Fox Brothers

Fox Brothers originated in the clothier business of the Were family of Wellington. Their headquarters were at Trade Court, South Street, Wellington; they also owned two fulling mills. In 1768, Thomas Were's 21-year-old grandson Thomas Fox (1747-1821) joined the company, becoming partner in 1772 and sole proprietor in 1796. He introduced the FOX cloth mark and changed the name of the company (Fox Brothers from 1826). Thomas and his wife Sarah Smith, built in 1807, then lived in, Tone Dale House, Wellington – the house is still lived in by Ben Fox, five generations later. During the Industrial Revolution the company brought wool sorting, spinning, drying and weaving under one roof. It once owned nine mills, including Tonedale Mills and Tone Works, and employed nearly 5,000 workers. During the First World War it won a War Office contract to provide 852 miles (1,371 km) of khaki coloured cloth for military puttees.

Fox Brothers makes wool, worsted, cashmere and was the original creator of flannel for use in suitmaking and held the Trademark for 'Flannel' up to the 1950s.

The company uses looms which are 50 years old and maintains a pattern archive dating back to its foundation, said to be 'one of the most significant textile (company) archives in the British Isles'. Fox Brothers has made cloth for the suits of several famous people including flannel for Bob Hope, chalkstripe for Winston Churchill and Prince of Wales check for the Duke of Windsor. Hollywood legend Cary Grant was often photographed wearing Fox Flannel, at a time when leading men were expected to provide their own wardrobe for the films in which they starred.

Fox Brothers has won two Queen's Awards. The first was won in 1966, the year the award scheme was founded, for their export sales. The second was in 2006 in recognition of them manufacturing the world's lightest weight wool and cashmere flannel. The company released new versions of one of their 1782 pattern flannels for the Autumn/Winter 2007 season, using all British wool.