John Maple (furniture maker)
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John Maple was the founder of the furniture makers and upholsterers Maple & Co. in Tottenham Court Road, London.
Early life[edit]
John Maple was born on the 28th February 1815, the son of a yeoman farmer William Maple and his wife Hannah Adams in Thakenham, West Sussex. At 14 years old he was apprenticed to James Constable, a shopkeeper of Horley, Surrey.[1] To further his career, he moved to London soon after his apprenticeship finished and took a job as a salesman for Martin Atkinson, of 75 Bridge Road, Lambeth, a cabinet maker who had several workshops and showrooms. Whilst working there he met James Cook and in 1841 they went into partnership.[1]
Career[edit]
Cook and Maple bought the business of Francis Green Woollen Drapers at 145 Tottenham Court Road and later that year acquired the adjoining buildings, 146 & 147 Tottenham Court Road. Five years later they were advertising as drapers, carpet factors, cabinet manufacturers, upholsterers & general furnishing warehousemen and had opened carpet warehouses in Knightsbridge. Ten years after its formation, in 1851 the partnership was dissolved with Cook taking over the west London carpet business and John Maple becoming the sole owner of the Tottenham Court Road business trading under the name of J. Maple, with a new partner, his half-brother, Henry Adams.[1] By this time he claimed to have the largest furniture showroom in the world,[2] having rebuilt and combined the three main shops. His success was based on offering a wide variety of stock at to suit all budgets; you could buy a solid rosewood chair stuffed with hair and covered in silk for £15, a set of mahogany chairs for £6 or an inferior set for just £3. In May 1857 disaster struck when nearby building work caused the collapse of a large part of the store, but in typical Maple fashion he turned this to his advantage when rebuilding by adding an extra floor, making five in total. The Maple's eldest son, John Blundell Maple, joined the company in the late 1860s and proved to be a very astute businessman, taking over the practical running of the business within ten years and greatly expanding it in the later part of the 19th Century and early 20th Century. John Maple retired from the business in 1888.[1]
Family[edit]
On the 14th August 1841 John Maple married Emily Blundell,[3] whom he had met during his apprenticeship in Horley, initially living together in the upper part of 145 Tottenham Court Road. They had six children, Ellen (1842),[4] John (1845),[5] Emily (1847),[6] Harry (1850),[7] Clara (1853)[8] and Annie (1861).[9] In 1957 the family moved to a large house called Bedford Lodge on the corner of Haverstock Hill and Belsize Grove, Belsize Park[10] and they also acquired the country estate of Salfords in Horley.[11][1]
John Maple died at Bedford Lodge on Sunday 4 March 1900, leaving an estate of £892,503,[1] and is buried in a family vault in Highgate Cemetery with his father, mother, wife, eldest daughter and youngest son. It has been said that his monument resembles a grand bed.[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Maple & Co.; Cook & Maple; J. Maple (1841-1988)". www.bifmo.history.ac.uk. British & Irish Furniture Makers Online. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "Suite Success: Maple & Co". www.letslookagain.com. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Wade, Christopher (1991). The Streets of Belsize. London: Camden History Society. p. 18. ISBN 0-9044-91-28-5. Search this book on
- ↑ "Horley Local History Society". www.horleyhistory.org,uk. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
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