Chubb Lips Nederland BV is split into three divisions.

Lock Division. T.O. Df 46 million p.a. with 235 employees. They make mortice locks; Cylinder Locks and safe deposit Box Locks.

Safe division. T.O. Df 60 million p.a. with 200 employees

Electronics Division. T.O. Df 65 Million p.a. with 300 employees

(MHE report 17/5/99) (See "Lock and Keys through the Ages" by Vincent Eras)

Manufacturers of the "HODGES" Range of locks, bag frames and brief case fittings.  Set up by Mr Lisle and partner (Mr Hinton?) to manufacture the locks etc. that had been made by Hodges Locks (q.v.) / Samuel Wilkes (q.v.) after they went into liquidation in 1979.

Mr Lisle was the grandson of the Mr Edward Lisle who made Star motorcycles and cars in Wolverhampton.

On the 27^th May 1998 they moved to 17 Conduit Road, Norton Canes, Cannock, to give themselves larger premises.  On the 1^st June 2000 the company was acquired by C.W.Cheney & Sons Ltd of Birmingham.

FRANK LOWBRIDGE,  103 BLOXWICH ROAD NORTH,  SHORT HEATH

Key maker who used to cut cabinet keys in a small factory opposite the school gate.  Probably finished in 1950s.  Not existing in 1921 or 1970.  Nothing else known.

Founded in 1889. Originally manufactured all types of locks.  By the 1960s there was still a family interest, the company being run by Phillip Trevor-Jones. 

The company had become one of the major suppliers of locks to the motor industry, with factories in Europe to serve the European car industry.  

They were the first people to manufacture a steering column lock as original equipment for the Hillman Avenger.

A page from Wolverhampton Education Committee's Guide to Careers and Leisure. Published in 1967.

A Lowe & Fletcher padlock.

In 1976 they sold the car lock division to Chubb (qv), who formed L & F Willenhall Ltd, who remained in the original Church Street premises.  Lowe and Fletcher Ltd moved into the premises they had retained at Hatton Street, Bilston, where they made radial pin tumbler, padlocks, safe and a range of furniture locks. They also retained the Telford factory. As demand increased, another factory was opened at Clothier Road, Brislington, Bristol where they set up a new company Southern L&F Ltd. By 1996 the Lowe and Fletcher group of companies consisted of Lowe and Fletcher Ltd., Telford and Bilston; Lowe and Fletcher Metal Finishing Ltd., Bloxwich; Southern L & F, Bristol; Euro-locks sa nv, Bastogne, Belgium; Euro-locks sa, Folschviller, France; Euro-locks gmbh, Sulzbach, Germany. They had a turnover of £29,769,000 and employed 618 people. (Business West Midlands magazine August 1998)

On the 10th August 1998 moved their Bilston works to larger premises at Moorecroft Drive, Wednesbury.  This incorporated all the products that had previously been made at Lowe and Fletcher, Bilston, plus some of the locking devices that had been made at Telford.  This allowed the Telford site to be developed for the manufacture of window handles and locks.

From a Lowe and Fletcher early 20th century catalogue.

L & F WILLENHALL LTD.

Formed when Lowe and Fletcher (q.v.) sold its car lock division to Chubb Group in 1976, they remained in the original Lowe and Fletcher works in Church Street Willenhall.

They were later amalgamated with C E Marshall (qv) and eventually the Willenhall works became known by that name.

 

G. LUCAS & CO.  BILSTON

Originally the only record we had of this company was this name plate, provided by courtesy of Tony Beck. Photo courtesy of Tony Beck.

Then Trevor Dowson provided the second name plate (below) and the advert (right) which comes from Kelly's Stafford Directory for 1884.

The advert gives their foundation date as 1862 and says that they make safes, chests and bullion boxes and that they will gives estimates for large safes, iron doors and strong rooms.

Trevor also notes the firm's appearance in the directory for 1872, where their address is given as Staffordshire Safe Works, Hall Fields, Bradley, Bilston.  In the 1874 directory their address is given as Hall Fields, Daisy Bank, near Bilston.  In the 1884 advert shown above their address is given as Daisy Bank, Bilston. As Daisy Bank can be seen as part of Bradley, which itself is part of Bilston, it is safe to assume that the site of the works was in fact the same all the way through. 

Trevor finds the firm listed in the 1924 directory but not thereafter.  It is therefore likely that they closed at about this time.

Matt Page has now kindly sent us photos of his complete Lucas safe, which is shown below.

 

D. LYCETT AND SONS,  LONG STREET,  WALSALL

Run by the Lycett family, makers of locks and also suppliers and fitters of security equipment. 

In the 1960s were at Pleck Road, Walsall.  They moved into new premises in the 1970/80s in Long Street. 

In existence in a trade directory of 1987.  Put up for sale in January 2000 for £175,000.