Heeley & Sons

The Heeley family business started in the early 19th century in Birmingham England and they were the kings of lever corkscrews. However corkscrews were not their first product they were in fact a traditional company with a diverse product range that included steel toys and other steel items. The company were listed as early as 1805 in a Birmingham directory as a maker of steel chains beads combs gilt toys hairpins & springs. Heeley & Sons evolved their manufacturing business to become one of the most prolific producers of corkscrews. In 1851 the business was run by Francis Heeley and was listed as a Steel Toy Manufacturer. In 1873 Francis died and Neville Heeley (son number 3) took over the running of the company. The 1881 census had the company still listed as a Steel Toy Manufacturer but by 1901 it was listed as Manufacturer of small articles in steel by 1940 they were listed as a Corkscrew Maker.