1755 headquarters london england products clothing services tailoring website www.thresherandglenny.com thresher & glenny founded in 1755 citation needed is one of the world s oldest surviving tailors shirt makers and outfitters . the company has held royal warrants since the late eighteenth century and makes court attire and bespoke and ready for service gentlemen s garments including suits jackets shirts and ties . today the company trades through a retail outlet at 1 middle temple lane in london england . contents 1 history 2 clientele 3 royal warrants 4 legal wigs 5 references 6 external links 7 see also history edit the company s association with the strand district of london dates back to its foundation . the original firm of bodice makers was established in 1755 near the inns of court . in 1724 the hosier thomas street began trading no connection next to the newly built st mary le strand where the maypole once o erlooked the strand . his premises occupied part of a small development of three houses and an inn the peacock that had first been leased in may 1703 to thomas lee citizen and merchant tailor by the ground landlord the duke of dorset . 1 in 1749 john thresher was advertising as being at the peacock next door to somerset house in the strand . the firm traded as newham and binham in 1768 ; by 1777 it was known as newham and thresher of 152 the strand . by 1784 the business was taken over by richard thresher and became official hosier to george iii in 1790 . richard thresher remained a partner until 1805 when george thresher replaced him and in 1817 the company was taken over by john thresher . john thresher traded as a hosier mercer and masquerade maker in panton street haymarket between 1822 and 1835 and in 1827 described himself as hosier glover and flannel draper to his majesty . 2 3 by the early years of queen victoria s reign the company adverts read thresher son and glenny hosiers to the queen outfitters and ready made linen warehouse 152 strand . in 1854 an outpost of the firm was established at kadikoi between balaklava and the camp for securing safe custody and punctual delivery of parcels to the army in the crimea . 4 in 1878 the firm supplied canvas shoes dyed with ink for officers embarking for the afghan war . 4 in 1901 the firm traded as henry john glenny indian and colonial outfitter . 5 the thresher and glenny partnership was cemented by marriage over several generations through which the glenny name became predominant . the last family member involved in the firm henry glenny died in 1936 by which time the company had extended its operations to clifford street savile row conduit street mayfair and gracechurch street in the city of london . 6 clientele edit military naval and colonial officers made up a large part of the company s clientele at the height of the british empire and a number of specialist items were developed for their specific purposes including indian gauze waistcoats and luggage for the transport of thresher & glenny clothing around the world . 7 luggage was an important part of the company s business throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries most probably through the acquisition of the business and trade book of nicholas ager hoskins trunk maker and dealer in brass and portable furniture . 8 thresher & glenny designed overland trunks for journeys to india as well as trunks that were custom made to fit the cabins of p & o s steamships to malta alexandria and india . p & o s information leaflets advised that the only regulation trunks for their vessels were supplied by thresher & glenny . 9 10 other inventions included the trenchcoat worn by british army officers during the 1914 1918 war a claim also made by aquascutum . 11 the company made over 28 000 trenchcoats over the course of the war retaining in the 1930s a list of the first 15 000 purchasers with their regiments . 4 nelson is the subject of the most famous anecdote regarding the firm nelson in 1797 lost his arm in a fight with a treasure ship off santa cruz . on his next visit to london he called upon mr thresher at the sign of the peacock from whom he was accustomed to buying large quantities of silk stockings . mr thresher naturally hastened to express regret for the loss of the arm but nelson cut him short tut tut man ; damn lucky for you it wasn t my leg . i want another dozen pairs of silk stockings . 12 royal warrants edit thresher & glenny currently holds a royal warrant as shirt makers to the royal household and the company has original royal warrants dating back to george iii in 1783 . on the occasion of king william iv s coronation in 1833 the standard noted that the outside of thresher & glenny s was illuminated with a splendid crown . 13 legal wigs edit in 2003 the independent reported on the consultation on abandoning the use of ceremonial wigs in english law courts writing that thresher & glenny took a week to make three barrister s wigs using horsehair from argentina . the article predicted that the firm would oppose the abolition of wigs . 14 references edit hilton prue dirsa f g signs of the old houses in the strand in the xviith and xviiith centuries the russell press 1910 pigot s directory john thresher hosier mercer and masquerade warehouse 24 haymarket 1822 sun fire office policy list john thresher of the corner of panton street haymarket as a hosier 1806 & 1829 guildhall library ref ms 11936 437 790573 and ms 11936 527 1109091 a b c westminster city archives st ann s street sw1 ref 301 27 1 1901 census the times 6 may 1843 westminster archives centre st ann s street sw1 ref 301 27 5 & 6 sun fire office policy list september 1834 guildhall library ref . ms 11936 544 1184049 westminster city archives st ann s street sw1 ref 301 27 2 westminster city archives st ann s street sw1 ref 301 37 the times 23 december 1915 westminster archives centre st ann s street sw1 ref 301 36 the standard 29 may 1833 verkaik robert may 9 2003 . wigmakers get their horsehair in a twist over irvine s plans to dress down courts . the independent . retrieved march 26 2012 . external links edit official website papers of thresher & glenny ltd. from city of westminster archives old magazine articles thresher & glenny catalog 1918 great coats facsimile images grace s guide thresher and glenny july 1917 posters 1 sources for black & asian history at the city of westminster archives centre 1854 1902 uniforms supplied for crimea 1854 indian mutiny 1858 afghanistan 1878 80 egypt 1882 sudan 1898 south africa 1899 1902 see also edit turnbull & asser arckiv biba anna valentine retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title thresher % 26 glenny & oldid 738103465 categories clothing companies based in londonluxury brandscompanies established in 1755british royal warrant holders1755 establishments in great britainhidden categories all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from september 2013 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 6 september 2016 at 22 45 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view