business grew.
Trayton Holmes, son of founder Gordon Holmes, joined the company in 1949; his son, Oliver Holmes, joined the company in 1972 and eventually became the Managing Director. Also in 1949 notable designers Florence Atwood and Clifton Rendle both died. After the war new buildings were built on the site and an automatic stuffing machine was bought from the United States in 1955. In 1957 the "Cheeky" bear was first introduced to the Merrythought range, a design which continues to be produced to the present day. In 1996 the Farnell
brand name was bought by Merrythought. In 2001 a special Hope Bear was produced, raising money for the World Trade Center Disaster Fund.
Oliver Holmes died from cancer, aged 60, on 30 April 2011. His daughter, Sarah, will take over the running of the company; she is the fourth generation in the Holmes family to be involved in the company.
Merrythought was awarded the 2011 Supplier Award by the famous, luxury London department store Fortnum & Mason
(which has outlets in Japan), with limited edition bears for the store currently being made.
for its bears) to produce a limited range of hand-crafted toys, appealing to the high-end of the market. The founder's grandson, Oliver Holmes, ran the business as Managing Director until his death in 2011; his daughter, Sarah Holmes, has been involved in its management since 2010, thereby continuing the Holmes family connection.
The present range includes for the most part traditional and collectable teddy bears (including the company's "Punkie" and "Cheeky" variants), some other soft toy animals, and a few traditional and collectable gollies
. Since the relaunch in 2007 the collectable part of the range consists of numerous special designs, each produced in a small batch of usually 80–100 units, with new designs regularly coming onto the market. Special bears have been made in commemoration of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
There is a notable foreign export market in Japan
for the company's products, where in recent years a "cult following
" of Merrythought Bears has developed; the depreciation of the British pound
against the Japanese yen
since 2008 has also helped sales there. The recent depreciation of the pound has also helped the company compete in the UK against imports, including those from continental Europe.
Displays of historic and current Merrythought products can be seen at the small shop and museum located at the company's Ironbridge site, which is open seven days a week throughout the year and is free to enter.
, giving the company a further boost. A sizable production run of 2,012 is planned, though a name for the bear has yet to be chosen. Different bears have been produced to mark the Paralympic games.
who regards them as not in-keeping with "Olympic values". Although the company defended the dolls as "an innocent, traditional British toy" the range has now been discontinued, with a review of the overall product range given as the reason.
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...
. The company specialises in children's soft toys, especially teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
s. It is the last remaining British teddy bear factoryDean's Rag Book Co. is an older British teddy bear company (producing Dean's Bears since 1915) however their products are now manufactured overseas. and is located at Ironbridge
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
.
The company's site in Ironbridge has a small museum and shop open to the public, as well as being where the toys are made. The site is a former iron foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
building on the banks of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
, less than half a mile (0.7 km) upstream from the world-famous Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...
itself. The vicinity is known as Dale End, lying at the bottom of the Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
valley, and falls within the wider Ironbridge Gorge
Ironbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England.Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
The origin of the firm's name is uncertain but possibly derives from an archaic word for "wishbone
Furcula
The ' is a forked bone found in birds, formed by the fusion of the two clavicles. In birds, its function is the strengthening of the thoracic skeleton to withstand the rigors of flight....
" – the company has used a wishbone as an emblem since 1992.
History
Merrythought was founded in 1930 by Gordon Holmes and George H. Laxton, with the first catalogue in 1931. The company's first products were based on designs by a former employee of Chad ValleyChad Valley
Chad Valley is a long-established brand of toys in the United Kingdom owned by Home Retail Group. The company has its roots in a printing business established by Anthony Bunn Johnson in Birmingham in the early 19th century...
, Clifton James Rendle, as well as J. K. Farnell
J. K. Farnell
John Kirby Farnell or J. K. Farnell was a London company which manufactured the first British teddy bear in 1906.-Beginnings:Founded in Notting Hill, the firm was started in 1840 by a silk merchant, John Kirby Farnell, and made items such as pin cushions and tea cosies...
based designs. Perhaps their most famous individual bear was "Mr Whoppit
Mr Whoppit
Mr Whoppit was the teddy bear mascot of Donald Campbell, the land and water speed record holder.As was his father Sir Malcolm Campbell, Donald Campbell was highly superstitious. Both consulted spiritualist mediums and fortune tellers, Donald also placed his faith in a lucky mascot, Mr Whoppit. He...
", the mascot of land and water speed record breaker Donald Campbell
Donald Campbell
Donald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
. The company first produced teddy bears based on the "Woppit" character (a teddy bear himself) from the Robin comic in 1956.
The company at first rented rooms at the Station Hotel in Wellington
Wellington, Shropshire
Wellington is a town in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England and now forms part of the new town of Telford. The population of the parish of Wellington was recorded as 20,430 in the 2001 census, making it the third largest town in Shropshire if...
before moving to a building in Coalbrookdale; in February 1931 Merrythought moved permanently to its present site in Ironbridge. Business grew rapidly, despite the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, with the Ironbridge site becoming the largest soft toy factory in Britain in 1935 and by 1939 over 200 people worked for Merrythought. The company's site was rented at first, but was purchased from the Coalbrookdale Company in 1956. Merrythought has operated from the same site, situated between The Wharfage and the Severn, since 1931, with the exception of during World War II when the site was requisitioned by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
(for map-making
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
) from the outbreak of war in September 1939. During the War, the company operated from Wellington and produced equipment for war use; Merrythought returned to their Ironbridge site in 1946. The oldest of the factory buildings were constructed in 1898 with further buildings added to the site during the 20th century as the business grew.
