0:00:02 > 0:00:04This is a series about the hidden histories
0:00:04 > 0:00:07of Britain's oldest family businesses.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Few businesses last beyond two generations.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Against the odds, these families have
0:00:15 > 0:00:19survived in their trades for more than three centuries.
0:00:19 > 0:00:25This is the 188,933rd day of Balsons at work.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29They've come through 50 recessions,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31the Industrial Revolution,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35two World Wars and the rise of internet shopping.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Really, things were very sad after the war. There was no money,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43there was no money anywhere.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46We'll meet the present-day head of each family
0:00:46 > 0:00:48as they face a crossroads in their working life
0:00:48 > 0:00:51and we'll follow them as they go on a journey
0:00:51 > 0:00:54into the past of their business.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59"Jonah Toye." Fantastic! I was very worried about Jonah.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03This time, we tell a tale from the world of regalia.
0:01:04 > 0:01:10Toye & Co make medals, uniforms and ceremonial clothing.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Today, the company is run by Fiona Toye.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Everything you can see on this trolley has been made here.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20The Orient Express, West Yorkshire Police, Salvation Army.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22People have worn regalia for centuries
0:01:22 > 0:01:25as a symbol of their standing in the world.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28But it can be an unpredictable market.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Fiona is about to see how her family business
0:01:31 > 0:01:33has survived for generations.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35I just want to know what happens, what happens next?
0:01:35 > 0:01:37It's as good as Downton.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This is a story of identity and status,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and how it's been displayed through the ages.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46All told through one unique family business.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56In 1980, Fiona met Bryan Toye,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00the head of one of Britain's oldest family businesses.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02They married and had four children.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07But in 2006, their lives were turned upside down
0:02:07 > 0:02:11when Bryan had a near fatal heart attack
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and Fiona was called in to help run the company.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Hi, Kush.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Now she is the Chief Executive of Toye & Co.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Morning, Gary. Morning, Chris.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27And is responsible for the firm's showroom, two factories
0:02:27 > 0:02:29and 132 staff.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34'It is an immense responsibility to take on a family firm like this.'
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Hi, Karl.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39We've got all the component bits - the pink and grey ribbon.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40Something he made earlier.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46I think it's very akin actually to a stately home,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49a stately factory even.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Today, Fiona is at one of the company's factories in the Midlands.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Here, Toye & Co use traditional techniques
0:02:59 > 0:03:01to make thousands of items
0:03:01 > 0:03:05for the military, exclusive societies and foreign leaders.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09They even recently helped to revamp the Kremlin.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16Back at home, they make honours and regalia for the Queen.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- Hello, Mick.- Hello.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23They go on the centre of the CBEs.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28This is an OBE, which is something
0:03:28 > 0:03:30I think we're very well known for doing.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Toye also weave the ribbon the medals hang from.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38It's funny the amount of times when you have people saying,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41"Well, what do you do?" And I go, "Well, we make insignia and regalia,"
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and even then they go, "OK, so what do you do?"
0:03:44 > 0:03:48We show people's status.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51This centuries-old business is one of only a handful
0:03:51 > 0:03:54of regalia-making companies left in Britain today.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Now, Fiona has to shape it for the future.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02I'm not a blood Toye. Obviously, I've married into the family
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and so I don't have the same knowledge of where we come from,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08where it all began.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11From this journey, I'm hoping to find what the heritage is,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15what the real thread is that has been unravelling through all these years,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20what the business was like, how it's evolved and I hope that
0:04:20 > 0:04:23having discovered all these things, that may, in some ways,
0:04:23 > 0:04:24help influence the decisions
0:04:24 > 0:04:27that we will make for the future of the business too.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Fiona has been told that the Toyes have been involved in business
0:04:37 > 0:04:40since the late 17th century.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43But she's never seen documentary evidence
0:04:43 > 0:04:45about the early years of her family business.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49All she knows is that its origins are in silk weaving.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59The British silk weaving industry originated in London's East End,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01so Fiona has come here to see
0:05:01 > 0:05:04if she can find any information about early Toyes.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09At St Leonard's Church in the heart of the East End,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Fiona is meeting Reverend Paul Turp.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14- Hello.- Hello.- Fiona.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16- Hi. Fiona Toye.- Hello.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19We have something intriguing for you. Come in.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Through public records, the Toye family has been traced back
0:05:24 > 0:05:28to William Toye, who lived in this area in the mid-1700s.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Paul has unearthed a crucial document
0:05:32 > 0:05:34which tells us about his life.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Someone with the name that you'll recognise walked on these stones
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and they were going to get married.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44- Oh, wow!- Right here.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50This is a photocopy of a page out of an old register,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53so you have a look and you see what you can find.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58Keep going.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Oh, William Toye!
0:06:04 > 0:06:09And Ann Lebay, married in this church by banns,
0:06:09 > 0:06:15the second day of October in the year 1768.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18But you see, they can't write their own name.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22This is just saying his mark and her mark. They couldn't write.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- They can't write.- They can't write.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28As far as we can make out, Ann is 15 years old.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31The other thing which we have sussed out,
0:06:31 > 0:06:37- Ann was seven months pregnant. - Ah. Oh, dear. Yes.
0:06:37 > 0:06:44Oh, dear. So, if...if Ann had a child out of wedlock,
0:06:44 > 0:06:49a bastard child, the implications are massively serious.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52What does she end up with? What happens to her?
0:06:52 > 0:06:57She'd try and get a job, maybe doing sort of scullery work, as it were,
0:06:57 > 0:06:58like the poorest of the poor,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02and she would have been dead by she's 25 years old.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08- So, at least William was good in that he stood by her?- He married her, yes.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13What is interesting, this is where we start doing the detective bit.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16All of these are on the Sunday afternoon.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19The fact that it's a Sunday afternoon means
0:07:19 > 0:07:21that these are very poor people.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Sunday afternoon is the only time you got off work.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28At the time of William and Ann's marriage,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33most of the working poor in Georgian Shoreditch were silk weavers
0:07:33 > 0:07:37and it's almost certain that William and Ann were too.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The weavers here were artisans and many of them came from families
0:07:41 > 0:07:44that had been in the trade for at least a century.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48It hasn't been proved who William Toye's father was,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51but it's very likely that, by 1768,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55the Toye family had been weaving silk for generations.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59The discovery of William and Ann is, for me, really, really exciting
0:07:59 > 0:08:01and to actually now imagine this real couple,
0:08:01 > 0:08:06this young girl expecting a baby, I just hope it was a happy story
0:08:06 > 0:08:11after this, but it is terribly exciting. Really, really exciting.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Now Fiona wants to know more about what it was like
0:08:16 > 0:08:20for William and Ann to live and work in this area in the 1760s.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24So she has come to a preserved silk weaver's house,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26round the corner from St Leonard's Church,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28to meet historian Kathy Chater.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34So, William and Ann, what kind of people were they?
