It’s one of Huddersfield’s oldest cloth companies and this year celebrates its 120th anniversary.
And to mark its special occasion cloth merchants Dugdale Bros & Co has developed an exclusive cloth, aptly named 1896.
The firm sells its cloth worldwide, including exclusive Savile Row in London.
The company – the oldest remaining cloth merchant in Huddersfield town centre – was set up by Henry Percy and Frederick Herbert Dugdale when Huddersfield was the centre of worsted wool fabric production. Using skilled designers, weavers and finishers, their ranges soon found favour with the finest tailors and their reputation quickly spread throughout Europe and the Americas.
Current owner Rob Charnock said: “Originally the business founded as a credit drapery on Railway Street but H P Dugdale was something of an adventurer and after a world tour in around 1904 he decided the cloth we made in Huddersfield was highly sought after by the merchant classes in the Far East and the Americas. Shortly after his return the business moved to larger premises at 13 Station Street and finally bought the old Post Office, opposite the current Post Office on Northumberland Street where we currently reside.”
Ironically for a company that specialised in material for military uniforms, the war years of 1914-18 and 1939-45 would prove particularly difficult, with Government restrictions on the sale of wool in the First World War and clothes rationing in the second.
In the 1960s Keith Charnock joined the firm. He had begun his professional life as an apprentice at John Foster’s worsted textile manufacturer in Queensbury and after National Service honed his skills at highly respected textile companies.
Eighteen years after joining Dugdale Bros Mr Charnock bought the company from Betty Dugdale, the last of the Dugdale family in the business.
Keith’s son, Rob Charnock, joined the company in 1990 and went on to acquire the firm from his father in 2000.
Today, Dugdale Brothers remain exclusive designers, fabric merchants and suppliers to Savile Row and top tailors, couturiers and retailers throughout the world.
It remains an independent family firm and is proud of its Yorkshire roots and the iconic textile history of Huddersfield provides a constant source of inspiration.
Mr Charnock said: “Cloth made in Huddersfield is the champagne of our industry and we at Dugdale Bros enjoy our reputation of being a renowned seller of high end British cloth. We carefully select the best raw materials and, after weaving, we naturally process the cloth with our soft Yorkshire water using the most modern machinery to give that perfect Dugdale signature finish.”
He said that 90% of weaving is done in Huddersfield and the remainder at Pennine Weavers in Keighley.
He added: “Pennine Weavers is run by Gary Eastwood, a Huddersfield lad, so everything is done to a Huddersfield recipe. We use W T Johnsons at Moldgreen to finish a lot of our sophisticated cloths and we are getting great results with Holmfirth Dyers who relentlessly invest in machinery and staff knowledge to help us achieve unique finishes not found anywhere else in the world.”
Dugdale Bros now has 16 people employed in Huddersfield – which is affectionately known as the Towers – a small team in London and a network of 12 agents and distributors around the world.
The company is celebrating te landmark anniversary by developing its iconic 1896 cloth.
Mr Charnock said: “After months of planning and countless yarn, weaving and finishing trials, we are proud to announce its imminent release, having just received our final chosen sample cloths. The secret to the 1896 cloth is not so much the wool as it is a fairly standard luxury yarn but rather the way it is constructed which is completely different to any of our competitors. It uses every single resource at W T Johnson, the most sophisticated cloth finisher right here in the heart of Huddersfield.
“After applying their most luxurious merchant finish known as ‘London Shrunk’ we lay the cloth in our conditioned basement on 150-year-old oak shelving which hold moisture and allow the cloth to lie stable under controlled weights to ensure everything remains in the cloth.
“With 1896 we are making the cloth itself the most important article and we are certain there is not another cloth on the planet like it.”
And who can afford to wear such fine cloth?
Mr Charnock said: “We are fortunate enough to supply the world’s finest tailors and designers, couturiers and film and theatre wardrobe departments.
As members of Savile Row Bespoke we have a pledge never to mention famous clients but I can tell you with surety that our cloth is genuinely worn by current members of the Royal family, globally recognised actors and sports people and, of course, my good self.”
