Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom. The company specialises in
soft toys
A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...
, especially
teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
s. Merrythought has handmade traditional teddy bears in the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge, Shropshire, UK since 1930. Merrythought is a family business famous for crafting the finest, jointed, mohair teddy bears adored by children and adults across the world.
The company's site in Ironbridge has a small museum and shop open to the public, and is where the toys are made. The site is a former iron
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
building on the banks of the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
, less than half a mile (0.7 km) upstream from the world-famous
Iron Bridge itself. The vicinity is known as Dale End, lying at the bottom of the
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge.
This is where iron ore was first s ...
valley, and falls within the wider
Ironbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge, containing the River Severn in Shropshire, England. It was first formed by a glacial overflow from the long drained away Lake Lapworth, at the end of the last ice age. The deep exposure of the rocks cut t ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
The origin of the firm's name is uncertain but possibly derives from an archaic word for "
wishbone
Wishbone commonly refers to:
* Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs
Wishbone may also refer to:
* Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company
* Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football
* Wish ...
" – the company has used a wishbone as an emblem from 1930.
[
]
History
Merrythought was founded in 1930 by Gordon Holmes and George H. Laxton, with the first catalogue in 1931. The company hired AC Janisch who had been in charge of sales at J. K. Farnell
John Kirby Farnell or J. K. Farnell was a London company which manufactured the first British teddy bear in 1906.
Beginnings and endings
Founded in Notting Hill, the firm was started in 1840 by a silk merchant, John Kirby Farnell, and made items ...
as well as two former employees of Chad Valley, Clifton James Rendle and Florence May Attwood, with Attwood producing the company’s first catalogue – an imaginative range of 32 toys including the first Merrythought teddy bear ‘Magnet’ (‘M’ series). Perhaps Merrythought's most famous individual bear was " Mr Whoppit", the mascot of land and water speed record breaker Donald Campbell
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
. The company first produced teddy bears based on the "Woppit" character (a teddy bear himself) from the Robin comic in 1956.[
The company at first rented rooms at the Station Hotel in ]Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
before moving to a building in Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge.
This is where iron ore was first s ...
; in February 1931 Merrythought moved permanently to its present site in Ironbridge.[ Business grew rapidly, despite the ]Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, with the Ironbridge site becoming the largest soft toy factory in Britain in 1935[ and by 1939 over 200 people worked for Merrythought. The company's site was rented at first, but was purchased from the ]Coalbrookdale Company
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge.
This is where iron ore was first s ...
in 1956.[ Merrythought has operated from the same site, situated between The Wharfage and the ]River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
, since 1931, with the exception of during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
when the site was requisitioned by the Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
(for map-making
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
) from the outbreak of war in September 1939. During the War, the company operated from Wellington and produced equipment for war use; Merrythought returned to their Ironbridge site in 1946. The oldest of the factory buildings had been constructed in 1898; further buildings were added to the site during the 20th century as the business grew.
Trayton Holmes, son of founder Gordon Holmes, joined the company in 1949; his son, Oliver Holmes, joined the company in 1972 and eventually became the managing director. Also in 1949 notable designer Clifton Rendle died, while Florence Attwood lived until 1952. After the war new buildings were built on the site and an automatic stuffing machine was bought from the United States in 1955.[ In 1957 the "Cheeky" bear was first introduced to the Merrythought range, a design which continues to be produced to the present day. In 1996 the ]Farnell Farnell is a surname, thought to originate from "Fern Hill". It is most common in the English county of Yorkshire. Notable people with the surname include:
* Anthony Farnell (born 1978), English boxer
* George Stanley Farnell (1861–95), classica ...
