Hamptons Ltd, who, where and what were they?

[Oil-burner]

I have seen the name many times in connection with the refurbishment of catering vehicles for the GWR but can't seem to find much more about them. Can anyone fill in some of the background please? I was wondering how long they were in business, where they were located, what facilities they had, whether their premises were rail connected or whether they worked within the GWR works or their own facilities...

 

Any information would be gratefully received.

 

Ken...

[Neal Ball]

I don’t think it was just the catering vehicles they refurbished….. I think it was predominantly post WW2…. Suggest @Miss Prism might be able to help.

[Oil-burner]

Update:

 

Despite various sources naming the company as Hamptons Limited it was in fact Hampton & Sons Ltd, an old established furnisher and decorator of some repute who would manufacture and supply everything from furnishings for royal palaces, country houses etc down to cups and saucers. Head office in Pall Mall originally, later Kensington, and workshops at Ingate Place, Battersea including the large repository subsequently occupied by Decca Records and now SafeStore. Online sources will tell you they were contracted to work on the fittings for the RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Yacht Britannia.

 

Details of the contract with the GWR for "modernisation of seventeen restaurant cars and thirteen dining saloons" dated October 1946 are in Kew under reference RAIL 1190/128 which, unless somebody already has the document(s), will be my next port of call in due course.

 

Ken...

 

 

[The Johnster]

These would presumably be the rebuilt Collett vehicles that were given new window fittings with sliding ventilators replacing the original hopper type.  I remember them on South Wales expresses in the 50s, including the 'Red Dragon' until that got mk1 catering about 1958, the rebuilds being quite noticeable in trains of mk1 choccycream stock.

[Oil-burner]

I now have the documents from the archive, only a small file of 9 pages including the cover. They cover the proposed 4th Series of modernisations which, in the event, was cancelled post Nationalisation.

 

The first and second pages of interest, dated 13.9.46 and entitled "Reconditioning of Dining Cars" are Hampton & Sons estimate of the cost "to supply, deliver and fix the Cabinet & Joinery Work in the Coaches, as hereafter numerated, based on our specification and schemes submitted for the 3rd Series, finished complete with Floor Coverings & Curtains". These costs vary from £2,650. 9 .0 for the Diagram H.39 to £3,482.19. 4 for the H.13 and total £93,844. 8. 6 for all vehicles.

 

The third and fourth pages, dated 28th and 29th October 1946 are the Acceptance of the Offer by the GWR subject to obtaining the necessary financial sanction from the Ministry of Transport, and the form of undertaking by Hampton & Sons from which can be determined the vehicles in question. These were:

H.11 Nos 9507 and 9508, H.13 Nos 9523, 9532 and 9533, H.15 No 9545, H.36 Nos 9582 to 9587, H.37 Nos9588 to 9593, H.39 Nos 9611 to 9620, H.47 No 9641 and H.48 No 9639.

 

The fifth page, dated 14th November 1946 is an internal memo from the office of F.W.Hawksworth confirming that the order (Contract 5331) had been sent to Hampton & Sons on the 12th November.

 

Page six, dated 27th August 1947, is a letter from Keith Grand to Hampton & Sons: "I am advised by the Chief Mechanical Engineer that Dining cars Nos.9612 and 9615 (type H.39) and 9641 (type H.47) which were stabled away from Swindon during the war, have recently been sent into the works for examination and, in view of the comparatively good condition of the interiors, it is felt that the Company would not be justified in stripping them for modernisation by your firm but that such work as is necessary should be carried out at Swindon." This reduced the number to 27.

 

Page seven, dated 28th January 1948, a further letter from Keith Grand to Hampton & Sons, signals the end of the line for the contract. "Referring to our recent discussion regarding the renovation of dining cars when it was tentatively agreed that Hampton & Son should give up the fourth contract for 27 cars subject to our taking over the material, fittings, floor coverings, seats etc. ordered, and now on hand, in connection with the work. I confirm that this arrangement is acceptable so far as we are concerned and shall be glad to have your confirmation in due course". This is agreed by Hampton & Sons on page eight dated 30th January 1948.

 

End of file. Looking at some of the published photographs of the cars listed at or before the date of the contract, the modifications to the windows and ventilators had already been carried out, presumably by Swindon. They are not mentioned in the scope, it would appear from what is in the file that Hampton and Sons contribution was solely the furnishings and that any subsequent modernisation would have been dealt with by British Railways.

 

Original documents and drawings etc. relating to the first three contracts would probably be in GWR documents, I understand much of Hampton & Sons records were destroyed when their Pall Mall premises suffered bomb damage in 1940.

 

I hope this is of interest to some, well at least it answers some of my original questions. Feel free to hit the "yawn" button if so inclined.