0:08:34 > 0:08:37How did they live? What was this area like?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Well, actually their entire married life was spent
0:08:40 > 0:08:44within about 200 yards of here, the whole area here, Norton Folgate.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- Oh, good gracious.- It wasn't a slum, right at the bottom,
0:08:48 > 0:08:49and it wasn't right at the top.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51They were what was known as the middling sort.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54They were the working poor and they got by.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56So, if they did not work...
0:08:56 > 0:08:58They did not eat.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I've just seen the church where they were married,
0:09:01 > 0:09:02a bit of a shotgun wedding.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Well, actually Ann brought a bit more than just her fertility
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and her youth to the marriage. She brought special skills.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12We know about Ann because later in life,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15she applied to enter the French Hospital.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Ann's application to the French Hospital states that she was 80,
0:09:20 > 0:09:26nearly blind and a silk weaver. Run by a charity,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30the hospital offered care to the French working poor of the East End.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35But it was exclusively for a particular kind of French immigrant,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38those with Huguenot heritage.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41The Huguenots were Protestant refugees
0:09:41 > 0:09:44who had fled persecution in France in 1685.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Ann could only have applied to the hospital if she had Huguenot origins.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55What the Huguenots brought from France
0:09:55 > 0:09:59was their skills, in silk weaving particularly.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01France was the centre of fashion at that time.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Everybody wanted to dress like the French - their clothes,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07their ribbons, their decorations, the whole lot.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11So she was bringing quite an important amount of kudos really
0:10:11 > 0:10:13to the marriage and so, by marrying her,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17William acquired contacts and the same kudos as she had.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20This is absolutely fascinating
0:10:20 > 0:10:24because you can see, obviously, you were saying about the cache
0:10:24 > 0:10:29of the Huguenot heritage of skill and expertise in weaving,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and how that was obviously a very, very important marketing tool
0:10:32 > 0:10:36even in those days, and so what does interest me is not only, obviously,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41that William got a lovely bride in Ann, but he was as interested
0:10:41 > 0:10:47in her heritage and the cache of her family skills that came with it.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51You can see they're a very, very good influence, the French Huguenots,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54and how attractive that would have been to William,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57so, yes, I just want to know what happens? What happens next?
0:10:57 > 0:10:59It's as good as Downton.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04William and Ann Toye were most probably self-employed artisans.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09There's no record of precisely what the silk they wove was used for.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12But because it's an expensive material to produce,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16silk has always denoted status and power,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18so it's been used for regalia for centuries.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22As early as the 1300s,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Edward III set up the exclusive Order of the Garter
0:11:25 > 0:11:30and silk was often used to make the regalia worn by members.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Even today, Huguenot heritage is important to Toyes' business.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42The family has always thought it came through the male line.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47But the only documentary evidence Kathy has been able to find
0:11:47 > 0:11:49is that Ann Debay had Huguenot origins.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Fiona is at home in the Cotswolds catching up with her daughter, Lily,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58who used to work for the company.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02It is interesting, the Toyes do still, obviously,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05very strongly have Huguenot ancestry,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07but it comes in through the female line
0:12:07 > 0:12:09when William marries Ann Debay.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- Oh, my word! - So, Ann brings Huguenot blood
0:12:12 > 0:12:15and Huguenot weaving skills into the family.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Ah. Glad to know that the females started playing
0:12:17 > 0:12:20- such an important part that early on.- Yes.- Good to know.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Just as significant, the female line is as significant as the male line.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Would the Huguenot strand actually at that point,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30obviously with William already being a weaver, would it have actually
0:12:30 > 0:12:34been a sort of profitable marriage for him in the sense of he gets the Huguenot strand?
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Oh, yes. If you think, I am sure marrying
0:12:37 > 0:12:41the 15-year-old pregnant girl, I am sure he was taking a step up.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I am a hopeless romantic,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45so we'll call it a love and strategy marriage.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Yes, a strategic love match.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52It is amazing to think that there's this incredible woman
0:12:52 > 0:12:56who actually is a relation in distant past
0:12:56 > 0:12:58that I've never heard of before.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07It's believed that William Toye was in his late 40s
0:13:07 > 0:13:09when he died in 1796.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Ann died 37 years later, aged 80, in 1833.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19The family trade was continued by their son, Jonah,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21who was also a weaver.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25The Victorian age was about to begin
0:13:25 > 0:13:27and the Industrial Revolution was in full flow.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33But the once thriving silk industry was in peril.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37The craftsmanship of East End silk weavers like Jonah
0:13:37 > 0:13:41was threatened by wage cuts and new automated looms
0:13:41 > 0:13:45pioneered by a French weaver called Jean Marie Jacquard.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51Within a generation, the silk weaving area of London's East End
0:13:51 > 0:13:54had become one of Britain's most notorious slums
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and many weavers were destitute.
0:13:59 > 0:14:05Fiona wants to find out how the Toyes survived these difficult times.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07So she's meeting historian Hilda Kean
0:14:07 > 0:14:10in the East End of London, near Brick Lane.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12In the mid-19th century,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16times were very difficult for the trade.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18General silk weaving
0:14:18 > 0:14:21certainly is in massive decline.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25What happened in 1860, there is a commercial treaty
0:14:25 > 0:14:30which essentially allows cheap imports of silk from France.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36And it's almost overnight that the general silk weavers
0:14:36 > 0:14:41- just lose their jobs. The market just crashes.- Yes.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Around this time, Jonah Toye disappeared from public records.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50But Jonah had a son, William Henry.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55And according to census records, William Henry had been living
0:14:55 > 0:14:59at the heart of the silk weaving industry as a teenage apprentice.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05Now, we do have information about William on the 1851 census.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Fantastic. Thank goodness!
