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Explore our learning offer for schools, families and community groups
Uncover the rich history of Elmbridge with our latest online exhibitions
Want to discover more about your local area?
In 2024, Elmbridge Museum is marking the 150th anniversary of the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry, an integral part of our local heritage. At the Foundry, bronze was melted down and poured into hollow moulds (also made at the Foundry) in order to create artwork, statues, plaques and other items.
Situated on Summer Road, Elmbridge’s historic Bronze Foundry stood as a testament to craftsmanship and innovation since its establishment in 1874 by Cox & Sons. Over the years, it passed through the hands of notable owners like Arthur Bryan Burton, who employed large teams of talented metalworkers and left his unique mark on the foundry’s legacy.
Featuring a significant contribution from the descendants of Edwin Joseph Packham – a key figure in the foundry’s history – this exhibition delves into its rich tapestry of achievements and milestones. From casting monumental statues like those in Westminster’s Parliament Square, to exporting bronze works worldwide, the Foundry’s impact reverberated across continents. Here, we explore its remarkable journey, celebrating its enduring influence on art, industry, and our community.
Positioned on Summer Road in Thames Ditton, just bordering Greater London, the Thames Ditton Foundry is thought to have been erected on the grounds of a historic melting house beside the River Thames.
The site transitioned through various hands over the years. Initially founded in 1874 by Cox & Sons, distinguished ecclesiastical furnishing suppliers, the foundry specialized in casting bronze ornaments and statues. From 1880, the Foundry saw successive changes in management, firstly being taken over by Drew & Co. (1880–82), then Moore & Co. (1882–97), then being bought jointly by Arthur Hollinshead and Arthur Burton in 1897. On the death of Hollinshead in 1902, Burton became the sole owner of the foundry. It was to remain under his management until his own death 1933, but even then, the foundry continued to operate under Burton’s name under the management of his son in law, Louis Tricker, until the start of the Second World War in 1939.
When the war broke out, Tricker did not want to see the Foundry requisitioned for the manufacture of munitions, so it closed. In the 1940s, it was used by London Metal Warehouses for making industrial castings, and then by Metal Centres Ltd as a metal warehouse. The building was then sold to the District Council in 1972 and demolished in 1976, although a blue plaque is in place on the new building to mark the site’s history.
See the full Bronze Foundry timeline hereThese plans show the foundry in 1874, when it was opened in Summer Road. A purpose-built gantry crane was installed within the premises when it first opened, to enable the lifting of heavy bronze pieces. The crane was hand-operated, and straddled the entire workspace. When in operation, it could move across the whole foundry floor. An article in the ‘Foundry Trade Journal’ from 7th September 1972 described the crane and how it worked:
“Baulks of timber 13-in. sq. run the length of each side of the building. These are set upon brick pillars at a height of some 18 ft. Recessed into the timbers are steel rails, and upon these the gantry is free to move south-east/north-west along the foundry. Two 13-in-sq. timbers provide the span of 30 ft. across the building and, below these timbers, steel tie-bars effectively eliminate any tendency for the structure to sag…
…Affectionately referred to as ‘mandraulic’, the gantry crane with its fearsomely creaking rope tackle was by all accounts hard work for the apprentices, who had the job of working up aloft in the smoke and fumes that collected below the roof. Particular features of the building provided a conveniently terse vocabulary for giving directions: these were shouted from below as ‘road’, ‘chasing’, ‘furnace’, and ‘stove’.” [D. James, Foundry Trade Journal, September 7 1972]
Acetate plan showing the mounting of the Foundry Crane, Thames Ditton, built 1874 for Burton's Bronze Foundry.
A more detailed plan of the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry Crane, built in 1874 for Burtons Bronze Foundry.
A more detailed plan of the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry Crane, built in 1874 for Burtons Bronze Foundry.
Born in Kingston in 1860 to Eliza and Frederick, a carpenter and joiner, Arthur Bryan Burton was the oldest of 7 siblings. Before he was 11, he had been sent off to live with his grandparents in Long Ditton, possibly to ease the financial strain on his parents. This arrangement would end up being to Arthur’s advantage, as it was just a mile away from his grandparents’ house that the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry was to open in 1874, when Arthur was 14. Clearly keen to make the most of the brilliant job opportunity this local development offered, just two years later by the age of 16 Arthur had begun an apprenticeship at the Foundry, then under the management of Cox & Sons. In 1880, Arthur was at the Foundry when it was taken over by Drew & Co., and in this same year he had become a Chaser and Bronze Finisher, aged just 20. In 1887, Burton married the 28 year old Florence Louisa Moore, the daughter of the Foundry’s owner. The pair had two daughters, Florence and Dorothy (‘Dolly’) Burton, and Arthur soon went on to open and run his own foundry in Kingston in the 1890s. This must have been successful, because by 1897 he was in a position to buy the Thames Ditton Foundry with his business partner, Arthur Hollinshead.
