Kearley & Tonge Seal, Image & Held by Charlotte Goldfinch.
Found in Strood, Kent, 18mm.
KEARLEY / LTD / TONGE // LONDON
"Tea and Produce Merchants, of Mitre Square, London, E.C.
1876 Company founded by Hudson Ewbanke Kearley to import tea
1878 Began retailing own products at a shop in Brentford
1880 Began supplying other provisions to retailers
1887 The company became known as Kearley and Tonge
By 1890 had 200 branches known as International Stores.
1895 Incorporated as a Limited Company.
1895 International Tea Company's Stores was formed for acquiring and extending the wholesale tea, provision and food produce importers of Messrs Kearley and Tonge including their 200 stores in various parts of the country." From Grace's Guide.
More information discovered by Philippe Lanez - COSGB, "Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, son of a master builder was born at Uxbridge, in the county of Middlesex, in the year 1856. ... While still at Tetleys, he started to sell tea on his own account to small retailers, under an arrangement he made with Tetleys to purchase all his supplies from them. Thus began "Kearley & Company." It proved so successful that in 1876 a Mr. Heseltine, an influential member of Tetleys, offered to put money into the enterprise. That offer was accepted, a deed of partnership was executed, Kearley left Tetleys, and transfered "Kearley & Co., "to a poky little office at 10 Sparrow Corner, Minories, London, with a staff of two, a man and a boy--the man being Mr. H. J. Evans, afterwards one of the three Governing Directors. Two years later the business moved to better premises in Crutched Friars, again, in 1881, to Bury Street, St. Mary Axe, and finally in 1884, to Mitre Square.
Such progress had been made that in 1880 Heseltine left Tetleys and became an active partner, when "Kearley & Co." became "Heseltine & Kearley". Soon afterwards, they were joined by Mr. G. A. Tonge who had been an apprentice at Tetleys. The business was carried on as "Heseltine, Kearley & Tonge" until 1887, when Heseltine retired and the style "Kearley & Tonge" was adopted.
The year 1878 saw the opening at Brentford of the first of the retail branches. Others quickly followed and it is recorded that from 1880 branch after branch was opened in town and country. The early branches traded under the name "International Tea Co." The price list dated 1st January 1889 which is the earliest on the files, shows that by that time there were 200 retail branches--a truly remarkable growth in approximately 10 years. by Paul Green"