0:15:07 > 0:15:10So, let's have a look at this.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12So, over here we've got William.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- Oh, he's the head of the family. 26 years old.- Yeah.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17And a handloom weaver.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Now, all around, people are giving up weaving
0:15:21 > 0:15:24and going into other areas,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27and, logically, that is what you would do,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and this is a man who doesn't do that.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34It's interesting that he specifies that he's a hand loom weaver.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36I think you're absolutely right,
0:15:36 > 0:15:43because what he's referring to as a handloom weaver is tradition
0:15:43 > 0:15:47and he's saying, "I have a skilled job.
0:15:47 > 0:15:52"I am linked in to the earliest Spitalfields weavers,"
0:15:52 > 0:15:56who were seen as THE specialists,
0:15:56 > 0:16:01the ones in silk, you know, the expelled Huguenots, et cetera.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04"I am linked in with this tradition."
0:16:04 > 0:16:07This is very interesting to me.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10We have this young man and he is weaving,
0:16:10 > 0:16:16keeping to the family trade and is obviously determined to succeed.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21Yes. What starts then to happen is that the ones who survive
0:16:21 > 0:16:27tend to be the specialists, making things such as trimmings.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- So, it's silk trimmings that they can...- Laces and ribbons.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Absolutely, and laces and ribbons and trimmings,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and things that can be used at the high end of the market.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Silk trimmings are intricate ribbons or decorative bands
0:16:45 > 0:16:48used to enhance clothes and regalia.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54And because trimmings are specialist by their very nature,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57very few people are doing this
0:16:57 > 0:17:02and that seems to be where William is going.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06That is why I think he probably survives.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- A canny young man... - Very much so.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12..because he must have seen that, you know, the trade was changing
0:17:12 > 0:17:15and he would have learned to be a very, very tough character
0:17:15 > 0:17:18when you think where he began his life in such penury.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23In 1851, the Toye family silk weaving business seems
0:17:23 > 0:17:26to have been surviving by specialising.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34In the mid-19th century, the demand for specialist trimmings
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and regalia was growing.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Up until the early 1800s, it was predominantly
0:17:40 > 0:17:43the upper echelons of society who wore regalia.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49But by the 1850s, Britain was becoming a great industrial power
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and some working men found there was more money in their pocket
0:17:52 > 0:17:54than they'd ever had before.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58They subscribed to clubs and societies.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00When they met together in this way,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04they tried to show a sense of communal identity
0:18:04 > 0:18:07and they often did this by wearing silk regalia.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Fiona wants to find out
0:18:10 > 0:18:14if William Henry tried to cash in on this new trend.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16So she has come to the National Archives
0:18:16 > 0:18:19to meet textile archivist Julie Hall.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24Hi, Fiona. Welcome to the National Archives. I'm Julie. Come this way.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27This is a register of designs for copyright.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31As you can see, the date at the top of the page is 1861
0:18:31 > 0:18:36and if you look down the page, you might find a name that's familiar.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Oh, yes, indeed. William Toye.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43There he is and he has applied to copyright two designs
0:18:43 > 0:18:45by the looks of it.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49From what I know of the family, they were jobbing weavers.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53This is obviously beneficial to him, is it, once you're setting up
0:18:53 > 0:18:55in business? To make sure people...
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Absolutely. It's interesting to speculate why he decided
0:18:58 > 0:19:00to register these designs
0:19:00 > 0:19:04and as we'll see, they're quite linked in theme
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and so it may be that he was trying to enter a new market,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11and he was quite keen not to have his designs copied by anybody else.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15So if we just turn the pages carefully...
0:19:17 > 0:19:19..these were the designs
0:19:19 > 0:19:22that William Toye was registering for copyright.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Heavens! They are extraordinary, aren't they?
0:19:25 > 0:19:26Good gracious me!
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Heavens! That's absolutely amazing. What's the story behind those?
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Well, the AOF on this design stands for the Ancient Order of Foresters
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and they were a friendly society who are still
0:19:44 > 0:19:46actually in existence today.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49They were set up prior to the welfare state system
0:19:49 > 0:19:52and members would contribute into a central fund
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and then, in times of hardship, they would be helped out.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And this, similarly, we think it's the symbol of the Oddfellows,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01which was another friendly society.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05So, possibly he was making the designs speculatively
0:20:05 > 0:20:09in the hope of getting a contract, but we can't really be sure.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13I'm just absolutely thrilled. This is quite fantastic.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16It's such a direct link with what we do today.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20- I think we actually make for both of these organisations.- Gosh, really?
0:20:20 > 0:20:23- I have a feeling we make for both of these.- Right.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Also another thing that intrigues me
0:20:25 > 0:20:27is exactly what were they making out of this?
0:20:27 > 0:20:29What was that going to be?
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Well, we can't be sure, but possibly they could have been related to
0:20:32 > 0:20:36personal regalia, which the friendly societies were very keen on.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And this one in particular looks as though
0:20:39 > 0:20:41it may have been part of a sash.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45They did have sashes which were blue with white stripes along the edges.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51This is rather nice because I'm trying to get an idea of William
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and he's coming across as rather entrepreneurial.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Yes, he seemed to be trying to make a go of things
0:20:57 > 0:20:59- in difficult times for the industry.- Yes.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10This has certainly given me a very clear idea of William
0:21:10 > 0:21:13operating on a very small scale,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15perhaps quite literally a family affair,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and he has looked at opportunities
0:21:19 > 0:21:23and thought this will be good business, and so has taken a risk.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25So I'm liking William, though,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29he's looking at what's happening in the market place,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33what is happening socially and trying to make some money from it,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35which is what you need to do, isn't it?
0:21:43 > 0:21:47According to census returns, in 1871 William Henry was still
0:21:47 > 0:21:51in the East End, a stone's throw from the streets he grew up in.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56But now the business was growing and he was living and working
0:21:56 > 0:21:58out of at least two properties in Bethnal Green.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Fiona wants to find out what kind of character William Henry needed to be
0:22:05 > 0:22:08to prosper after such difficult beginnings.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12So she has come to Mile End in East London
0:22:12 > 0:22:15to meet historian Peter Higginbotham.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- Fiona, lovely to meet you. - Hello, Peter.- Hello.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22So 1871, we've got William Toye doing quite well -
0:22:22 > 0:22:25he's got two properties on Collins Place,
0:22:25 > 0:22:31and 1871 census, another member of the Toye family pops up.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Ooh, Toye! Toye...
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Jonah Toye!
0:22:37 > 0:22:40William Henry's father was called Jonah.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43He had disappeared from public records in 1851.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49This is almost certainly the same Jonah reappearing in 1871.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Well, he's here amongst a long list of people.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56- It doesn't actually have an obvious address.- Yes.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01We can tell you where this large group of people lived,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03if I pull out the...
