The Gentleman's Shop Blog

Coate's Fitzwilliam Shaving Brushes

This attractive little Coate’s branded shaving brush has a hand lathe-turned handle and is filled with pure badger hair. Simpsons produced this line of “Fitzwilliam” brushes under the Coate’s brand name but as far as we know, they have never before been offered for sale. The Fitzwilliam is modeled on a brush that first appeared during the 1930′s. These brushes date from before the Vulfix take over of the Simpson brand and were manufactured in Somerset, around 10 years ago.

The graduated handle shape has lamp blacked detail to both sides,presented in simple acetate packaging, no box.

One size only.
Knot size: We think it is 17 or 18mm
Pure badger hair fill.
Overall height: 3 1/2 inches
Bristle loft: 1 5/8 inches
Please note all measurements are intended as a guide.
Where hand made items are concerned, these can vary from brush to brush.

James Coate established his first brush works in London in 1847 but moved out to Somerset in 1875, opening factories in Axminster and Chard. Coate’s later amalgamated with A Simpson, another brush manufacturer in 1990. Our sister company TGS Products Ltd has aquired the Coate’s company and a limited number of these brushes were included in the sale.

Coates factory in Axminster

The Coates brush company was founded in 1847. In about 1875 the company relocated to Axminster, Devon and Chard, Somerset where they continued making shaving, hair and toothbrushes. In 1941 the shaving brush company A Simpson lost their factory during the blitz and in the spirit of wartime cooperation Coate’s allowed them to continue production at their water powered factory in Chard.

 After the war the companies worked very closely together and eventually Coates amalgamated with Simpsons, but the name still lived on in the range of shaving creams that they continued to produce. The Simpsons company was sold in 2008 to another shaving brush manufacturer, but Coates remained with David Carter & Francis Woodhouse the previous Simpsons owners.

On 18th May 2010 our sister company purchased the Coates company and remaining stock of shaving creams, shaving brushes, hairbrushes, toothbrushes and a stuffed Badger! We intend restarting the production of shaving cream next month and intend introducing pre shave and aftershave balms in late summer of this year.

We have no Limes

Our suppliers have no Lime essential oil due to the closure of UK airspace and the ongoing disruption in freight forwarding that ensued.

This has led to a shortage of Limes based shaving cream and we have no Castle Forbes or Geo F Trumper Limes shaving cream tubes available. Once production is able to resume normal supplies will return to our shelves.

 So in the meantime, use sparingly!

Nimmer Mill, Somerset

Following a conversation with Francis Woodhouse, former owner of Simpsons shaving brushes, I decided to research the history of the Nimmer  mill from which Simpsons operated between 1942 and 1990.  Below is the entry in English heritages register of listed buildings.

Flour mill, now factory. Probably C17, enlarged C19. Roughcast right and pebbledash left over rubble, slate roof with coped verges right gable end, brick stack centre at butt joint with later addition, pair of overlapping brick stacks centre right in addition. Plan: original block left (north) with waterwheel masked by later additions of gable end, mill leat above, addition to south. Three storeys, irregular fenestration to earlier block partially obscured by sheds, the main feature of interest being blocked 3-light hollow chamfer stone mullioned window with hoodmould to left of entrance in shed, 4-light to right of wide plank door, addition lit 2 bays right, some leaded iron casements, entrance centre of whole range with plank door and remains of trelliswork wooden porch. Interior: overshot wheel with cast iron paddle and shaft drive remains in use and in fine condition, internal match-boarded partitions and features remaining from C19. The factory makes wooden hair brushes and appears to have altered little since the last century. A very interesting historical survival. {1}

English Heritage Listed Building Number: 430049. First Listed on 30/11/1987.

