ELSTONE BARNSLEY ... Ever Heard?

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DedeHD

Lurker
Mar 1, 2021
13
48
Switzerland
Hallo to everybody, i recently saw vintage (1915) pipes marked as Elstone Barnsley, London Made.
I did some digging on the web and I came across this name: Henry Elstone, tobacconist based in Barnsley, Yorkshire, probably in the business from 1900 to 1980.

Does anybody have any piece of information on pipes sold under “Elstone Barnsley”? Any idea who use to manufacture the pipes for such brand?

Thanks!
 

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,414
6,222
It would require better pictures of the pipes, case and hallmarks to make a decent guess about the manufacturer, at least for me. Certainly records exist in various archives for Henry Elstone Ltd but whether they’d shed light on who they bought their pipes from a century ago is another matter.

I can tell you that Henry (1835-85) was a tea merchant turned grocer and tobacconist. With Henry’s first wife Lucy Price (1835-1868) he had two sons, George Henry Price (1858-1909) and John Alfred (1861-1920). Both were tobacconists when young, but George soon left the trade while John Alfred and later his son Alfred Claude (1901-1983) made it their life’s work.

The business was located on Market Hill from its earliest days, showing up at 9 Market Hill in the census of 1861, and then 14 Market Hill by the census of 1871. There it remained for over 110 years, continuing to appear at that location in phone books at least through 1984.

I should note that during John Alfred’s lifetime the business was named after him (“J A Elstone, tobacconist”). It wasn’t until some five years after his death that his son, Alfred Claude, renamed the business after the founder, christening it Henry Elstone Ltd in late 1924.

Expansion was far in the future during Henry’s lifetime and that of his son John Alfred. It was Alfred Claude who grew the business, adding a wholesale arm after WW2. Claude Elstone Ltd, as it was called, was established at 24 High Street where it remained over thirty years, disappearing about 1977. Other retail locations were opened too, one at 76 Howard Street (1955-1958), one at 6 Peel Street (1957-1960), and one at 25 Peel Street (1957-1961). This retrenchment suggests some degree of over-expansion, or at least declining fortunes as Alfred Claude neared retirement.

In any case based on your reading of the hallmarks the set in your photo would have been sold when Henry’s son, John Alfred was in charge of the shop.

If you’re sufficiently interested you can readily find various images of the shop at 14 Market Hill online.
 
Last edited:

jguss

Lifer
Jul 7, 2013
2,414
6,222
Ben Wade would be my first guess.

The “London Made” part makes Ben Wade problematic. Not necessarily impossible, but it does open a can of worms about the nature and duration of Ben Wade’s footprint in London. In any case it would be very difficult to prove, unless of course one of their maker’s marks is present on the silverwork (which I’d expect if these are their pipes).
 

DedeHD

Lurker
Mar 1, 2021
13
48
Switzerland
It would require better pictures of the pipes, case and hallmarks to make a decent guess about the manufacturer, at least for me. Certainly records exist in various archives for Henry Elstone Ltd but whether they’d shed light on who they bought their pipes from a century ago is another matter.

I can tell you that Henry (1835-85) was a tea merchant turned grocer and tobacconist. With Henry’s first wife Lucy Price (1835-1868) he had two sons, George Henry Price (1858-1909) and John Alfred (1861-1920). Both were tobacconists when young, but George soon left the trade while John Alfred and later his son Alfred Claude (1901-1983) made it their life’s work.

The business was located on Market Hill from its earliest days, showing up at 9 Market Hill in the census of 1861, and then 14 Market Hill by the census of 1871. There it remained for over 110 years, continuing to appear at that location in phone books at least through 1984.

I should note that during John Alfred’s lifetime the business was named after him (“J A Elstone, tobacconist”). It wasn’t until some five years after his death that his son, Alfred Claude, renamed the business after the founder, christening it Henry Elstone Ltd in late 1924.

Expansion was far in the future during Henry’s lifetime and that of his son John Alfred. It was Alfred Claude who grew the business, adding a wholesale arm after WW2. Claude Elstone Ltd, as it was called, was established at 24 High Street where it remained over thirty years, disappearing about 1977. Other retail locations were opened too, one at 76 Howard Street (1955-1958), one at 6 Peel Street (1957-1960), and one at 25 Peel Street (1957-1961). This retrenchment suggests some degree of over-expansion, or at least declining fortunes as Alfred Claude neared retirement.

In any case based on your reading of the hallmarks the set in your photo would have been sold when Henry’s son, John Alfred was in charge of the shop.

If you’re sufficiently interested you can readily find various images of the shop at 14 Market Hill online.
I’m amazed by the amount of information you provided. Thank you!!