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Don't know if you can read that centre line there.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10- City of London... Oh, in the workhouse.- Hm.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16While William Henry was prospering, his father Jonah had fallen victim
0:23:16 > 0:23:18to the most dreaded fate of the Victorian poor.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Now, the workhouse in question was actually up in Homerton,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and the building no longer survives.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29But we've got what you might call its sister institution
0:23:29 > 0:23:31not very far away and we can go and have a look
0:23:31 > 0:23:34and just get an impression of what kind of place it was.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41It's really a very good example of a Victorian workhouse -
0:23:41 > 0:23:46- high walls, grim...- Well, it looks a little like a prison,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48so I mean, how did you get in there?
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Had Jonah done anything wrong or...?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52The only thing he'd done wrong was be poor.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Well, he was poor, yes. You didn't get put in a workhouse,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58you resorted to the workhouse, you know,
0:23:58 > 0:24:03when you'd run out of other options, if you were destitute.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09Jonah died in the workhouse in 1876.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13It's not known if William Henry ever heard about his father's fate,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17although the workhouse was just half a mile away from where he lived.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23In this new free-trade capitalist society,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25you had the winners and you had the losers,
0:24:25 > 0:24:31and here in one family you've got a fantastic illustration of it.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34You've got Jonah. I mean, he was just boom - hit from the start,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38he just never seemed to be able to get a chance.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44Certainly he ended up breeding a tough nut in his son William.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48William was born into the utmost poverty
0:24:48 > 0:24:51and he decided he was going to be a winner, by hook or by crook.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59William Henry died in 1886, ten years after his father, Jonah.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04He left an estate worth £350 as well as several properties.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06He had done well.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Today, William Henry's face greets Fiona
0:25:19 > 0:25:23every time she arrives at Toye & Co's London office.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26He is the first Toye to have a portrait on the wall.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29And at the top of the stairs
0:25:29 > 0:25:32is a portrait of his great-great-grandson,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Bryan Toye, Fiona's husband.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42Having recovered from a heart attack in 2006, Bryan returned to work.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Bryan and Fiona found themselves working together.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50Without doubt, the sort of...the unique thing about a family business,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54or the good and bad side is, yes, you're all involved in
0:25:54 > 0:26:00this common cause, but of course that can cause a problem in its own way.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02So it's very, very difficult if you're, you know,
0:26:02 > 0:26:07totally absorbed in the business, at the office and at home.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09There's really, really...
0:26:09 > 0:26:13it's very important that there is some separation between the two.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16So, I would have said that would be the biggest challenge
0:26:16 > 0:26:20for any couple in a family business, any family in a family business,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25to make sure that you leave the disagreements or the, er,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28you know, the commercial challenges, at the front door.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34In 2009, Fiona became Chief Executive of Toye & Co
0:26:34 > 0:26:36while Bryan remained Chairman.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40I realised very early on,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43you have to try and make a very clear delineation
0:26:43 > 0:26:47between what is family life and what is company life.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51Bryan has enormous experience and he's highly respected,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53and he's highly respected by me
0:26:53 > 0:26:55for all the knowledge he has of the business and things.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01You want to be totally loyal, but you don't always agree,
0:27:01 > 0:27:04certainly in terms of how the business should go.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08So, certainly it has not been good for the marriage.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13We are not living in the same house any more.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19It makes me feel very sad indeed.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23You know, I feel incredibly sad about that.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37For now, Fiona is putting aside present day concerns
0:27:37 > 0:27:39to return to the past.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45In the 1870s, the mid-Victorian age,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47William Henry was followed into the business
0:27:47 > 0:27:50by his son, William Henry Junior.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54He too was in the East End,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57in the same street where his father lived and worked.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01But William Henry Junior seemed to be taking the business
0:28:01 > 0:28:04in a new direction.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08And a clue can be found in an 1879 trade directory,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10which states that he was making
0:28:10 > 0:28:13various kinds of trimmings for the military.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Fiona wants to know why he got into this unpredictable market.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20So she's come to the National Army Museum
0:28:20 > 0:28:24to meet museum spokesman, Julian Farrance.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28- Hello, Fiona. - Hello, Julian.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Please do come and have a look.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Now, I understand your family's been in the business of making
0:28:36 > 0:28:38insignia for uniforms for quite a long time.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41For a very long time and there's clear evidence
0:28:41 > 0:28:44that William Toye Junior was proudly making
0:28:44 > 0:28:48and supplying military accoutrements -
0:28:48 > 0:28:52you know, wires and braids and laces. So...
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Well, that's some of the things we've got for you to look at here.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58If you have a look at some of these
0:28:58 > 0:29:01- and you might want to pick them up, put those on.- Ooh.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02A-ha! Tools of the trade.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07Now, this is a late 1850s uniform, just post-Crimean War.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11This is a combat uniform - you would be wearing this on the battlefield.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Lace on the collar at the facing and down here at the cuff.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17But also these enormous epaulettes, fit to the shoulders here.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21- And all worn into battle.- Yes, this is absolutely battlefield uniform.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23People look at these uniforms
0:29:23 > 0:29:25and go, "Isn't it crackers to be on a battlefield
0:29:25 > 0:29:28"in a scarlet coat covered in bling, shining away like a peacock?
0:29:28 > 0:29:31"Aren't you just asking to get shot?"
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Well, in early battlefields, gunpowder muskets and rifles
0:29:34 > 0:29:36use black powder which creates an enormous amount of smoke.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39So wearing bright colours is actually a very useful thing
0:29:39 > 0:29:42for your officers to be able to say, "Red over there,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45"they're my blokes, blue over there, that's the enemy."