Trayton Holmes, son of founder Gordon Holmes, joined the company in 1949; his son, Oliver Holmes, joined the company in 1972 and eventually became the Managing Director. Also in 1949 notable designers Florence Atwood and Clifton Rendle both died. After the war new buildings were built on the site and an automatic stuffing machine was bought from the United States in 1955. In 1957 the "Cheeky" bear was first introduced to the Merrythought range, a design which continues to be produced to the present day. In 1996 the Farnell
J. K. Farnell
John Kirby Farnell or J. K. Farnell was a London company which manufactured the first British teddy bear in 1906.-Beginnings:Founded in Notting Hill, the firm was started in 1840 by a silk merchant, John Kirby Farnell, and made items such as pin cushions and tea cosies...
brand name was bought by Merrythought. In 2001 a special Hope Bear was produced, raising money for the World Trade Center Disaster Fund.
Recent events
The company ceased manufacture in November 2006, blaming "the ongoing effects of external economics", specifically cheap foreign-produced goods with which Merrythought could not compete. 48 workers were made redundant and the company went into voluntary liquidation, which lasted from December 2006 to January 2007. The business was rescued following a media outcry and an acknowledgement of the considerable following for the Merrythought products. Production resumed in March 2007 and in May that year's catalogue was revealed, with a "much sharper, collector-focused group of products", with newly made toys on sale that month too. The company continued to produce the toys from the original factory at the Ironbridge site, albeit with a smaller workforce than prior to the closure in 2006.Oliver Holmes died from cancer, aged 60, on 30 April 2011. His daughter, Sarah, will take over the running of the company; she is the fourth generation in the Holmes family to be involved in the company.
Merrythought was awarded the 2011 Supplier Award by the famous, luxury London department store Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason, often shortened to just "Fortnum's" is a department store, situated in central London, with two other branches in Japan. Its headquarters is located at 181 Piccadilly, where it was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason...
(which has outlets in Japan), with limited edition bears for the store currently being made.
Present day
The company is now back in permanent operation, using traditional methods and materials (such as mohairMohair
Mohair usually refers to a silk-like fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. The word "mohair" was adopted into English before 1570 from the Arabic: mukhayyar, a type of haircloth, literally 'choice', from khayyara, 'he chose'. Mohair fiber is approximately 25-45 microns in...
for its bears) to produce a limited range of hand-crafted toys, appealing to the high-end of the market. The founder's grandson, Oliver Holmes, ran the business as Managing Director until his death in 2011; his daughter, Sarah Holmes, has been involved in its management since 2010, thereby continuing the Holmes family connection.
The present range includes for the most part traditional and collectable teddy bears (including the company's "Punkie" and "Cheeky" variants), some other soft toy animals, and a few traditional and collectable gollies
Golliwogg
The "Golliwogg" was a character in children's books in the late 19th century and depicted as a type of rag doll. It was reproduced, both by commercial and hobby toy-makers as a children's toy called the "golliwog", and had great popularity in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and...
. Since the relaunch in 2007 the collectable part of the range consists of numerous special designs, each produced in a small batch of usually 80–100 units, with new designs regularly coming onto the market. Special bears have been made in commemoration of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
There is a notable foreign export market in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the company's products, where in recent years a "cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
" of Merrythought Bears has developed; the depreciation of the British pound
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
against the Japanese yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
since 2008 has also helped sales there. The recent depreciation of the pound has also helped the company compete in the UK against imports, including those from continental Europe.
Displays of historic and current Merrythought products can be seen at the small shop and museum located at the company's Ironbridge site, which is open seven days a week throughout the year and is free to enter.
Merrythought Village
Part of the Merrythought site is now rented out to other businesses, as the company has scaled down operations, with many of the factory and associated buildings not in use by Merrythought rented out to other companies. The overall site therefore has become mixed use with office, workshop and retail units, and has been named the Merrythought Village. The Village at present includes the Merrythought company's factory and its teddy bear museum and shop, but is also home to Ironbridge Interiors, Crystal Labyrinth, Ironbridge Fine Arts and Framing, Ironbridge Scenic River Cruises, Admaston Firecraft Centre Ltd and the Ironworkers of Ironbridge. A final company is the Ironbridge Brewery, which brews real ale in the building closest to the Severn. The Merrythought site's historic name is the Dale End Works, sometimes still used on postal addresses.2012 Olympics
Merrythought was selected by the London Olympic Games organisers in February 2011 to produce the official teddy bears of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
, giving the company a further boost. A sizable production run of 2,012 is planned, though a name for the bear has yet to be chosen. Different bears have been produced to mark the Paralympic games.
Golly controversy
The golliwog, or Golly doll, a traditional children's toy dating back to the 19th Century, has in modern times come to be regarded as a symbol of racism against black people from less-illuminated times. In August 2011 the Sunday People tabloid criticised Merrythought for continuing to produce Golly dolls, quoting the former athlete Darren CampbellDarren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell MBE is a former English sprint athlete. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay...
who regards them as not in-keeping with "Olympic values". Although the company defended the dolls as "an innocent, traditional British toy" the range has now been discontinued, with a review of the overall product range given as the reason.
Further reading
- Axe, John (1986). The Magic of Merrythought: A Collector's Encyclopaedia. ISBN 0875882749
- Martin, Kathy (2009). Merrythought Teddy Bears. ISBN 9781844680320
- Rush, Pat (2003). More Merrythought Magic. ISBN 0954539206
External links
- Merrythought (official website)
- Museum of Childhood: Merrythought Bears
- flickr: photographs tagged with "Merrythought"