Hollinshead’s death in 1902 saw Arthur Burton become sole owner of the Thames Ditton Foundry, and the business thrived under his management. Some of the successes he oversaw at the Foundry are covered later in this online exhibition, but his innovative methods saw the Foundry gain international renown throughout the following decades, attracting some of the most prominent artists of the 1900s to 1920s to commission work there and with Burton himself even receiving royal visitors at the Foundry.
Burton’s life after 1902, however, was not without misfortune. In 1908, his younger daughter Dolly died aged only 14, and she was buried at Bonner Hill Cemetery in Kingston. Arthur Burton remained dedicated to the local community throughout his time running the Bronze Foundry, serving as a councillor on Surbiton Council and acting as a deacon at Surbiton Park Congregational Church. During the First World War, he had served as a special constable in the local police force, and used his prominent local position to help find accommodation for 60 Belgian refugees. He was also a Sunday School teacher and strong supporter of the Scout Movement in the 1920s, furthering his love of the outdoors by becoming an avid gardener.
Arthur Burton died in 1933, and was buried with his daughter Dolly and wife Florence at Bonner Hill, Kingston. A bronze statue of an angel with its arms outstretched was placed on their grave, the statue having been cast at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry to which Burton had dedicated so much of his working life. Burton left the Foundry to his daughter Florence’s husband, Louis Richard Tricker.
Find out more about Burton on the Elmbridge HundredLouis Richard Tricker was a local man, and in 1913 he married Florence Burton, making him Arthur Burton’s son-in-law. He lived in Surbiton before his marriage, and must have been quite close to the owner of the Bronze Foundry, because on Arthur Burton’s death in 1933, Tricker continued the business under Burton’s name.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Louis closed the Bronze Foundry his father-in-law had owned and managed for so many years, because he did not want to see it requisitioned by the government for the manufacture of munitions.
Louis Tricker died in 1963.
The same year that Arthur Burton married his wife, Florence Moore, one of the Foundry’s most prolific workers was born in Weston Green to a local family. Edwin J Packham’s family had a long history in Thames Ditton and Weston Green. Both his grandfather, Joseph Packham, and his father, Henry Packham, had been the Parish Clerks between the years 1876 and 1915, and would have been very well-known locally. Edwin became a Foreman Chaser and Bronze Statuary Finisher at the Foundry, and worked on many famous bronze statues installed in London.
Edwin married Annie Fiveash in 1915, and they lived in a property named ‘Kenwyn’ in Weston Green. In the garden at Kenwyn, Edwin had a workshop, while Annie ran her Court Dressmaking business, ‘Packham, Neller & Fiveash’, from the main house. The couple had three sons: Brian, who worked for Esher News and later The Times newspapers; Christopher, who worked for Surrey County Council as a Public Health Inspector; and Philip, who was Deputy Chief Public Health Inspector for Staines Urban District Council and sadly died at the age of 41.
Edwin died in 1969 aged 82. He is described by his granddaughter, Jane, as a ‘slight, very quiet, kind, gentle, and artistic person’, who also sung as a chorister at Hampton Court chapel. For this exhibition, Jane has kindly donated and loaned a number of items relating to Edwin’s life and work at the Foundry, which are highlighted throughout the page.
Frederick Braddock’s photograph album is one of the most significant sources the Museum holds for the Bronze Foundry. Inside it are numerous images, newspaper cuttings and mounted photographs showing the Foundry in operation throughout the 1910s-1930s. This gives a significant insight into life and work at the Foundry on a day-to-day basis, as well as images of some of the Foundry’s finished bronze castings before they were sent off to be installed.
Born in Long Ditton and eventually moving to Tolworth, Braddock started out at the Foundry as an apprentice in 1897, the year that Burton and Hollinshead took over ownership. Still preserved in the Museum is Braddock’s indenture for apprenticeship, clearly signed by Braddock, Burton and Hollinshead.
