In 1860 William Carr Stevens joined his father John Stevens in the flourishing organic and inorganic fertiliser business which continued to have its manufacturing base at the Limehouse and they opened offices at 33 Mark Lane and traded together under the name of Stevens Son & Co.

The beginning of Glue and Adhesives Production

In 1860 and in 1882 purchased the old factory at Queenborough started by Mr. Falconer, at this time known as "Queenborough Chemical and Copperas Works". Mr. Packard, a Sulphuric Acid Manufacturer from Ipswich inspected the site and production plant with William Carr Stevens prior to purchase.

Thus Sheppy Glue & Chemical Works Ltd. was formed on the first day of January, 1887.

A William Cotes became the Company’s Glue Production Superintendent, a position he was to hold for very many years. He had a son, Harold, who worked for the Company for a short period in the Glue Department. However, Harold was destined for a much greater career. He was largely instrumental in forming British Glues & Chemicals Ltd., which rapidly became one of the largest producers of Glues and Gelatine in the world, having an international reputation. In later years, he became that Company’s Chairman.

At the age of 54, William Carr Stevens died in the year of 1890 and his oldest son, John William Stevens, aged only 26, became the Company’s new Chairman.

New Marsh Works

In 1896 the business had expanded to the extent that it could no longer be operated within the confines of the town works. Therefore, some nineteen acres of land was purchased for the sum of £1,000.00 at Rushenden on the opposite side of Queenborough Creek to the Company’s existing Town Works. The owners at the time were the Royal Hospital of St. Katharine, a Royal Foundation of Nuns, whose original patron was Queen Matilda, wife of King Stephen. They had acquired the land in the year 1392 by grant from John of Gaunt. This is now the site of the Factory.

From the 1980's and onward

Glue Production continues at the Queenborough factory using old and more recent glue recopies. Sheppy still use traditional techniques to manufacture there glues.

Paul and Charles Stevens, who joined the company in the mid 80's are the 6th generation of the family business since its foundation, Paul and Charles Stevens recently became joint Managing Directors of the Sheppy group of companies.

Site Information

Contributors

The authors of this site are:

Paul Stevens (Text relevant to the historical, introductions and technical information)
Michael Stevens (Text relevant to the historical and technical information)
Richard Stevens (Text relevant to the links and introduction information)

The Web designers and creators are:

Richard Stevens Designer (Responsible for the design, planning and development of the site, also creation of templates and new pages)
Paul Stevens MD (Responsible for planning and updating the site)