Hotel and catering items
Whilst some of the items shown below might have been found in other situations such as in offices or in station facilities, we feel that they were more commonly to have been associated with GWR hotels and catering facilities. Postcards and books relating to Great Western Railway hotels are dealt with under the relevant sections elsewhere.
GWR ashtray
Another item which would have been found in any hotel or station restaurant, or indeed most other places, would be this aluminium ashtray dating from the 1930s. It is about 5¼" in diameter and is one of two examples held in our collection.
G.W.R. Clothes brush
This clothes brush is about 13⅜" long and was made by Davis Burrow and Sons of Leeds. The company was established in 1861 by Mr Davis Burrow and by 1882 the business was employing 38 men, 8 boys, and 9 girls. They made all kinds of brushes, including paint brushes, and supplied many of the railway companies of the time, eventually supplying brushes to British Rail. This clothes brush is of unknown date and origin but we think it dates from the 1920s or 30s. The GWR initials are formed by lighter coloured bristles, possibly originally white but now slightly discoloured through use. These brushes have also been seen with a small tuft of stiffer bristles on the back at the end of the brush.
Click or tap the thumbnail image to see a larger image.
GWR toilet paper
It is amazing that something which was intended to be instantly disposed of should have survived to make it into our collection. These are just two examples of perhaps many such variations which would have presumably been made available for use in GWR hotels, at stations, and perhaps even company offices. The printing is quite feint, but the initials G.W.R. can be seen at the foot of the sheets. At the top of one is an advertisement promoting Ucal Pile Ointment for this distressing complaint, and the second Be on your guard against infection Ucal Iodised Throat Lozenges. The sheets measure about 5" x 5¾".
Click or tap either thumbnail image to see the sheets approximately full size.
Ucal was the trade name of 'United Chemists' Association Limited' who manufactured this item. The company was essentially a co-operative concern which was started in Sheffield by Harold Miller in 1904 in order to give independant chemists the collective advantage of buying in bulk, and to manufacture its own products for sale by them. The first factory was in Sheffield, but by 1909 they had moved to Cheltenham. By the 1960s competition from big chains of chemists and also supermarkets began to challenge their market, but it was a series of fires, culminating in a very serious one in 1969 which ushered in the end. Ucal was eventually bought out by a competitor in 1972 and production in Cheltenham came to an end.
GWR silverware
Although described as being 'silerware', items such as these were actually silver plate being supplied to the GWR by a number of producers including Mappin & Webb, Walker & Hall, Gladwin Ltd., Martin Hall & Co., and Elkington & Co. Details, such as handle shape, might vary over time and between manufacturers but the range of silverware would remain fairly standard. Each item would bear the current crest of the GWR and various maker's markings which might include a date letter indicating year of manufacture, although such date markings were not standardised between makers and can be misleading.
These two items were made for the GWR by Elkington & Co. in Birmingham and both carry the post 1934 GWR roundel with the word HOTELS in a scroll beneath. The firm was founded by George Richards Elkington and his cousin, Henry Elkington, in the 1830s and they became renowned as a pioneer in the field of silver plating. The firm became part of British Silverware Ltd. in 1963.
The sugar bowl, shown on the left, is about 2⅞" diameter at the top, 3¼" diameter at the base, and is 2⅝" tall. A date letter 'Y' stamped on the base indicates that it was made in 1935. On the right is a sundae dish, probably dating from the late 1930s, which is about 3¼" diameter and 2¾" tall.
This mustard pot was made by Mappin & Webb during the late 1930s. On the base are stamped the GWR roundel and the word HOTELS in a scroll beneath. It also carries a date letter'D' within a shield, although it is not known which year this signifies. The pot is about 1¾" diameter at the top, 2¼" diameter at the base, and 1¾" tall. It contains the original blue glass inner which is 1" tall and 1½" diameter. John Mappin started his business, Mappin & Company, in London in 1860, this became Mappin, Webb & Co. in 1862 after he was joined by his brother-in-law George Webb. Mappin & Webb became part of British Silverware Ltd. in 1963.
Click or tap the thumbnail image to see the base markings.