0:29:45 > 0:29:48So the technology demands this level of display.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Oh, that's interesting, yes, I hadn't quite thought about it that way.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59In the 1850s, 98,000 resplendent British soldiers
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and sailors fought in the Crimean War.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05And in the following years, as the British Empire expanded
0:30:05 > 0:30:09across the globe, the British Redcoat had become a national icon.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14Focusing on this massive market must have seemed a canny business move
0:30:14 > 0:30:15to William Henry Junior.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19But by the 1880s, when he is known
0:30:19 > 0:30:22to have been selling military regalia,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25the army was starting to change its tactics.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27When we get into the 1880s and 1890s,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30gunpowder is no longer a factor on the battlefields,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33it's been replaced by smokeless powders like cordite.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36And you've got magazine-fed, bolt-action rifles
0:30:36 > 0:30:39that have got extremely long range, they're very accurate.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41It's getting really, really dangerous on the battlefield.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45So, by that point, you don't want to be standing out in a red coat.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48So as soon as all this technology is available,
0:30:48 > 0:30:52very rapidly the British Army will redeploy into khaki colours,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54the German army will redeploy into field grey colours
0:30:54 > 0:30:58and the French army will stay in bright blue with scarlet trousers,
0:30:58 > 0:31:01because of the elan of the soldier, because they view it to be dishonourable
0:31:01 > 0:31:03to hide on a battlefield, that's not for a French soldier.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06But the tragedy of that is that by the first Christmas
0:31:06 > 0:31:08of the First World War they've lost almost a million soldiers
0:31:08 > 0:31:10and rapidly go into horizon blue.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14A very clear demonstration of the necessity for the camouflage.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18- Which is good for the soldiers, but not so good for your business. - No, it is not.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21I think William Toye will have been extremely disappointed
0:31:21 > 0:31:22about this turn of events, yes.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31It's a real window onto the strategy of William at that point.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35because he was concentrating on this very, very core British market,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37the resplendent military uniforms.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42Just a shame that he was grasping the coat-tails of the fashion,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46rather than, you know, a little earlier when it was in full fig.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49And made it very, very clear that he will have to be looking
0:31:49 > 0:31:53to new markets if the company is going to prosper.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02With the military market in decline,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06William Henry Junior had to find another customer for Toyes' wares.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12He would have asked himself a simple question - who else wears regalia?
0:32:15 > 0:32:17A growing social trend close to home
0:32:17 > 0:32:19seems to have provided him with an answer.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Fiona has arrived at the Museum of Freemasonry in Central London
0:32:26 > 0:32:28to meet Curator, Mark Dennis.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30- Fiona, how do you do, I'm Mark. - Hello, Mark.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34- Good to meet you. Would you like to come this way? - Thank you very much indeed.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42Records show that in 1886, William Henry Junior joined the Freemasons.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48Freemasonry was a society open to men of any social class.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51All they needed was to be recommended by other members.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55And by the mid-19th century it was booming.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Britain was undergoing huge social and economic change.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02To get on, people had to move to new areas for work
0:33:02 > 0:33:06and when they got there they wanted new social networks and structures.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09And for some, Freemasonry fitted the bill.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12This period is deliciously formal.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15Everybody wants to show where they've got to in society.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18And being in a masonic lodge, with its ceremonies,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20with its ritual dramas, it was rather like being at court,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22or being the mayor of a small town.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26They had sashes, had collars, had aprons.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29So there is this massive expanding world
0:33:29 > 0:33:33where regalia and uniform is now becoming popular. It's everywhere.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37Obviously this requires all this beautiful regalia.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42So you can see where William Henry saw his opportunities as well.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47It's not known exactly when William Henry Junior first offered
0:33:47 > 0:33:50to supply his fellow Freemasons with regalia.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53But Mark knows how he tried to break into
0:33:53 > 0:33:55this potentially lucrative market,
0:33:55 > 0:33:56which was then dominated
0:33:56 > 0:34:00by two larger rival regalia makers, Kenning and Spencer.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04- Under the flap you see this was made by Kenning.- Yes.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06And Toye, William Toye,
0:34:06 > 0:34:09was supplying a lot of the ribbons for these aprons.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12- And then Kenning are essentially assembling.- Yes.
0:34:12 > 0:34:18And then this is his other major competitor, a firm called Spencer.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21William Henry Junior started out
0:34:21 > 0:34:24supplying trimmings to Kenning and Spencer.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26But by the end of the 1880s,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30within four years of joining the Masons, he had set himself up
0:34:30 > 0:34:34in direct competition to these much larger businesses.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37This is the earliest one we've got, where Toye's actually making
0:34:37 > 0:34:41the complete product as opposed to supplying the firms that do.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43This is fantastic.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46You've got so many of the different materials that he's making.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48You've got the bullion fringe,
0:34:48 > 0:34:51you've got the gold and silk embroideries, all this braid.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54I mean this is a splendid thing, isn't it?
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Also too, just in manufacturing and business terms,
0:34:57 > 0:34:58he's gone a little bit further.
0:34:58 > 0:35:02He's making the larger products. This is a lovely thing.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09But William Henry Junior had bigger ambitions.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13Kenning and Spencer had set up shops to sell their products.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Kenning's shop was in a street known as Little Britain.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21Under the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral, in Victorian London,
0:35:21 > 0:35:23the area around Little Britain was packed
0:35:23 > 0:35:25with clothing shops of all kinds.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30And we've got a map,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32and there's Little Britain.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33And running half of the block,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36- of course, is Kenning.- Yes.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38In a massive factory.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41And William follows suit.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45- Right in the corner in the tiny little shop is William Toye.- Oh!
0:35:47 > 0:35:51This, believe me, is an enormous leap for the Toye family,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54because before this, they were over in the East End.
0:35:56 > 0:36:02William Henry Junior established the first Toye shop in 1888.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05It was a crucial development for the family business.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07They'd branched out of the East End.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12And not only were they selling regalia to the Freemasons
0:36:12 > 0:36:14and friendly societies,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18but Toye now had a direct way to reach the general public.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22Fiona wants to know what William Henry Junior was selling.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26The larger your markets, the more opportunities for business,
0:36:26 > 0:36:28which leads us to the last document,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30from a trade directory of 1891.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34"Toye, William Henry & Co.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39"Manufacturers of wedding, ball and other favours,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43"military and theatrical laces, mohair, braids,
0:36:43 > 0:36:48"masonic and all societies' banners and regalia, spangles,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51"ornaments, gilt threads, bullions and embroidery."
0:36:51 > 0:36:54- "Anything you want, I can make it." - Even spangles.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56- Even spangles. - Even spangles.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59This is a man who wants to be in every single world,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02from the theatre to the imperial army,
0:37:02 > 0:37:04livery companies, friendly societies,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06everywhere you go, there he is.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13I found this so intriguing because we had change in every way here.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16They're moving socially and they're moving geographically.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20And they're also moving in terms of their manufacture.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24The things that's pushing him along is the very close family memory
0:37:24 > 0:37:26of penury and hard times,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30and I think this is really pushing him to succeed
0:37:30 > 0:37:34in any way he can, and so he's hedging his bets.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37He's trying for all markets.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39So that if one goes down,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42my word, hopefully he would find success in another.
