Parker Knoll is a British furniture manufacturing company, formed in 1931 by British furniture manufacturer Frederick Parker and Willi Knoll, a German inventor of a new form of sprung furniture. With roots in the manufacture of high-quality furniture, the brand concentrated on mass-market products from the 1930s to the 1990s. The company was listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
in 1950, but taken private in 2004. After financial problems, it was acquired out of administration by
Sofa Brands International. In recent years, the brand has moved back to the higher-quality end of the domestic furniture market.
Frederick Parker
Frederick Parker was born in
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area.
In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...
in 1845. He started in business as a chair maker in 1869, after an apprenticeship at his father's furniture factory. He decided to concentrate on making high quality furniture by hand. After working initially in London, Parker moved to
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...
– a historic centre of the furniture trade in England – in 1898. Part of the business was to make furniture for
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
s, including the Palladian Lounge of
Cunard
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermu ...
's
RMS Aquitania
RMS ''Aquitania'' was a British ocean liner of the Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. She was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her mai ...
, and for
P&O liner
SS ''Ophir'', which was commissioned as a
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
, HMS ''Ophir'', in 1901 to carry the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (the future
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
, and
Queen Mary) to Australia. Parker also made furniture for the
Viceroy's House
The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...
in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, and a carved throne for
Emperor of Ethiopia
The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
. The business was incorporated as a limited company, Frederick Parker and Sons Ltd, in 1904. Frederick's son, Tom Parker, later took over the business.
Willi Knoll
Willi Knoll was born in Germany and served as a fighter pilot the First World War. His experience of uncomfortable seating in his fighter plane was the inspiration for his invention of a new form of sprung furniture, with a coiled steel wire string system across the seat and back, which he manufactured in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
. Knoll came to Britain in 1929 to find a manufacturer for his chairs using his patent.
Formation of Parker Knoll
After Frederick Parker's son, Tom, saw a sample of Knoll's chairs at
Heal & Son
Heal's ("Heal and Son Ltd") is a British furniture retail company comprising seven stores, selling a range of furniture, lighting and home accessories. For over two centuries, it has been known for promoting modern design and employing ta ...
, the two businesses quickly formed a new company, Parker Knoll, which was launched at the
British Industries Fair
The British Industries Fair was an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England.
The large complex of buildings was built in 1920 and was situated between Castle Bromwich Aerodrome and the railway line. For two weeks every year it was the most visite ...
in February 1931.
The new venture was quickly successful, with advertisements in ''
The Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' and ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' selling low-price tension-sprung furniture in a variety of basic designs. They also provided furniture for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Increasing demand led to the construction of a new factory in High Wycombe to a design commissioned from
in 1935; it was destroyed in a fire in 1970.
During the Second World War, the company manufactured
, and also repaired gliders, returning to furniture manufacturing after the war. The company was listed on the
in 1950. The company's
s became a signature item during the 1960s. The company opened new factory in
in the 1960s, which closed in 2003. Other factories in
plc in 1988, and acquired many other furniture manufacturers. The group was acquired by
Holdings Plc in 2000, and taken private by a company controlled by the Clarke family (the founders of Silentnight) in 2004. It was bought from Silentnight by
in March 2005, but Christie-Tyler collapsed into administration within months due to unpaid debts resulting from the financial problems of
in January 2005. It was acquired out of the administration of Christie-Tyler in July 2005 by
. Sofa Brands International also acquired other brands, such as
.