Antique Brass F. WHITFIELD & Company SAFE Manufacturers Birmingham Logo Plaque

Some HISTORY of this company from "Grace's Guide"

F. Whitfield and Company of Oxford St, Birmingham made Safes

Presumably the successor to the safe-making part of the business of Samuel Whitfield and Sons of Oxford St, Birmingham

1872 Frederic Whitfield, of Viaduct Works, 52-54 Oxford St., Birmingham, patent fire-proof safe and block manufacturer

Presumably subsequently Whitfield's Safe and Door Co (1886)

1896/7 F. Whitfield and Co: Advertiser

MORE history off-of the WWW

In 1867 the Company was still owned by Samuel Whitfield, but by 1876 the sons Samuel and Frederic had come into the firm and it was then known as Samuel Whitfield & Sons, of Viaduct Works, Oxford Street, Birmingham.

By the 1880s Samuel Whitfield had died and his son Frederic took control of the Company, then to be called F. Whitfield & Co. Amongst other things their range of detector locks went up to having 12 sliders like that below: However Whitfield made some locks (not known how many, but those that exist are very rare) with 18 sliders - real top of the range jobs!

Later on the firm was known as Whitfield’s Safe & Door Co., of Birmingham and continued the tradition of using Mappin’s patent locks. However between the 1914/18 & 1939/45 Wars Whitfield used lever locks of the Milner type; for a time these were actually made by Bramah.

Bramah’s business was acquired by J. T. Needs & Co in 1871, and in 1901 they in turn were bought by the Whitfield Safe & Lock Company. After the 1939/45 War Whitfield was taken over by Milner Lock & Safe Co. Ltd, and shortly after their name disappeared from view!

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