brand name
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
was bought by Merrythought. In 2001 a special Hope Bear was produced, raising money for the World Trade Center Disaster Fund.[
The company altered during the 2000s' due to "the ongoing effects of external economics", specifically cheap foreign-produced goods with which Merrythought could not compete due to the high production costs associated with manufacturing in the UK. Merrythought's extensive range of plush animals (which were all British made) was no longer competitive against products from overseas so production of these products ceased. In 2007 a catalogue was unveiled, with a "much sharper, collector-focused group of products",][ focusing on the traditional mohair teddy bears that Merrythought had become most famous for since the 1930s. From 2007 to 2010 an independent company took on production of the teddy bears in the original factory at the Ironbridge site, with Merrythought Ltd purely managing product development and sales. This was a short-lived partnership and Merrythought ended up bringing production back in-house in early 2010 and have since then continued to manage all elements of the business from Ironbridge, Shropshire. All Merrythought teddy bears are still 100% handmade in England.
Oliver Holmes died from cancer, aged 60, on 30 April 2011. The eldest of his three daughters, Sarah, was working at Merrythought at the time so took over the running of the company; she was shortly joined by her younger sister Hannah who left her career in London to join the family firm; together they are the fourth generation in the Holmes family to be involved in the company. Sarah and Hannah Holmes are now joint Managing Directors.
Merrythought was awarded the 2011 Supplier Award by the famous, luxury London department store ]Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...
(which has outlets in Japan), with limited edition bears for the store currently being made.
In 2011 Merrythought also won the prestigious, National, Red Ribbon Family Business Award for Innovation and Sarah Holmes won the Midlands Family Business Award for an 'Outstanding Contribution' to her business.
Present day
The company still uses traditional methods and materials (such as mohair
Mohair (pronounced ) is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. (This should not be confused with Angora wool, which is made from the fur of the Angora rabbit.) Both durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster ...
for its bears) to produce a limited range of hand-crafted toys, appealing to the high end of the market. The founder's grandson, Oliver Holmes, ran the business as managing director until his death in 2011; his eldest daughter, Sarah Holmes, has been involved in its management since 2010, and middle daughter Hannah Holmes since 2011, thereby continuing the Holmes family connection.[ As of 2011, all four ]shareholder
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...
s are members of the Holmes family.
The present range includes for the most part traditional and collectable
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any Physical object, object regarded as being of value or interest to a collecting, collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types ...
teddy bears (including the company's collectable "Punkinhead
Punkinhead, "the sad little bear", was a rubbery toy bear with a tuft of unruly orange hair. He was designed and developed into a storybook character by Canadian cartoonist Charles Thorson. The bears were manufactured by Merrythought company.
Pun ...
" (1948) and "Cheeky" (1956) variants), some other soft toy animals. Since the relaunch in 2007 the collectable part of the range consists of numerous special designs, each produced in a limited batch (typically between 75–200 units) and with new designs regularly coming onto the market. Recent commemorative bears include those for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton
The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The groom was second in the line of succession to the British throne. The couple had been in a relationship since ...
, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
, and in memory of the late Oliver Holmes.
There is a notable foreign export market for the company's products, with Merrythought teddy bears being sent all over the world, most significantly in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where in recent years a "cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
" of Merrythought Bears has developed; the depreciation of the British pound
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
against the Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...
since 2008 has also helped sales there. The recent depreciation of the pound has also helped the company compete in the UK against imports, including those from continental Europe.
Displays of historic and current Merrythought products can be seen at the small shop and museum located at the company's Ironbridge site, which is open seven days a week throughout the year and is free to enter.
Merrythought Village
Part of the Merrythought site is now rented out to other businesses, as the company has scaled down operations, with many of the factory and associated buildings not in use by Merrythought rented out to other companies. The overall site therefore has become mixed use with office, workshop and retail units, and has been named the Merrythought Village. The Village at present includes the Merrythought company's factory and its teddy bear museum and shop, but is also home to Ironbridge Interiors, Crystal Labyrinth, Ironbridge Fine Arts and Framing, Ironbridge Scenic River Cruises, Admaston Firecraft Centre Ltd, Ironbridge Arts and Antiques Centre and the Ironworkers of Ironbridge. The Ironbridge Brewery was located at the Village until 2014 (it moved to Wellington and has been renamed) and brewed real ale
Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous car ...
in the building closest to the Severn. A Co-op supermarket opened at the Village in December 2014. The Merrythought site's historic name is the Dale End Works, sometimes still used on postal addresses.