Over the years at the Foundry, Braddock’s position advanced and he eventually became the Foreman Founder, being possibly the last of these to work at the Bronze Foundry. He would have been high ranking in the Foundry’s management, in charge of most of the workers and manual labourers, as well as being a talented metal-worker himself and producing bronze artworks and statues. Braddock was clearly talented, as in 1910 he won a second place medal for his entry in a competitive exhibition held at the Ironmongers’ Hall, London, by the Worshipful Company of Founders. The judges decided there was to be no first prize, so this was the highest award in its class. The Museum holds the competition invitation and programme, as well as Braddock’s certificate and commemorative medal, in its collection.
Braddock died in Surbiton in 1953.
Alfred Hobson Adley Snr, born c. 1885, embarked on his apprenticeship at Hollinshead & Burton’s Bronze Foundry in in 1899. For over two decades, until December 1924, Adley dedicated himself to the intricacies of foundry work, excluding a short break between October 1912 and November 1917.
Adley’s responsibilities encompassed the meticulous preparation of moulds, using a blend of sand, brick dust, and even horse manure to achieve the desired results. Notably, his son, Alfred Adley Junior, received his education locally, and the museum houses some of his schoolwork.
Upon Adley Senior’s departure from the Bronze Foundry in 1924, records suggest he faced redundancy. The museum preserves a letter signed by Arthur Burton, attesting to Adley’s exemplary character and expressing regret at the necessity of his departure due to a need to cut down the workforce. We know that sometime after this in the 1920s, he became a Special Police Constable for Thames Ditton, and that he was part of Weston Green’s Football Club Team. His son went on to work at Trianco at Orchard Lane, Thames Ditton, making beer crates for Giggs Hill Green Brewery.
Alfred Adley Senior died in 1953 and is buried at St Nicholas’ Church, Thames Ditton.
The Bronze Foundry’s workforce was predominantly male. Women, however, did still play a significant role in the Foundry’s story, and we find glimpses of their influence through a variety of primary sources related to the Foundry.
Frederick Braddock’s photograph album contains a number of images of Arthur Burton with his family. In one image, seen here, we can see Burton surrounded by various women, including his wife Florence and his daughter.
We know that women played a huge role in Burton’s life, and it is doubtful whether he would have bought the Foundry without the strong position given to him by his wife, who was the daughter of the Foundry’s owners in the 15 years prior to 1897. Burton’s two daughters were clearly also close to him, with the Foundry creating a statue for the grave of his late daughter Dolly in 1908 and Burton eventually being buried with her upon his own death several decades later.
Just like Burton, Louis Tricker’s ownership of the Foundry from 1933 likely came about because he was married to the late owner’s other daughter. Therefore, although apparently owned by a string of men, the Foundry was ‘kept in the family’ for 57 years through the female line.
Perhaps the most famous woman to influence the Foundry was Queen Victoria. Over the years, particularly in the late 1800s to early 1900s, the Foundry was involved in casting a huge number of Victoria memorials, statues and reliefs. Some of these are explored later in this online exhibition.
The long reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901 saw a number of milestones which brought business to the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry. At the time, Victoria became the longest-reigning monarch the country had ever seen, and her jubilees were commemorated with enthusiasm. In 1897, the same year that former Foundry apprentices Hollinshead and Burton took over the Foundry, the country celebrated Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee of 60 years on the throne. This busy year saw the Foundry produce a number of commemorative plaques, statues and medals of Victoria, to be distributed across the country.
This bronze relief of Queen Victoria, showing her left profile with the stylised dates 1837 and 1897 on either side, commemorated her Diamond Jubilee. It is signed in the bottom right by F J Williamson. Francis John Williamson (1833-1920) lived in Esher. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and received Royal Patronage in 1870 from Queen Victoria and other members of the Royal Family. At least thirty of his sculptures were cast at Burton’s Bronze Foundry in Thames Ditton.
The plaque is in an octagonal wooden frame with text at bottom reading “Bequeathed to Esher Library By Mr E J Packham Of Weston Green 1969”. It was cast at Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry, and this particular piece was clearly kept by Edwin Packham before being donated to the Library many years later.
This bronze medal is another example of some of the material produced at the Foundry for the Diamond Jubilee. It is perforated at the top for the attachment of a ribbon, and dozens more like it would have been presented to civilian notables such as soldiers and sailors taking part in processions through London during the jubilee celebrations. Similar gold and silver versions of the medal were given to the royal family, members of the Royal household, and army and navy officers.
It is decorated with an image of Queen Victoria and the inscription “Victoria Regina et Imperatrix”. On the back it says “To commemorate the Sixtieth Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria. 1837-1897, Weybridge.”