0:37:42 > 0:37:48And strangely enough, I think that's been the story of the business,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52and the family, all along, because we're still always looking
0:37:52 > 0:37:56for new markets, so nothing changes in that way either.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04By the end of the Victorian age, William Henry Junior had made
0:38:04 > 0:38:08a strategic change in the way the family business operated.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11His ancestors were self-employed artisans
0:38:11 > 0:38:13who wove silk and trimmings
0:38:13 > 0:38:16for other, often much larger businesses to make into regalia.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20By 1898, Toye had become one of those larger firms
0:38:20 > 0:38:23with a new factory in Central London.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Just like Toyes' factories today,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29here, there were all kinds of craftsmen -
0:38:29 > 0:38:33lace-makers, gold braid-makers and embroiderers.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38There were now also metalworkers.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47They stamped out pendants, medals and buttons.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53Following the model set by William Henry Junior,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Toye & Co still design and make complete items in-house.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Everything you can see on this trolley has been made here.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07This is for the Orient Express, West Yorkshire Police, Salvation Army.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11We've got, you know, gold wires and things on your peak.
0:39:11 > 0:39:12This has all been made downstairs.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17And then you've got a badge, a London Ambulance badge.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21Just making a simple peaked cap is actually quite a complicated thing.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24And it's about 20 or more processes
0:39:24 > 0:39:27before you end up with your finished product.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34But Toye & Co is having to change the do-it-all-in-house approach
0:39:34 > 0:39:38that was pioneered by William Henry Junior at the end of the 1800s.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43In 21st-century Britain, there isn't the demand
0:39:43 > 0:39:46for traditional regalia that there once was.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50It also costs Toye & Co a lot more to manufacture here in Britain
0:39:50 > 0:39:53than it does for competitors overseas.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57The main thing for the company is to get to a situation
0:39:57 > 0:40:01where we do preserve as many of the key skills as we can
0:40:01 > 0:40:03and we return to profitability.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10Certainly the UK and European markets are not doing so well
0:40:10 > 0:40:15at the moment, and so we've got to look to increasing our export work,
0:40:15 > 0:40:21which we're doing, but we're also having to reduce our production.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27The company has fought hard to keep its manufacturing skills in Britain.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30But Fiona may now need to move
0:40:30 > 0:40:33mass production of some lower-value items overseas
0:40:33 > 0:40:36and reduce the size of Toye's costly factories.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41I actually find it truly upsetting because we've got
0:40:41 > 0:40:44these amazingly talented people, but there is no other way.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46We've tried to do the math.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48We've tried to work out how we could do it,
0:40:48 > 0:40:50but it becomes so uncompetitive.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57I think we will have seen that throughout this programme,
0:40:57 > 0:41:02that hard times come, good times come and you adjust and change.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05It's happened before so it will happen again.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09I'm very determined that we will be on the rise now.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23For now, Fiona leaves her own business dilemmas
0:41:23 > 0:41:25to turn back to the past.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Enterprising William Henry Junior
0:41:30 > 0:41:32was followed into the company
0:41:32 > 0:41:33by his three sons -
0:41:33 > 0:41:36William, Frederick and Herbert.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39The three brothers took the business
0:41:39 > 0:41:40into the 20th century,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42the Edwardian age.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45It was the era of pomp and circumstance
0:41:45 > 0:41:49and wearing regalia was on the up once again.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Everyone from a railway guard
0:41:51 > 0:41:52to a postman had a uniform.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Fiona wants to find out how the three brothers tried
0:41:58 > 0:42:01to take advantage of this booming demand for regalia.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04So she's come to the Museum of London
0:42:04 > 0:42:06to meet Curator, Beverly Cook.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Hello, I'm Beverly, welcome. Would you like to follow me?
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Thank you.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15You may not be aware, but we have examples in our collection here
0:42:15 > 0:42:18of items that were actually manufactured by Toye.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23The first thing I want to show you is actually a one-off piece.
0:42:23 > 0:42:24So this, this was...
0:42:24 > 0:42:28This was the National Women's Social and Political Union.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33The members of the NWSPU were better known as the Suffragettes.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39This was made for a leading suffragette called Flora Drummond.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41This is absolutely fantastic.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44We have the shoulder piece here.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46It says General because that was
0:42:46 > 0:42:48the name that was given to Flora Drummond.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50- She was the General. - So she was General Drummond.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54She was General Drummond and she was at the head of the processions.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58Here we have, beautifully embroidered in the purple,
0:42:58 > 0:43:00"Votes for Women".
0:43:01 > 0:43:07And if we can turn this over very carefully...
0:43:07 > 0:43:09we see a beautiful piece there.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16And you will see that you have Toye & Co.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Theobald's Road, that's absolutely fantastic.
0:43:18 > 0:43:2057 Theobald's Road.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24And there was one final piece of this regalia
0:43:24 > 0:43:28which was the shoulder epaulette, beautifully made,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30and would have been attached over her shoulder.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34She had the sash going over like this with something on that shoulder?
0:43:34 > 0:43:37- Fortunately we have images of her wearing...- Oh!
0:43:37 > 0:43:41- ..wearing the material.- Oh, she looks quite formidable, doesn't she?
0:43:41 > 0:43:43Yes, she is, yes.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47Information about General Drummond's Toye regalia can be found
0:43:47 > 0:43:52in an edition of the Votes For Women newspaper, dated the 11th June 1908.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56"General Flora Drummond has been the recipient of a handsome gift
0:43:56 > 0:44:01"from an enterprising firm who had heard of her new official title.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05"The whole regalia is lined with white satin and is altogether
0:44:05 > 0:44:08"a specimen of first-class workmanship
0:44:08 > 0:44:13"and will make Mrs Drummond a more than usually conspicuous figure
0:44:13 > 0:44:15"on the day of the demonstration."
0:44:15 > 0:44:19It's quite interesting that they refer to an "enterprising" company,
0:44:19 > 0:44:23because it suggests that Toye actually were proactive
0:44:23 > 0:44:26in approaching the Women's Social And Political Union.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28So it must have been that they realised,
0:44:28 > 0:44:33even at this really early stage of the suffragette campaign,
0:44:33 > 0:44:37that here was a campaign group that was growing, that was thriving,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41that could possibly offer them a lot of business in the future.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43- That would be a new market. - A new market.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Yes, women as the new market in their own right!
