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Vaughtons was founded in 1819 by Philip Vaughton.
The company was originally named ‘P. Vaughton’, working out of Little Hampton Street in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. In 1897 the firm had been renamed to ‘Vaughton Brothers’ and had relocated to 135 Constitution Hill; the company was listed as a ‘Buttonmaker, Medalist and Mint’.
Between 1866 and 1902, Vaughtons were documented in various locations, then in 1903, they relocated to an impressive purpose-built factory, ‘Vaughtons Gothic Works’ on Livery Street in the Jewellery Quarter, which is still there today.
This building was noted in a Birmingham Civic Society newsletter, ‘To this day it is an impressive building… It has excellent terracotta details, especially the lettering’.
It was shortly after the move that the company name was changed to ‘Vaughtons Ltd’ detailed on brochures at this time. Vaughtons was listed as ‘the business of a Silversmith, Goldsmith and General Manufacturer’. Vaughtons’ success grew whilst in these premises, manufacturing some of the companies most prestigious work.
Vaughtons were commissioned to create a replacement FA cup in 1895 after the original was stolen. The original cup had used from 1872-1895 and was created by Martin, Hall & Co and was worth approximately £20,000. It had recently been won by Aston Villa and so Vaughtons were commissioned by the club to create a replacement. Vaughtons’ cup was used until 1910 when it was withdrawn and presented to Lord Kinnaird for his 21 years of service as FA President.
The Olympic Games and Vaughtons were a match made in heaven. When it was announced that the 1908 Games were to be hosted in London, our expert craftsmen were called upon to create the medals for the event. Each of these medals were created as a symbol of triumph, greatness and the unfaltering determination to be the best – something that Vaughtons were a natural fit for.
We believe that predominantly, a lot of these jobs were due to football star, Howard Vaughton being involved in the business…
Howard Vaughton, born 1st September 1861, was the grandson of the company’s founder, Philip Vaughton. Howard was a very famous footballer of his time, playing for Aston Villa, and for England. Howard was a part of the Aston Villa FA Cup winning team, and still shares the record for the most goals scored by any one player in any England International game. Howard was an impressive sportsman who also won the British Skating Championship, played county level cricket, county level hockey, raced in cycling and was a first-class swimmer.
In history, we often find that greatness finds greatness and in 1994 W.H.Darby Ltd took over Vaughtons to expand their operations. And with that acquisition, our heritage became intertwined with theirs.
Our shared heritage now covers more moments of history and has allowed our craftsmanship to fuse with theirs – this includes the manufacturing of medals during WW2. We now look forward to applying our craft to more moments and icons of the future.
Vaughtons are dedicated to the highest quality work providing our clients with stunning pieces and expert advice across all our products and services.
We have several companies within the Vaughtons umbrella providing a range of services both direct to customer and to industry.
16 Well Street, Birmingham. B19 3BJ