 

Ken

Edited June 8, 2023 by Oil-burner

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, Oil-burner said:

I now have the documents from the archive, only a small file of 9 pages including the cover. They cover the proposed 4th Series of modernisations which, in the event, was cancelled post Nationalisation.

 

The first and second pages of interest, dated 13.9.46 and entitled "Reconditioning of Dining Cars" are Hampton & Sons estimate of the cost "to supply, deliver and fix the Cabinet & Joinery Work in the Coaches, as hereafter numerated, based on our specification and schemes submitted for the 3rd Series, finished complete with Floor Coverings & Curtains". These costs vary from £2,650. 9 .0 for the Diagram H.39 to £3,482.19. 4 for the H.13 and total £93,844. 8. 6 for all vehicles.

 

The third and fourth pages, dated 28th and 29th October 1946 are the Acceptance of the Offer by the GWR subject to obtaining the necessary financial sanction from the Ministry of Transport, and the form of undertaking by Hampton & Sons from which can be determined the vehicles in question. These were:

H.11 Nos 9507 and 9508, H.13 Nos 9523, 9532 and 9533, H.15 No 9545, H.36 Nos 9582 to 9587, H.37 Nos9588 to 9593, H.39 Nos 9611 to 9620, H.47 No 9641 and H.48 No 9639.

 

The fifth page, dated 14th November 1946 is an internal memo from the office of F.W.Hawksworth confirming that the order (Contract 5331) had been sent to Hampton & Sons on the 12th November.

 

Page six, dated 27th August 1947, is a letter from Keith Grand to Hampton & Sons: "I am advised by the Chief Mechanical Engineer that Dining cars Nos.9612 and 9615 (type H.39) and 9641 (type H.47) which were stabled away from Swindon during the war, have recently been sent into the works for examination and, in view of the comparatively good condition of the interiors, it is felt that the Company would not be justified in stripping them for modernisation by your firm but that such work as is necessary should be carried out at Swindon." This reduced the number to 27.

 

Page seven, dated 28th January 1948, a further letter from Keith Grand to Hampton & Sons, signals the end of the line for the contract. "Referring to our recent discussion regarding the renovation of dining cars when it was tentatively agreed that Hampton & Son should give up the fourth contract for 27 cars subject to our taking over the material, fittings, floor coverings, seats etc. ordered, and now on hand, in connection with the work. I confirm that this arrangement is acceptable so far as we are concerned and shall be glad to have your confirmation in due course". This is agreed by Hampton & Sons on page eight dated 30th January 1948.

 

End of file. Looking at some of the published photographs of the cars listed at or before the date of the contract, the modifications to the windows and ventilators had already been carried out, presumably by Swindon. They are not mentioned in the scope, it would appear from what is in the file that Hampton and Sons contribution was solely the furnishings and that any subsequent modernisation would have been dealt with by British Railways.

 

Original documents and drawings etc. relating to the first three contracts would probably be in GWR documents, I understand much of Hampton & Sons records were destroyed when their Pall Mall premises suffered bomb damage in 1940.

 

I hope this is of interest to some, well at least it answers some of my original questions. Feel free to hit the "yawn" button if so inclined.

 

Ken

Fascinating stuff Ken thank you.

 

When you say “from the archives…” is this your personal archive or the NRM / National Archive?

 

Do you have before and after photos?

 

Thanks, Neal.

[Oil-burner]

Hi Neal,

From the National Archive, Kew under reference RAIL 1190/128,  fortunately I asked for a page count before I travelled to look at it. 

Regarding the photographs and comment re windows and vents, these are all published sources and therefore subject to the usual health warning regarding captions (particularly the Russell examples) and copyright. That said a few examples may be in order:

 

H.11 No 9508 (on the list) appears in Fig 150 of Russell Appendix pt 2,  is not captioned, with modern windows, single waist lining and roundel.

 

H.13 No 9533 (on the list) appears in Part 1 of the David Geen series for Modellers Backtrack. It is shown "in late 1930s condition, fitted with six-wheel bogies and new windows."

 

In Part 2 of the same series Mr Geen notes that the Riviera sets (H.35, H.36, and H.37) were "all subject to rebuilding, which mostly amounted to window replacement, this taking place over the period from 1938 to 1943". He also comments that "Most of the Saloons (H.36/37) were refurbished by Hamptons in the post-war period", presumably post this contract cancellation? A photo of the interior of H.36 no 9582 in 1940 with the replacement windows appear in Russell Appx2 fig 304. There is an interesting comparison to be made with Fig 314 of the same volume which shews the reconditioned interior of W9586 in 1951 which, to my mind, confirms that Hampton & Sons were not involved in mods to the structure of the cars.

 

H.47 No 9641 and H.48 No 9639 were (according to the Backtrack articles) the non air conditioned pair which had airstream vents fitted in 1937 and were then flush-glazed later the same year.