Thresher & Glenny
Encyclopedia
Thresher & Glenny, founded in 1683, is one of the world's oldest surviving tailors, shirt makers and outfitters. The company has held Royal Warrants since the late eighteenth century and makes court attire, and bespoke and ready-for-service gentlemen’s garments including suits, jackets, shirts and ties. Today the company trades through a retail outlet at 1 Middle Temple Lane, London.
district of London
dates back to its foundation. The original firm of bodice makers was established in 1683 near the Inns of Court
. In 1724, the hosier
Thomas Street began trading next to the newly-built St Mary-le-Strand, “where the maypole once o’erlooked the Strand”. His premisis was part of a small development of three houses and an inn (the Peacock) that had first been leased in May 1703 to Thomas Lee, citizen and merchant tailor, by the ground landlord, the Duke of Dorset
. The business was owned by several partners throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; in 1749, John Thresher was advertising as being “at the Peacock next door to Somerset House
in the Strand”.
The firm traded as Newham and Binham in 1768, and by 1777 was known as Newham and Thresher, using the new street numbering system and describing itself as of 152 the Strand. By 1784, the business had been taken over by Richard Thresher, and became official hosier to George III in 1790. Richard Thresher remained a partner until 1805 when George Thresher replaced him, and in 1817 the company was taken over by John Thresher. John Thresher traded as a hosier, mercer and masquerade maker in Panton Street, Haymarket between 1822 and 1835, and in 1827 described himself as “hosier, glover and flannel draper to His Majesty”.
By the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, the company adverts read, “Thresher Son and Glenny, hosiers to the Queen, Outfitters and Ready-made Linen warehouse, 152, Strand”. Among the firm's customers during this period was the Prince of Wales
(later Edward VII).
The Thresher and Glenny partnership was cemented by marriage over several generations, through which the Glenny name became predominant. The last family member involved in the firm, Henry Glenny, died in 1936, by which time the company had extended its operations to Clifford Street, Savile Row
, Conduit Street, Mayfair
and Gracechurch Street
in the City of London
.
, and a number of specialist items were developed for their specific purposes, including ‘Indian Gauze waistcoats’, and luggage for the transport of Thresher & Glenny clothing around the world. Luggage was an important part of the company’s business throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most probably through the acquisition of the business and trade book of Nicholas Ager Hoskins, trunk maker and dealer in brass and portable furniture. Thresher & Glenny designed overland trunks for journeys to India, as well as trunks that were custom made to fit the cabins of P&O
’s steamships to Malta
, Alexandria
and India. P&O’s information leaflets advised that the only regulation trunks for their vessels were supplied by Thresher & Glenny. Other inventions included the trenchcoat
worn by British army officers during the 1914-1918 war
(a claim also made by Aquascutum
). The company made over 28,000 trenchcoats over the course of the war, retaining in the 1930s a list of the first 15,000 purchasers, with their regiments.
Nelson
is the subject of the most famous anecdote regarding the firm:-
as shirt makers to the Royal Household
, and the company has original Royal Warrants dating back to George III in 1783.
On the occasion of King William IV
’s coronation in 1833, The Standard noted that the outside of Thresher & Glenny’s was illuminated with ‘a splendid crown’.
The Growth of the Firm
The company’s association with the StrandStrand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
district of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
dates back to its foundation. The original firm of bodice makers was established in 1683 near the Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
. In 1724, the hosier
Hosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as hose...
Thomas Street began trading next to the newly-built St Mary-le-Strand, “where the maypole once o’erlooked the Strand”. His premisis was part of a small development of three houses and an inn (the Peacock) that had first been leased in May 1703 to Thomas Lee, citizen and merchant tailor, by the ground landlord, the Duke of Dorset
Duke of Dorset
Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset. The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas Sackville, was a statesman, poet and dramatist and notably served as...
. The business was owned by several partners throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; in 1749, John Thresher was advertising as being “at the Peacock next door to Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
in the Strand”.
