A Brief History of Hinges & Brackets in our time
Back to last century and 1985
In the beginning…
… there was Fred and Madeline who in 1984 opened a shop in Wincheap, Canterbury. Kitted out with a stack of old shop drawers and some redundant stock acquired for a good price, they started selling various hardware and household sundries.
But cast your mind back to the Eighties…
… (forgetting about the shoulder pads) and you will recall the rise of the large DIY depots which were invading towns everywhere. Inside, stock was piled high and prices were (meant to be) cheap, but people still wanted and needed to buy traditional, quality ironmongery and it simply wasn’t available in the sprawling ‘Sheds’ (as the big chains are known in the trade).
Could Fred and Madeline fill the gap?
Fred had form, having been involved in his family’s independent builders’ merchants in Tottenham, and Madeline was happy to make it up as she went along. She proved to be a canny business partner, selling tools, fixings and fittings, and took note when customers kept asking for items that they couldn’t find elsewhere. Why was nobody selling proper catches, bolts, knobs and handles? The seed for Hinges & Brackets was sown.
Here come the boys…
….and more branches. Demand for Hinges & Brackets’ ‘proper ironmongery’ meant the business expanded and new shops were opened in Ashford (1988) and Maidstone (1992). Fred and Madeline’s sons – Chris, Alan and Andrew – joined the family firm along with son-in-law, Martin Davey (make a note of his name – he appears again later).
And then there were four…
… as further branches were added. One of the boys went a-courting in Tunbridge Wells, so it made perfect sense for Chris to start both a shop and a family in the town in 1994. Bromley followed in 1997. Along the way a warehouse was developed, more staff were employed, Fred and Madeline retired, brothers came and went, leaving Hinges & Brackets as it stands today, owned and run by Martin Davey (remember him?) and his wife Jackie (apart from the original Canterbury branch, which Jackie’s brother ,Chris, still runs). Hope you’ve kept up…
What makes Hinges & Brackets unique…
…is our love of proper ironmongery. Our ethos is to sell only things that work and stand the test of time. We may not know our onions (or any other vegetable), but we do know our locks, handles, knobs and knockers. If you need something to pull, push, lock, shoot, close, click, flick or latch in your house (or office, or boat, or doctors’ surgery, or film set – we’ve covered them all), then hopefully we have the knowledge, range and quality of items for you.
A word from The Boss:
“One of the satisfactions of having been involved in a family owned and run business over the years is that we’ve been able to evolve and specialise in our own way. That means we’re very careful to source and supply the best architectural ironmongery we can. From the most up-to-date and secure locks and security systems down to the humblest hand-forged nail, we sell all manner of fixtures and fittings. There’s a reason we’re known as ‘proper ironmongers’ – it’s because we want to sell proper stuff that works. We hope you’ll come and visit one of our shops and find out for yourself.”
Martin Davey, Hinges & Brackets