Just 4 years later, in 1901, Queen Victoria died, and another flood of work to commemorate her ensued, with the Foundry creating even more plaques and statues in the years immediately following her death and funeral.
Over the years that the Foundry was in operation, there were a number of notable projects and achievements for its workforce.
A document with printed alphabet styles and letter models used by Frederick Braddock at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry.
Hardback book entitled "Examples Of Modern Alphabets, Plain And Ornamental", used by Frederick Braddock at Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry.
Small cast moulds of cherubs, one of them gilded and the others un-gilded. The gilded one is mounted on a metal spike.
A mould with a model inside, used at Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry. The model is for the War Memorial which was cast for Thames Ditton Church.
This is a plaster cast model of part of the base for the Statue of Eros, cast at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry in 1929 and erected in Sefton Park, Liverpool, in 1932.
This is a mould of part of a column for the Statue of Eros, cast at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry in 1929 and erected in Sefton Park, Liverpool, in 1932.
Plaster cast model of the octagonal base for the Statue of Eros, cast at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry in 1929 and erected in Sefton Park, Liverpool, in 1932.
The first Statue of Eros was not originally cast at Thames Ditton but in a London Foundry in Windmill Street, and erected in Piccadilly Circus. When a copy Statue of Eros was commissioned for Liverpool in 1929, this was cast at Thames Ditton.
Plaster cast model of a column of the Statue of Eros, cast at the Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry in 1929 and erected in Sefton Park, Liverpool, in 1932.
Part of a model for a basin of a fountain, consisting of a straight length of mould with neat ends.
Metal templates used in the moulding process at Thames Ditton Bronze Foundry.
The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 affected virtually everyone. As the first total war the country had ever seen, many companies were required to help the war effort by adapting their activities to support it. This included Arthur Burton’s Bronze Foundry, with the workforce at Thames Ditton now pausing their usual activities to manufacture aero engines and brass shell cases.
The First World War came to an end in November 1918. Despite the Allied victory, it had seen a total of 880,000 British troops killed and hundreds of thousands more maimed and injured. The efforts to commemorate those who had died, gone missing or had no known grave created a flood of requests for new memorials across the country. The Bronze Foundry, no longer needed for armaments production by the state, began producing memorial plaques and statues for works across the UK. Closest to home, in Thames Ditton’s St. Nicholas’ Church, Burton and his entire workforce donated their time and materials for free, to create the bronze plaque of 84 names of the men from the parish who had died in the conflict. Over the following years, the Foundry also created memorials for the dead of Kingston and Wimbledon, and a small plaque for the fallen on the side of the Foundry building itself, dedicated to the members of Burton’s workforce who had died.
The war memorials Burton’s Foundry produced varied massively in both size and style. Some were dedicated to named local men, others more general commemorative works. Many of these are explored below.
- Charles Sargeant Jagger talking to the Daily Express about his decision to depict a dead soldier in the Royal Artillery Memorial, Hyde Park.
The First World War had come to be known as ‘the war to end all wars’. Despite calls of ‘never again’ and the national outpouring of grief, just over 20 years later, the Second World War was declared in response to the Nazi invasion of Poland. By this point, Arthur Burton had died, and the Foundry’s new owner – his son-in-law, Louis Tricker – knew that the new war would see the mobilisation of industry on a national scale again. The Office of Works (to become the Ministry of Works from 1940) was the government department responsible for requisitioning buildings and businesses for wartime usage. Tricker didn’t want to see the Foundry taken over for the manufacture of munitions as it had been 20 years prior, so to prevent this he decided to close the Foundry completely in 1939.
After Louis Tricker closed the foundry at the start of the Second World War to prevent it being requisitioned for the manufacture of munitions, it was sold to London Metal Warehouses Ltd, and later became a metal store owned by Metal Centres Ltd. In 1972 the site was sold to the council and demolished.
Following a campaign by the Surrey Industrial History Group to save the gantry crane, a new home had to be found to house this colossal piece of machinery. When the plan to relocate it to Ironbridge Gorge Museums in Shropshire fell through, the Old Kiln Museum in Tilford, Surrey (now the Rural Life Living Museum) agreed to temporarily house the structure where it was visited by Alf Adley, son of Alfred Hobson Adley who had worked at the foundry for over two decades. A permanent home was later found for the crane on a privately owned estate in Essex where it can still be viewed by appointment.
Interested in learning more about Thames Ditton's past? Discover the story of another significant local employer, the Milk Marketing Board, in our online exhibition.
Go to The Milk Marketing Board online exhibition