Reynolds and Branson

Reynolds & Branson Leeds was a business based at 13 Briggate and 14 Commercial Street in Leeds, England. The business lasted from 1816 to 1972. Edward Matterson managed the company in 1822, and William West F.R.S. took over the in 1833. The National Archives Records about the company include a day book, sales ledger, and prescription books. The records were created by Reynolds & Branson Ltd. Reynolds & Branson was registered in July 1898 as a limited corporation with a capital of £34,000 in shares of £10 each by Messrs. R. Reynolds, F. W. Branson. No remuneration was given to Mr. R. Reynolds, but a £700 per annum was given to each of the others. In 1890, Richard Reynold's son, Richard Freshfield (Fred) Reynolds was made a partner. The firm was in the business of wholesale and retail for chemists and surgical instrument makers.

The original company can be traced back to 1816 (see Grace's Guide which is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain). Edward Matterson was a druggist who ran the firm after being employed by Allen and Hanburys. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School. In 1822 the company moved to 13 Briggate, Leeds. In 1833 William West F.R.S. took over the company after Matterson went bankrupt (see The bankrupt directory: being a complete register of all the bankruptcies, with their residences, trades, and dates when they appeared in the London gazette, from December 1820 to April 1843). In 1839 Thomas Harvey joined the business, when William West left the company to pursue analytical chemistry. The firm was then renamed Thomas Harvey. Harvey was born at Barnsley into a Quaker family. His father was a linen manufacturer. The second of five children, he was educated at Barnsley Grammar in Yorkshire in 1812. From 1822 to 1825 Harvey studied at Ackworth and afterwards became a chemist apprentice for David Doncaster of Sheffield. Upon Doncaster's death he trained at Thomas Southalls in Birmingham for eight years. In 1837 Harvey settled in Leeds as a chemist. He became an anti-slavery campaigner and philanthropist.

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