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Welcome to the Exeter Foundry Website

The Holladay family, who have been involved with the business of Garton & King from 1898 until 1990, have put together this History of the company and hope you will find it of interest.

Garton & King, and its predecessors (which includes, amongst others, King & Munk and Garton & Jarvis)  can trace their trading history back to 1661, thatís well over three hundred years of business within Exeter, mostly in and around the High Street.

Over the months ahead we will add more pages, we will show the ironmongery available in Victorian times from Garton & King's High Street Shop, describe the workings of the Foundry and show examples of the products made and how far afield some of them were sent.

We hope to try and trace some of the work the business undertook supplying and fitting cooking appliances, hot water and heating systems gates and railings;  from Work Houses to Manor Houses, from Castles to prison Cells.

Richard Holladay

Do You Know of the Whereabouts of this Lectern

Last seen at St Petrock’s Church, High Street, Exeter in 1993

Garton & King have a long association with St Petrock’s in Exeter.  The premises of 190 High Street were opposite from the Church in High Street (where McDonalds now are and where the High Street Woolworths used to be before then.)

John Atken, who started the ironmengery that became Garton & King in 1661, became a Churchwarden of St Petrock in 1698. Lewis Portbury, also a one time owner of the business in 1724, became a St Petrock’s Churchwarden in 1721, in addition to being a Bailiff for the City.  In fact the Church records trace the progression of ownership over the centuries. Sam Kingdon senior was a churchwarden and his son William was appointed Parochial Commissioner sometime prior to 1826 and Sheriff in 1842. Iron Sam (William’s brother) became Mayor in 1836.  In the era of Garton & Jarvis, John Garton in 1865 was also a Churchwarden.  Moving on to the era of Garton and his new partner King and the subsequent death of John Garton in 1867 we enter the latter part of the 19th Century.  Mr John Gould-King was not only a Churchwarden but a Feoffee (trustee) of St Petrocks.

Parish records and drawings show that St Petrock’s was extended towards the Cathedral Yard in 1881 with the addition of a new Vestry and Chancel.

In Trewmans Flying Post in November 1881 it is reported that  -  "A handsome Brass Lectern, designed and manufactured by Garton & King was presented to the Church of St Petrocks to mark this extension."

The last known sighting of the Lectern is believed to be 1993. The Church, around that time, was divided, as it is at present, and only the older portion, on the High Street, is accessible to the general public. All attempts to trace the Lectern through the Dioscesan Registry (Michelmores, solicitors) and even the present Churchwardens and also through two well known Architectural Salvage Businesses have failed.

Enquiries with the Exeter based St Petrocks Charity for homeless people who now occupy the part of the Church where the Lectern was fixed (as in the Photo) have also been unable to help.