Thomas Skidmore & Son Safes
In this blog we share the little known information we can gather on Thomas Skidmore & Son, the safe makers of fire & theft proof safes.
Thomas Skidmore
The original company was named Skidmore and Langham and the two partners were brothers in law and was established in 1850 manufacturing a variety of of wrought iron security products including strong room doors & frames, bullion chests, fire & theft proof safes, deed boxes, steel grilles and cash boxes. By the year of 1884, the Thomas Skidmore & Son Company was well established and supplied the heavier end of the security market to such clients as Post Offices, Banks, Insurance Companies, Solicitors, Country Courts and other merchants.
In some of their adverts, the words "Royal Letters Patent" referred to the patents held by the company at the time. The adverts also had the words “by Royal Appointment”, but to whom, when and what for is not known.
The company continued to manufacture the Thomas Skidmore safes up until the 1920s. During this time, it was decided that the new machinery needed to keep making the Skidmore Safes was not worth the investment.
The company continued their operation, doing repairs and other work on their safes while selling safes with their name on them, but they were all made by other companies such as, S.Withers of West Bromwich at first, then Stephen Cox of Sedgley, followed by the Dudley Safe Co. This continued until about 1990 when all work ceased.
The legacy of the Thomas Skidmore & Son Fire & Theft Proof Safe Maker has left a lasting impression on those in the safe and vault industry for their high quality safes. They were a fine example of the craftsmanship of the master safe makers of the era.
We have attached original copied advertisement documents of the time when Thomas Skidmore & Sons products were at the top of their game.
We have also found many of the untouched original Thomas Skidmore & Son Fire & Theft Proof Safes that are still in perfect operation today and still providing a high level of security as what it was intended to do all those decades ago when they were first made. The craftsmanship and pride these master safe makers had in this bygone era is truly wonderful, they will never make them like this again.
(Thanks to the late Dick Rhodes, sometime partner in the Wolverhampton firm of Skidmore, Auctioneers and Estate Agents, which was established by the same Skidmore family.)
Safeguard Safes Technicians are experts in safe openings, service and repairs on all Thomas Skidmore & Son safes. So if you need a professional safecracker, or if you wish for your safe to be removed or relocated, or you have no need for it anymore and wish to sell it, call our licensed and qualified security Experts on 1300 764 971.