Heritage
We are proud of our heritage!
James Grove founded his business in 1857 with his wife, Ann Elizabeth and began by selling buttons from his hotel room as he travelled across Europe.
At that time, buttons were either made from Horn or Hoof. Many were compression moulded with crests; either fancy or military insignia. Interestingly, company archives suggest that both Confederate and Unionist sides chose to have their buttons made by James Grove during the American Civil War!
The Company was incorporated as a Private Limited Company on 11 January 1917 and records show that around 600 men and women were employed at that time, making and polishing buttons by hand.
Over the years, compression moulding of Horn and Hoof became too labour intensive and therefore too expensive and so the manufacturing process switched to injection moulded machines. The turning of Horn buttons on lathes however continued.
One of James Grove's traditional trades was uniform buttons, supplying the Ministry of Defence, British Railways, the General Post Office and many sports clubs. With the demise of traditional uniforms this now forms a much smaller part of the business. However, modern machinery allows personalised laser engraving on many types of button materials, compared to the original hand-stamping process on horn and etching on metal buttons.
During the 1950's James Grove started making synthetic buttons from a material called casein (made from a milk derivative). This material is now quite rare. The curing of the raw material is a lengthy manufacturing process, taking several weeks. The finish however is very smooth and shiny making an extremely desirable button, especially for the 'couture' fashion industry.
Today, the company, which is still owned by the Grove family, is the only manufacturer of real Horn buttons in the UK but has expanded its range of products to include Polyester, Metal, Leather, Nylon and Shell. A speciality remains the provision of buttons made from various materials displaying the individual logos of internationally renowned companies.
We are proud of our heritage and the fact that, in our field, we are the largest manufacturer of buttons in the United Kingdom and one of the largest manufacturers of real Horn buttons in the world.
Work has continued over the years to improve our manufacturing processes. In 2006 with an investment of £1.5m we moved into a brand new, purpose-built factory allowing us to further expand our in-house facilities.
James Grove and Sons are pleased to continue in the tradition of founders, James and Ann Grove and remain competitive within the world market place, whilst keeping loyal to their original concept of quality and reliability.