The firm traded as Newham and Binham in 1768, and by 1777 was known as Newham and Thresher, using the new street numbering system and describing itself as of 152 the Strand. By 1784, the business had been taken over by Richard Thresher, and became official hosier to George III in 1790. Richard Thresher remained a partner until 1805 when George Thresher replaced him, and in 1817 the company was taken over by John Thresher. John Thresher traded as a hosier, mercer and masquerade maker in Panton Street, Haymarket between 1822 and 1835, and in 1827 described himself as “hosier, glover and flannel draper to His Majesty”.
By the early years of Queen Victoria’s reign, the company adverts read, “Thresher Son and Glenny, hosiers to the Queen, Outfitters and Ready-made Linen warehouse, 152, Strand”. Among the firm's customers during this period was the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(later Edward VII).
The Thresher and Glenny partnership was cemented by marriage over several generations, through which the Glenny name became predominant. The last family member involved in the firm, Henry Glenny, died in 1936, by which time the company had extended its operations to Clifford Street, Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
, Conduit Street, Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
and Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street
Gracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....
in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Customers
Military, naval and colonial officers made up a large part of the company's clientelle at the height of the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, and a number of specialist items were developed for their specific purposes, including ‘Indian Gauze waistcoats’, and luggage for the transport of Thresher & Glenny clothing around the world. Luggage was an important part of the company’s business throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most probably through the acquisition of the business and trade book of Nicholas Ager Hoskins, trunk maker and dealer in brass and portable furniture. Thresher & Glenny designed overland trunks for journeys to India, as well as trunks that were custom made to fit the cabins of P&O
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
’s steamships to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and India. P&O’s information leaflets advised that the only regulation trunks for their vessels were supplied by Thresher & Glenny. Other inventions included the trenchcoat
Trench coat
A trench coat or trenchcoat is a raincoat made of waterproof heavy-duty cotton drill or poplin, wool gabardine, or leather. It generally has a removable insulated lining; and it is usually knee-length.-History:...
worn by British army officers during the 1914-1918 war
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(a claim also made by Aquascutum
Aquascutum
"Aquascutum" is a UK-based luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer, owned by Jaeger.-Company history:Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, when tailor and entrepreneur John Emary opened a high quality menswear shop at 46 Regent Street...
). The company made over 28,000 trenchcoats over the course of the war, retaining in the 1930s a list of the first 15,000 purchasers, with their regiments.
Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
is the subject of the most famous anecdote regarding the firm:-
- Nelson in 1797 lost his arm in a fight with a treasure ship off Santa Cruz. On his next visit to London he called upon Mr Thresher at the Sign of the Peacock, from whom he was accustomed to buying large quantities of silk stockings. Mr Thresher naturally hastened to express regret for the loss of the arm, but Nelson cut him short: ‘Tut, tut man; damn lucky for you it wasn’t my leg. I want another dozen pairs of silk stockings. (Westminster City Archives)
Timeline
- 1683 Bodice maker in the StrandStrand, LondonStrand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
- 1696 Bodice maker at the house 'next to the Peacock' inn
- 1703 Thomas Lee, merchant tailor, took lease of the premises 'next to the Peacock' inn
- 1724 Business taken over by Thomas Street, hosier
- 1749 Trading 'at the Peacock next door to Somerset House in the Strand'
- 1768 Firm in the hands of Newnham and Binham, 152 Strand
- 1770 Joseph Glenny born
- 1778 Newham & Thresher
- 1782 Lease on 152 Strand renewed
- 1783 First Royal Warrant to the firm
- 1784 Richard Thresher took over the firm
- 1790 Hosier to HM King George III
- 1795 1 Panton Street, HaymarketHaymarket-United Kingdom:* Haymarket , street in Westminster, London* Newcastle Haymarket, section of Newcastle upon Tyne city centre, England** Haymarket bus station, bus station in Newcastle upon Tyne, above* Haymarket, Edinburgh, area of Edinburgh, Scotland...