0:44:46 > 0:44:49It was a gamble that would pay off.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Within months, Toye & Co were making other items for the movement.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57By 1910, hundreds of women had actually served
0:44:57 > 0:45:00terms of imprisonment for suffragette militancy.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04They would go to prison, they would immediately go on hunger strike,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08and one of the ways that they were rewarded by the movement for this,
0:45:08 > 0:45:12they would have been issued with a hunger strike medal.
0:45:12 > 0:45:17- Which then they would proudly wear to show that they had suffered for the cause.- Exactly, yes.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19These medals were sold by Toye
0:45:19 > 0:45:23to the Women's Social And Political Union for £1 each.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Over a thousand women served terms of imprisonment
0:45:26 > 0:45:30and many of those were given hunger strike medals.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34So this was a lucrative commission for them.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37It interests me here, because there they are,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41their business so focused on the male bastions
0:45:41 > 0:45:44of the military and freemasonry.
0:45:44 > 0:45:51Have you got any thoughts on why they supported this cause?
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Well, obviously, it's possible that someone within the company
0:45:54 > 0:45:58was hugely sympathetic to the suffrage argument.
0:45:58 > 0:46:03But in many ways I think Toye probably wouldn't have
0:46:03 > 0:46:06got so involved unless they felt it really
0:46:06 > 0:46:08- made good business sense for them. - Yeah.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14So here we are, this is the 20th century.
0:46:14 > 0:46:15This is the modern Toye & Company
0:46:15 > 0:46:18when we're getting into modern Britain as well.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22The boys have identified the social change,
0:46:22 > 0:46:26the most...the biggest wave of change of all, which is
0:46:26 > 0:46:29the vote for the common man and the vote for women.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34Even as the Toyes sold medals to suffragettes,
0:46:34 > 0:46:38they continued to make regalia for the all-male Freemasons.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Somehow, the three brothers - William, Frederick and Herbert,
0:46:43 > 0:46:45served a range of diverse communities
0:46:45 > 0:46:47in early 20th-century Britain.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50They even produced banners
0:46:50 > 0:46:52for various trade unions.
0:46:53 > 0:46:58By the 1930s, two of the three brothers - William and Herbert -
0:46:58 > 0:47:00had left the family business,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03leaving Frederick in sole charge.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08By the 1950s, much of the day-to-day running of the company
0:47:08 > 0:47:11had been passed on to Frederick's son,
0:47:11 > 0:47:13Herbert, known as Bert.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Bert was Fiona's father-in-law.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20He died before she had the chance to meet him.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Fiona understands that Bert cemented the company's place
0:47:26 > 0:47:30at the heart of the British establishment.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33To find out how he did this, she's come to Westminster Abbey.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54This is absolutely marvellous.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59It is awe-inspiring. I think that's a word that's overused now.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04You know, I'm overwhelmed, I'm thrilled to be here
0:48:04 > 0:48:06and it's just amazing to be in this spot.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Hello, it's Fiona Toye, come to see some documents.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26Away from the public areas,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Fiona's been invited to the Abbey's ancient library to meet
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Matthew Payne, who has discovered rare documents in his archives.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34Welcome to the Abbey Library.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38Thank you. What a thrill to come here, this is fantastic.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40If you'd like to come round this side,
0:48:40 > 0:48:44I have one or two things that I think might be of interest to you.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48So here we have a file relating to the 1953 coronation
0:48:48 > 0:48:52of Queen Elizabeth, a file from the Ministry of Works.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56For months before the coronation of Elizabeth II,
0:48:56 > 0:48:59Westminster Abbey was taken over
0:48:59 > 0:49:02by a government department called the Ministry of Works.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06The Ministry ran the conversion of the Abbey into a theatre
0:49:06 > 0:49:08for over 8,000 guests.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11It was also in charge of ordering decorations
0:49:11 > 0:49:13and regalia for the event.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16This included a last-minute commission
0:49:16 > 0:49:20for four royal banners to be hung next to the throne in the Abbey.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Matthew wants to show Fiona an internal Ministry of Works memo
0:49:25 > 0:49:28concerning who might make these banners.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32There are only three organisations which we could approach -
0:49:32 > 0:49:36The Royal School of Needlework, Messrs Hobson & Co and Messrs Toye.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40"The Royal School of Needlework is working to capacity.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44"Messrs Hobson cannot accept an order of this size."
0:49:44 > 0:49:48So it's rather lovely and good for Toyes.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52Matthew also has some correspondence from Bert Toye to the Ministry.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57- 3rd of March 1953.- So it's worth flagging up that's three months
0:49:57 > 0:50:00before the coronation itself almost exactly.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03"Dear Sir, we have pleasure in confirming your verbal instructions
0:50:03 > 0:50:06"to carry out the embroidery of the four banners
0:50:06 > 0:50:08"to be used at Westminster Abbey
0:50:08 > 0:50:11"at the time of the coronation for Her Majesty the Queen.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14"We need hardly say that there is little time in which to do this work,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17"but we will undertake them and we will complete them by 22 May.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20"Although it will doubtless mean working longer hours
0:50:20 > 0:50:22"and possibly some weekends.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24"We do thank you for giving us this opportunity,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27"and you can rely on us to cooperate in every way.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30"Yours faithfully, HGD Toye."
0:50:31 > 0:50:33- That is amazing! Simply fantastic.- There you are.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36They've got a commission with not much time to spare.
0:50:36 > 0:50:37Incredibly exciting.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42There is one follow-up.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44"These banners will be finished on Thursday evening.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46"And the writer had in mind taking them
0:50:46 > 0:50:48"down to you in his car after lunch on Friday."
0:50:48 > 0:50:51We wouldn't want to miss lunch, would we?
0:50:51 > 0:50:55"He feels however that these banners should be kept perfectly flat
0:50:55 > 0:50:57"and in the circumstances, we wonder
0:50:57 > 0:51:00"whether it will be possible for you to send your light van
0:51:00 > 0:51:04"to collect them since we've really not got any suitable transport here."
0:51:04 > 0:51:06- That's quite strange, isn't it? - Quite strange to know.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09"In conclusion, may we say how much we have enjoyed embroidering
0:51:09 > 0:51:14"these banners on your behalf and we are very proud of the result.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17"We hope it will give satisfaction to everybody.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19"Signed Herbert Toye."
