History

William Butler Simpson, born 1798 was an artist who inherited his talent from his father, and founded the firm in 1833, and building up the business during his lifetime before passing away in 1882 at the age of 84. In recognition of his efforts to promote the improvement of design, particularly in wallpapers, he was presented with a gold medal in 1849 by The Society of Arts.

In 1851 he was to receive a bronze medal at the International Exibition of Decorators, and was further made a Freeman of The City of London. In 1852 his two sons, William Fredrick, and Edward Henry, were apprenticed to the firm and later were made partners in 1860. It was they who altered the style of the firm to W.B. Simpson & Sons. The firm traded from 456 West Strand, opposite the Grand Hotel, but in 1868 moved to premises built by the sons at 100 St Martins Lane. The whole of the upper floors of 100 St Martins Lane was used as a tile painting studio and for Mosaic and Ecclesiastical "Opus Sectile" panels and stained glass. Single 8"x8" hand painted tiles then sold from 2 shillings (10 pence) up to 30 shillings (£ 1.50).
An arrangement was made in 1858 with George and Arthur Maw of tile manufacturers Maw & Co for the sole agency of their products in the London Postal District. This arrangement grew in 1862 when many new features in the tiles were manufactured such as printed patterns, decorative faience on architectural lines, and coloured enamel tiles for particular use on fireplaces. A pair of fireplace panels would sell for up to 30 guineas a pair! Simpsons also made their own tiles, usually on "bisque" supplied by Maw & Co to their kilns under the South Western Railway arches at Vauxhall, and later at Chandos Street, which later became The Civil Service Stores. A large business was also done in hand painted tile decorations for theatres, restaurants, turkish baths, and Cathedrals, many of which still exist today such as the Criterion Theatre, Holborn Restaurant, and St Asaph Cathedral. Eventually Fredrick retired in 1892, and Edward in 1894, handing over to Edward Graham and Fredrick Coleridge Simpson. They set about reorganising the company to meet the demands of large scale plain tiling required for the many new operating theatres, toilets and clinics throughout the country. They also had to meet the challenge of the largest contract ever undertaken by a single tile company at the time, the London Underground.

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