A.B. Burton
Other names: Cox and Son (1874-1880), Drew and Co. (1880-3), Moore and Co. (1883-97), Hollinshead and Burton (1897-1902), A.B. Burton (1902-33)
Foundation date: 1874
Active: 1874 - 1939
Function: Bronze foundry, bronze statue manufacturer
History or description: The foundry was established in Summer Road, Thames Ditton, in 1874 by Cox and Sons, a large firm of ecclesiastical furnishing suppliers, to cast ornaments and statues in bronze. A hand operated gantry crane, which moved the entire foundry floor to facilitate all major lifting work, was an integral part of the building constructed for this work.
The business, which produced a large number of major castings, became Drew and Co in 1880, then Moore and Co in 1883, and was taken over by Arthur John Hollinshead and Arthur Bryan Burton in 1897. After the death of Hollinshead in 1902, the foundry acquired the title of A.B. Burton, which it retained until his death in 1933. Burton's son in law, L.R. Tricker, closed the business and sold the foundry in 1939, when it seemed likely that it would be taken over for munitions manufacture. Thereafter it was used by London Metal Warehouses for making industrial castings, and then by Metal Centres Ltd, as a metal warehouse, until 1971-2 when it was sold to the District Council. The foundry was demolished in 1976.
Locations
Located at The Foundry Summer Road Thames Ditton | View on map
1930 (Circa)
The location of the Foundry shown on the interactive map is not correct because the address predates postcodes etc. and so isn't 'seen' by the software. The approximate location of the Foundry is identified in situ by a blue plaque. This can be found on one of the factory 'bays' of an industrial building located at the south-east end of Summer Road. [Information submitted by Jon Moore].
Institutional and Business Connections
Successor to Cox and Son
1880
Cox and Son founded the foundry at Thames Ditton in 1874.
Associated People
Employees included Leonard Edwin Grist
1901 (Circa)
This connection is a conjecture based on his place of residence (Thames Ditton) at this date
Employees included Henry C. Gaisford
1901 (Circa) - 1911 (Circa)
This connection is a conjecture based on his place of residence (Thames Ditton) between these dates
Partners included Arthur John Hollinshead
1897 - 1902
Trade name of Arthur Bryan Burton
1897 - 1933
Between 1897-1902 traded as Hollinshead and Burton, after his partner's death in 1902 Arthur Bryan Burton ran the firm until his death in 1933.
Descriptions of Business or Institution
Listed in The London Directory, 1930 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1930
p.309
Listed as 'Bronze Statue Manufacturer'
Sources
British bronze sculpture founders and plaster figure makers, 1800-1980
February 2011
http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/british-bronze-founders-and-plaster-figure-makers-1800-1980-1/british-bronze-founders-and-plaster-figure-makers-1800-1980-b.php (accessed 1 March 2011)
The London Directory, 1930 Post Office/Kelly London Directories
1930
p.309
Citing this record
'A.B. Burton', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/organization.php?id=msib1_1240307974, accessed 02 Jun 2023]