2012 Olympics
Merrythought was selected by the London Olympic Games organisers in February 2011 to produce the official teddy bears of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, giving the company a further boost. A range of London 2012 Olympic Games Commemorative Teddy Bears has been created each a Limited Edition of 2,012 pieces. Paralympic and Team GB Teddy Bears have also been produced. All of the Olympic teddy bears are handmade in England Merrythought's Ironbridge factory.[ Different bears have been produced to mark the Paralympic games. A bear has also been produced specifically for the British Olympic team.
]
''Golly'' controversy
In modern times some people now regard the golliwogg
The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...
, or Golly doll, that is a traditional children's toy dating back to the 19th Century, as a symbol of racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. From the 1930s Merrythought produced "gollies" as part of their traditional range and in August 2011 the ''Sunday People
The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881.
At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...
'' tabloid criticised Merrythought for producing Golly dolls, quoting the former athlete Darren Campbell
Darren Andrew Campbell, (born 12 September 1973) is a British former sprint athlete. He was the sprint coach at Wasps Rugby Club for the 2015–16 season. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay.
...
who regards them as not in-keeping with "Olympic values". The company defended the dolls as "an innocent, traditional British toy".[Shropshire Star](_blank)
Shropshire teddy bear maker Merrythought in golliwoggs row (15 August 2011) Since the company came under new management in 2011 the range has been discontinued, with a review of the overall product range given as the reason.
Special Editions
Frequently the company releases 'Special Edition bears' usually with limited numbers. In July 2013 to commemorate the UK Royal baby Prince George, the company has released a special limited edition bear Other Royal owners include The Queen, who was presented with a Merrythought corgi in 1952. Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
was given a specially-made hippo
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...
in 1982, while the Queen Mother
A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...
, Prince William and Zara Phillips
Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall (''née'' Phillips; born 15 May 1981) is a British equestrian, an Olympian, and the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal, and Captain Mark Phillips. She is the niece of King Charles III and is 20th in the line of succe ...
also have specially made bears.[ Tuesday, August 18, 2020]
Other previous special edition bears include a 2004 Merrythought bear called 'Heathcliff' where only 100 were made, unusually these were made with black mohair rather than the usual gold.
Gallery
File:Merrythought Henry bear 2011.jpg, A limited edition "Henry" teddy bear, made in 2011 with brindle-grey hair
File:Ironbridge Gold.JPG, An "Ironbridge Gold" teddy bear, one of the company's regular designs, made c. 2010
File:Teddy Bear Factory, Ironbridge - geograph.org.uk - 1027413.jpg, Iron railings with (metal) teddy bear heads, on the outside of the "Merrythought Village"
File:Teddy Fence, Coalbrookdale - geograph.org.uk - 1160588.jpg, A further section of teddy bear railings
File:Merrythought Factory, Coalbrookdale - geograph.org.uk - 1160591.jpg, External view of some of the buildings on the Merrythought site
Notes
References
Further reading
*Axe, John (1986). ''The Magic of Merrythought: A Collector's Encyclopaedia''.
*Martin, Kathy (2009). ''Merrythought Teddy Bears''.
*Rush, Pat (2003). ''More Merrythought Magic''.
External links
Merrythought
(official website)
Merrythought Teddy Bear Shop & Museum
{{Teddy bears
Stuffed toys
Companies based in Shropshire
Toy companies of the United Kingdom
Doll manufacturing companies
Toy companies established in 1930
British brands
Toy brands
Family-owned companies of the United Kingdom
2012 Summer Olympics
Museums in Shropshire
Teddy bear museums
Toy museums in England
Toy collecting
Luxury brands
Ironbridge Gorge
Telford and Wrekin
Teddy bear manufacturers
1930 establishments in England
British companies established in 1930