Charles Vero and James Everitt were brother-in-laws who slowly built up there hat factory during the mid 19th century. The Vero family had been making hats in Atherstone since the end of the 18th Century as part of the local cottage industry.
Vero and Everitt set sale for Australia in 1852 to find a market for their hats in the colonies. They set a very successful shop in Melbourne and hats from Atherstone were constantly supplying this rapidly expanding market. Unfortunately this boom was short lived and James Everitt returned back to England within four years.
The hat factories of Vero & Everitt were located where the car park of the modern Co-op Superstore currently stands and along the line of South Street where it meets Long Street.
Both these factorys were positioned upon brooks, the latter on Innage Brook, which provided the fresh water needed to create the steam within the factories. The Innage Brook site was a former tannery, and the nearby railway station opened in 1847 provided an ideal distribution channel.
Production finally stopped at Vero & Everitt in 1987 due a shortage of skilled workers and inadequate buildings and working conditions.
Vero. Everitt. 23rd June 1858
Charles Vero, of Atherstone, in the County of Warwick, Hat Manufacturer, and James Everitt, of Atherstone, aforesaid, Hat Manufacturer, for an invention for- “Improvements in the manufacturer of hats.”
Vero. 24th January 1861
Charles Vero, of Atherstone, in the County of Warwick, Furrier, for an invention for- “Improvements in machinery for separating the fur or hair from skins of animals.”
Chronological index of patents applied for and patents granted
Last updated: February 24, 2007
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March 8th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
I am researching the METZNER family from Greenwich, Kent. William Lloyd METZNER had a hatting business at 14 Stockwell Street, Greenwich from circa 1818 to about 1860. He took over the business from John ASWELL and Thomas MILES - MILES & Co. - so was probably working for them from about 1814. The first record we have of him is his marriage in London in 1814. He was born in 1783/4 in New York USA, a British Subject (1851 Census) and died in 1857. Is there any chance that he had business dealings with the company in Atherstone ? Do you have any early records of the hatting business in Atherstone ? William Lloyd METZNER was a prominent business man in Greenwich with several mentions in the Times and the London Gazette. I would be grateful for any information about William Lloyd METZNER or any connection between Atherstone and Greenwich and the hatting industry. Thank you. Ann Hentschel, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
March 9th, 2007 at 3:23 am
If you contact the Anglo-German Family History Society, one of their top bods is Leonard Metzner, who knows a great deal about the family in London. They may be different Metzners of course but it’s a good place to start.
March 9th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Hello Mart:
Many thanks for your reply. Yes, Len is the Metzner family historian. When I came across your website and the mention of “hatting” I just had to see if there was a connection. We are still trying to find out where William Lloyd Metzner did his apprenticeship.
Ann
March 29th, 2008 at 7:55 am
My Grt grt grt Grandfather was called Francis vero he married Elizabeth Faulknor in staffordshire. They had 7 children but francis died in 1838. His son Thomas was my grt grt grandfather and he married twice but when he married my grt grt grt grandmother he was still married to the first one. most of my ancestors came to live in west yorkshire.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:56 am
Hi, interested to see your info about the Vero and Everitt, Hatters. They apparently set sail for Melbourne and ran a successful hat shop for only 4 years in Melbourne struck a chord with me. My ancestor made top hats, and his brother wrote to him from Melbourne in 1864 saying there was not much demand for his trade out there, it was 80 degrees in the shade!
My ancestor was Henry Murray who successfully made top hats in Leeds, UK during the mid-1800s. But I would love to find out where he served his apprenticeship and which firm he worked for before setting up alone. He would probably have apprenticed in Manchester or liverpool where he was born. Do you have any advice please?
Sue
June 20th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Vero & Everitt had a 1925 patent (228467) for the detachable headband for Wolseley helmets and a 1933 patent for foil lining (I don’t have the patent number).
My question is, were these items made available under licence to other helmet manufacturers?
Thanks,
Stuart
Melbourne, Australia