Reference
X413
Title
The records of the firm of Messrs Taylor, Brawn & Flood, chemists of Bedford
Date free text
1831 - 1937
Production date
From: 1831 To: 1937
Creator
Admin/biog history
Messrs Taylor, Brawn and Flood Ltd began with a shop established in 1780 by Robert Palgrave, presumably on the site of the present Lloyds Bank in the High Street, where the shop stood in the 19th century. He is mentioned in the 1792 Bedford directory.
1839 John and Charles Palgrave (John died 1840 aged 45)
1840-1858 Charles Frederick Palgrave (died circa 1858), ? son of Robert, rebuilt the shop to a classic design (the building is the present Lloyds Bank in the High Street). The tradition is that he designed it himself, but as a Palgrave designed the Britannia Ironworks, one might imagine that a relative was an architect.
1858-1866 Stewardson and Taylor. Henry Stewardson had been assistant to Palgrave in the 1840s, specialising in veterinary medicine, and he took over the business in partnership with John Usher Taylor circa 1857.
John Usher Taylor (son of Joseph Taylor of Potton and nephew of Usher the architect) had been assistant to
Palgrave, and subsequently had his own business at St Ives, before returning to Bedford.
Stewardson retired in 1866.
1866-1897 Taylor and Cuthebert. Taylor descendants continued with John Mason Cuthbert, who had a chemist's shop next to Barnard's Bank at the foot of Bedford Bridge. He was a dentist.
1897 - Taylor and Brawn. H S Brawn came as an appretice to Mr James Taylor in 1887 from Stoke Goldington in Buckinghamshire
By 1906 Taylor, Brawn & Flood
The firm acquire the pharmacies of:
Harry Thompson, a shop late Sargeant's. Thompson was a chemist with a wooden leg who retired to become Borough Treasurer
and
Charles Hester, who specialised in leather dressing chemicals. He travelled in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire etc an supplied much on the brokerage system.
Taylor, Brawn and Floord also acquire for varyin periods pharmacies at: Ampthill (formerly May, Allen, Brown) and Sandy (W H Scott)
and they opened a shop at Kempston, where they also built, equipped and ran a good sized mineral water factory, The latter has been moved to Bedford.
[see articles by H S Brawn in Newspaper Cuttings, Bedfordshire Times]
Archival history
Deposited November 1970
X413/1-13 Prescription books (covering Bedford and district). [Prescription books "G" and "H" have not survived]
X413/14, 15 Indices to Prescription books
X413/16-21 Receipt Books
X413/22-24 other documents
Level of description
fonds