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The story of a Buckinghamshire furniture company
From its beginnings in 1870 until it closure in 2001
and its rebirth as whiteleaf ltd
Part 4: Goodearl-Risboro' Ltd
Mostly taken from an account by WMG.
With further information from L.J.Mayes book:
'The History of Chairmaking in High Wycombe'.
Additional research by Mr. Ken Goodearl.
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The Company Trade Marks
The Wycombe company was known as Goodearl Bros. Ltd with the
trademark of a vase of flowers .
The Princes Risborough factory was called Risboro' Furniture Ltd, and it used the symbol of
Whiteleaf Cross
Since the amalgamation of the two factories, the name
Goodearl-Risboro' Ltd has been adopted, with 'Whiteleaf Furniture' as
the brand name. The trademark is now the shape of a White Beam leaf from
the trees grow on the local hills. These also supply some of the Beech timber
that provide much the raw material that the company uses.
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The frontage in Station Road .
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In the mid 1970's, a major reinvestment programme was undertaken at
the Sawmill. The Bandmill was replaced by a new electric
semi-automatic machine from the Belgian company Brenta.
The steam engine was scrapped, and the elegant chimney dismantled brick by
brick. Waste wood would now be chipped and stored, along with sawdust from
the Machine Shop, in a large silo.
Two new boilers were installed. They burned the wood chips as well as being able to run on oil. The steam produced heated the factory, the kilns and was
used in the Bending Shop.
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The Bandmill being installed.
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In the 1970's the Machine Shop was relocated into a new
building which joined the main Factory to the Sawmill.
Because the slope of the land, this was constructed as partly two
storey, the upper floor being level with the Sawmill, and the lower
with the rest of the Factory. A lift connected the two.
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Sawdust was stored in the large silo, 16 ft in diameter and 50 ft high, before being burned to heat the factory.
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The site in 1973. The new machine shop joining the sawmill buildings to the main factory.
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For many years the Company made fitted kitchen units, at Wycombe
as well as at Risborough, along with fireside chairs, dining chairs and
tables. In the mid 1980's the cabinet shop's production was switched
to the newly established range of bedroom wardrobes and chest of
drawers, and the manufacture of kitchen units ceased.
The increased capacity of the new shops allowed most of the old
Factory to be sold off. With the growing popularity of the new
Bedroom ranges, some of the Sawmill's under-utilised storage sheds
were refurbished to provide a modern working environment. A new
building was erected, which although reducing the length of the
gantry, providing greater production capacity, and enhanced loading
facilities for the companies fleet of delivery vehicles.
In 1999 the company name was changed to Whiteleaf Furniture Ltd.
On the 28th January 2001 the Company ceased trading. However, following a management buyout the Bedroom cabinet department continues in production at the present site.
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Kitchen Furniture Catalogue from 1957
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Beech trees waiting to be sawn into planks.
The overhead crane gantry extended to Picts Lane before it was shortened to allow the errection of the new Bedroom Assembly Shop.
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The Sawmill continued to cater for the Factory's timber
requirements, though in the final years there was a change of policy to buying in home grown plank rather than milling the trees. It also provided the sawmill service of Kiln Drying for the trade. Steam Bending was also
undertaken for other manufacturers, from as far away as Scotland and
the West Country, either by supplying the timber or using that
provided by the customer.
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