I have also found the following history of the mill relating to the shaving brush industry occupying it. In 1875 the premises were acquired by Messrs Coates & Co., Toilet Brush Manufacturers, of Axminster & London and in that year they advertised for “….for men and women to work at Nimmer Brush Works”. An article in a local newspaper paints an evocative but true picture of the processes carried on there “….inside the factory there was a strangely musty smell caused by an atmosphere foggy with bone dust…and we could see vices and chisels, whirling drills and quick-revolving saws, quaint moulds and patterns, revolving churn-like drums and all the various appliances that brought the rough leg-bones of oxen to dainty articles of toileteries”. In 1936 all of Messrs Coates business was concentrated at Nimmer, with a Mr.Brown as the manager. Amalgamating with another firm of brush-makers, Simpsons, the firm became world-famous for their shaving brushes, with the finest badger bristle heads and handles of ivory and even solid gold. The factory continued to be powered by the 16′ x 3’9″ waterwheel until the business finally closed in 1990. The waterwheel had not been particularly successful at generating electricity in spite of it having a governor added, and in the early 1920s an oil engine was installed, later superseded by a 5hp and then an 8hp Petter engine.

Sadly after Simpsons moved production to a more modern factory in Yeovil the mill fell into disrepair, but is now being restored by new owners, http://www.nimmermill.org.uk/index.htm

Bespoke Cufflink Box

Available in fine black calf lined with our own TGS pale blue / grey suede.

Our bespoke leather goods range has been manufactured for us by the company Daines & Hathaway which was  founded in 1922 and is one of the very few remaining leather goods manufacturers still producing entirely in England, rather than outsourcing to the Far East. These items are still hand made in Walsall using leather from a tannery in Yeovil, Somerset.

Alexander Simpson started making shaving brushes in the East End of London in 1919. He soon built up the business and in 1924, moved to Clapham where he established an award-winning reputation for his shaving brushes. In 1941, following the loss of his factory in the blitz,  Mr Simpson moved his business to the West Country sharing production facilities with the shaving cream and brush manufacturer Coates. The firm of A. Simpson & Co continued the tradition of making shaving brushes, entirely by hand, in a quiet rural backwater in Somerset, using techniques that had not changed since the firm was founded until the recession in the early 1990′s when the company experienced financial hardship and went into receivership.

At this point David Carter a Gloucestershire land agent was in hospital undergoing medical procedures. His one treat of the day was to read the Financial Times and when he read of Simpsons plight he felt he must act. Discharging himself from hospital he had his long time friend Francis Woodhouse, a Gloucestershire farmer collect him from London and drive down to Simpsons factory to meet with the receiver dealing with the disposal of the company. Apparently the deal was struck over many pints of Guinness in a local pub and the pair became the new owners within a month.

At this point the Simpsons factory was still water powered with only two electrical sockets in the building. The lathes were powered by a waterwheel on the side of the building and most lighting was provided using oil lamps. When production was moved to a modern building Russell, the handle turner, insisted that his water powered lathe come to. To enable this Mr Woodhouse had to calibrate the revolutions of the water powered lathe and have a gearbox attached to an electrical motor to turn the lathe at the same speed in the new facility! Production now carried on at the new facility until June 2008 when both Russell and Marjorie, who tied the shaving brush knots retired.

The name Simpsons lives on today with brushes being made by hand at the Progress Vulfix shaving brush factory on the Isle Of Man. Each shaving brush handle continues to be individually turned on a lathe. The handles are then polished and filled by hand with a knot of fine quality selected Chinese badger hair. The hair for each knot is sorted, weighed and tied by a skilled craftsman who then carefully cements the knot into the handle.

After the cement has cured the handles are given a final polish and the lettering is laser etched onto the handle instead of using the original method  of hand stamping by hand using traditional lamp black. Finally the distinctive SIMPSONS seal is applied. Each brush is individually presented wrapped in tissue and comes in a stout cardboard box in Simpson’s blue-grey livery. A leaflet on the care and use of the brush is enclosed.

In my opinion Simpsons shaving brushes are the finest in the world and an investment that all Gentlemen should make at least once in their life.