, bought by Richard Thresher - 1797 Nelson purchased stockings after losing his arm
- 1798 Thresher & Miller
- 1805 George Thresher took over the business, Thresher & Miller, hosiers to His Majesty. Richard Thresher, hosier, 15 Cheapside. John Thresher, hosier & mercer & masquerade warehouse, 24 Haymarket
- 1813 Emma, daughter of John & Elizabeth Thresher, hosier of 152 Strand, born 13 November
- 1819 John Thresher took over the business
- 1822 Thresher & Miller, hosiers to His Majesty, 152 Strand
- 1827 “Hosier, glover and flannel draper to His Majesty” Joseph Glenny died
- 1832 Thresher, Son and Glenny, hosiers and outfitters
- 1846 First T&G travelling trunk registered and Thresher & Glenny expand 152 and 153 Strand
- 1851 Exhibitor at Great Exhibition, warrant from Pasha of Egypt
- 1853 T&G's newspaper, "The Australian, Indian and Colonial Shipping Circular" published
- 1854 Outpost established at KadikoiKadikoiKadikoi in the 19th century was a village on the Crimean peninsula, in Ukraine, about 1 mile north of Balaklava. The Battle of Balaclava was fought on the hills and valleys to the north of Kadikoi in 1854. The village was later known as Kadykovka , and Pryhorodne...
, “between BalaklavaBalaklavaBalaklava is a former city on the Crimean peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government...
and the Camp, for securing safe custody and punctual delivery of parcels to the Army in the CrimeaCrimeaCrimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
”. - 1855 Thresher & Glenny fitted out Lord CanningCharles Canning, 1st Earl CanningCharles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG, GCB, PC , known as The Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Background and education:...
for his new role in India - 1873 Paul King, Inspector of Customs in China, took three Thresher & Glenny cabin trunks with him that were to see service for four more decades, and the firm equipped Sir Garnet WolselyGarnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount WolseleyField Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada, and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign and the Nile Expedition...
for the Ashanti War - 1877 Equipped officers for the Zulu WarsAnglo-Zulu WarThe Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...
- 1878 Canvas shoes dyed with ink for officers embarking for the Afghan WarSecond Anglo-Afghan WarThe Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in a manner...
. - 1882 Equipped officers for the Egyptian Wars
- 1885 H M StanleyHenry Morton StanleySir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
equipped by T&G to look for Emin PashaEmin PashaMehmed Emin Pasha — he was born Isaak Eduard Schnitzer and baptized Eduard Carl Oscar Theodor Schnitzer — was a physician, naturalist, and governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria on the upper Nile... - 1901 Henry John Glenny described as Indian and Colonial Outfitter, census; first representative sent to the USA
- 1904 Windows broken by suffragettes
- 1912-1914 Making clothes for the Emperor of JapanEmperor of JapanThe Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
- 1914 Invented the trenchcoat
- 1921 Opened new premises in 19 Clifford Street, Savile RowSavile RowSavile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
, and 5 Conduit Street, W.1 - 1931 Kitted out French explorer George-Marie Haardt and 41 team members for the 7,500 mile CitroënCitroënCitroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
Trans-Asiatic Expedition from BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
to PekingBeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... - 1934 Refitted the shop interior. Paul King's cabin trunks still in use, first Clemdan ready-made shirts made
- 1935 Fred PerryFred PerryFrederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row...
photographed with T&G manager, walking out kits created for semi-official tour, new shop front - 1936 Henry John Glenny died 18 August, Gracechurch StreetGracechurch StreetGracechurch Street is a street in the City of London which forms part of the A10. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, offices and Leadenhall Market....
branch opened - 1950 Member, Bespoke Tailors Guild
Royal Warrants
Thresher & Glenny currently holds a Royal WarrantRoyal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
as shirt makers to the Royal Household
Royal Households of the United Kingdom
The Royal Households of the United Kingdom are the organised offices and support systems for the British Royal Family, along with their immediate families...
, and the company has original Royal Warrants dating back to George III in 1783.
On the occasion of King William IV
William IV
William IV may refer to:* William IV of the United Kingdom * William IV, Duke of Aquitaine * William IV of Provence * William, Margrave of Meissen , also William IV of Weimar* William IV, Count of Toulouse William IV may refer to:* William IV of the United Kingdom (1765–1837)* William IV, Duke of...
’s coronation in 1833, The Standard noted that the outside of Thresher & Glenny’s was illuminated with ‘a splendid crown’.