0:51:19 > 0:51:22- This is just lovely, isn't it?- Yes.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25You can just imagine, actually, they must be rather sad
0:51:25 > 0:51:28- that all the bustle of making it is over.- That it's over.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31You know, you can just imagine the electricity in the firm
0:51:31 > 0:51:34as the girls are embroidering and putting everything together
0:51:34 > 0:51:37- Working all hours.- All hours, everybody would have been there,
0:51:37 > 0:51:40probably Herbert pacing and going, "How are you doing, girls?"
0:51:40 > 0:51:44And I'd think they were so thrilled to be part of this amazing occasion,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47to have this opportunity to demonstrate what they could do.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51Matthew has one last surprise for Fiona.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54And if I can ask you to give me a hand with this...
0:52:03 > 0:52:06This is just absolutely fab.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08It's so fresh and crisp and beautiful.
0:52:08 > 0:52:09So there is the Royal Arms,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11as used by Queen Elizabeth.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13So this is the Queen's banner?
0:52:13 > 0:52:15This is the Queen's banner that was used, yes.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19I would say this is the ultimate example of the family's skills.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23This is a long way from the jobbing weavers
0:52:23 > 0:52:26who were in some horrible slum
0:52:26 > 0:52:31and a long, long way from the pageantry of a royal coronation.
0:52:31 > 0:52:32Absolutely magical.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36What's also rather sweet,
0:52:36 > 0:52:40we can now see why Herbert couldn't get them in his saloon car!
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Millions watched the Coronation...
0:52:47 > 0:52:49..and admired Toye & Co's work.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04A few years later, the business was granted a prestigious Royal Warrant.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07After the success of the coronation,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11Bert Toye started a strategy of acquiring other businesses.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16He also moved the Toye manufacturing centre up to the Midlands.
0:53:18 > 0:53:24When Bert died suddenly in 1969, his son Bryan, Fiona's husband,
0:53:24 > 0:53:27had to take over at the age of 31.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33- MAN:- Coming past the portraits is a reminder of the history,
0:53:33 > 0:53:35what you've got to live up to.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Most of their eyes are painted so they follow you all the way,
0:53:37 > 0:53:39whichever way you stand, they look at you.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42That's my father in the robes and so on.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Great-Grandfather and Great-Great Grandfather round the corner.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49That one, quite obvious, so I won't say any more about that one.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55Bryan was running a much larger business than any of his predecessors.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00Toye & Co had by now purchased the two businesses that had once
0:54:00 > 0:54:05been its much larger rivals - Kenning and Spencer.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08After the coronation and grant of the Royal Warrant,
0:54:08 > 0:54:12my father acquired George Kenning & Spencer Ltd.
0:54:13 > 0:54:15In later years, when I was chairman,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19I handed over the chief executive's role to David Kenning,
0:54:19 > 0:54:24and so Bryan Toye and David Kenning, at one time great antagonists
0:54:24 > 0:54:27in terms of the historic family hierarchy,
0:54:27 > 0:54:29became the best of friends
0:54:29 > 0:54:30and worked very well together,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33and built quite a successful business during that period,
0:54:33 > 0:54:35so it was a bit of a golden era.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38In our case, it's a family business.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41The family get on really very well together.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45Of course, we do have differences of opinion and views
0:54:45 > 0:54:48on the company's direction and some of them are held very strongly.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52But basically the same principle goes all the way through,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55that we all want the best for the business and the people in it.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Fiona and Bryan's oldest son Charles,
0:55:04 > 0:55:08and daughter Lily, have already worked for the company.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12Today, their middle son Fred is joining the family firm.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16All very exciting, awaiting Fred.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19I think the important thing is, of course, that I don't get
0:55:19 > 0:55:22too involved and that he is very much working for, you know, my colleague.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26Hello. Morning, Kathy.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30Morning, Freds. Yeah, very, very good to see you here!
0:55:32 > 0:55:34Okey-dokey.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36Over the years he has come in and helped out at times.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39This time there's an enormous difference because
0:55:39 > 0:55:42he's actually been working, doing real hard selling for an IT company.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47This here, for example, is a livery jewel.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49- It's this kind of product you'll be selling.- Yeah.
0:55:49 > 0:55:54So, like your dad, who was there in the '50s, you're going to be
0:55:54 > 0:55:55going to Birmingham and Bedworth
0:55:55 > 0:55:58and you're going to be learning about how things are manufactured.
0:55:58 > 0:56:03Once you understand all that, then we'll put you in front of customers.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07When I was younger, you know, looking at my father and my family
0:56:07 > 0:56:10and seeing the world they're involved in, it's not
0:56:10 > 0:56:13necessarily a glamorous world but it's a very interesting world.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16And so I think there was always sort of a deep-down desire
0:56:16 > 0:56:18to get into the family company as well
0:56:18 > 0:56:22With Fiona's middle son Fred on board,
0:56:22 > 0:56:26her oldest son Charles is about to return to the business too.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31It's very exciting to be working with my sons,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34being chief executive with those responsibilities.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39I feel very much that I'm the Prince Regent, I suppose.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41I'm the caretaker.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I've been looking after it for the next generation,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47for the children of Bryan and I, for our children.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51With the younger Toyes entering the company,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54Fiona and Bryan have begun to make steps towards
0:56:54 > 0:56:57handing over the family firm to the next generation.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01Throughout this filming, following this story, for me
0:57:01 > 0:57:04the strongest message that's come through
0:57:04 > 0:57:06is the hard work of the family.
0:57:06 > 0:57:11There's a very indomitable spirit there as well in how they cope
0:57:11 > 0:57:16with the ups and downs of life through the generations.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18But there's a real entrepreneurial spirit
0:57:18 > 0:57:23and that has been, even in these very basic artisans, or whatever,
0:57:23 > 0:57:26they've been striving all the time, not only to survive
0:57:26 > 0:57:30but to get a little further on. And so hard work,
0:57:30 > 0:57:35coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit and imagination
0:57:35 > 0:57:39and also I think that idea of the family
0:57:39 > 0:57:42has been very important as well.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45And that has been one of the reasons why we're still here.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57Next time, we meet the Durtnells,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00who've been builders for over 400 years.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02That could have been cut by a Durtnell.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06At a difficult time for the construction industry,
0:58:06 > 0:58:09can Durtnell's past help shape their future?
0:58:09 > 0:58:11They learned nothing from the Fire of London.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13HE LAUGHS
0:58:15 > 0:58:18Discover the secrets of successful resilient enterprises
0:58:18 > 0:58:22and the latest insights from business history.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25Go to...
0:58:25 > 0:58:28..and follow the links to the Open University.