Wicker baskets

[fogrider 175]

Just seen, on Bargain Hunt, someone bought a basket made by a Nottingham Company.  On the side , stencilled on -

                                      

                                                       ML &S Ltd

                                                       Nott'm.

 

I don't recall such a company but would like to know more as we used  identical baskets in  the City Fire  Brigade  to send kit on to another station. We called them "the laundry baskets" and I'm sure I saw them in the various City Hospitals too. We would have bought local for sure.

 

Can anyone elaborate please ?

 

Regards all

[katyjay 4,584]

There was a Morris, Wilkinson wicker works in Basford. Nowt to do with yours I expect. My aunt who married in 1927, her occupation at that time was wicker worker.  i think the River Leen had something to do with certain factories, like bleaching and dying and wicker.

[Cliff Ton 9,047]

I wonder if it might be these people.

 

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/books/nottsillus1898/general-trades14.htm

[fogrider 175]

Thanks both, not an exact tie up but an insight into that activity in the City. I will do some more digging on-line. Like lace, there could be a number of firms, even small long forgotten ones, I'll have a look in Kelly's next year in the archive centre,  I 'm looking forward to a day out in the City.

[DAVIDW 1,497]

From memory ,thought at first it was this firm but wrong initials ! . A photo that Cliff Ton posted a while ago , scroll down to photo of bus in front of White Bros. basketmakers

 

https://nottstalgia.com/forums/topic/15235-old-nottingham-photos/?page=2

 

Of course the baskets may have been made by an unknown company and been especially stencilled with another firms logo .The baskets shown in my link above were stencilled for a Fred Clements a Skegness pantomime operator .

 

 

 

[Brew 4,296]

When ballooning I was told some of the wicker baskets were, for a while, made by the Blind Institute as was. Perhaps they also made baskets for the textile trade as sub-contractors too.

[fogrider 175]

I found a vast on-line list of basket makers in the Nottingham area. Nothing tied in with ML&S so I now assume they were simply the people who used the basket, not made it. It could even be a sellers' tart-up to make it look more interesting to buyers. 

Never mind, some interesting history  never the less.

Regards all.

[Oztalgian 2,357]

11 hours ago, Brew said:

When ballooning I was told some of the wicker baskets were, for a while, made by the Blind Institute as was. Perhaps they also made baskets for the textile trade as sub-contractors too.

The Blind Employment Factory of Waterloo Road London started in 1799 as the School for the Indigent Blind and grew until 1901 when its site was purchased by the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway and it moved to Leatherhead and became the Royal School for the Blind. Many wicker baskets were used in the coal mines and for moving textiles around in the mills.

As katyjay said the was a Morris, Wilkinson and Co of Victoria Works Basford, they were established in 1889 and in 1914 had 230 employees.

Image from Graces Guide