If your safe says Withers, it was made in West Bromwich, most likely by Samuel Withers & Co., a family firm that dated itself to 1843. The wording on the plate tells you roughly when, and whether it’s even the right Withers.
1843
founded by George Withers, by the firm’s own account
1860
provisional patent for safe plates of iron and steel welded together
3,000+
safes a year, the firm’s claim in 1911
1909
became Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd
Key takeaways
- The firm was started by George Withers, traded as George Withers & Sons in 1862 and as Samuel Withers by 1876. Its own adverts give 1843 as the founding year; one dealer says 1845.
- “Ltd” on the plate means 1909 or later. “Samco” means 1913 or later, and a lion-on-a-crown trade mark points to the 1920s or 1930s.
- Thomas Withers & Sons was a separate West Bromwich safe maker. The two firms ended up in court in 1927.
- No Withers serial number register has been published, so dating relies on the name, address, construction and trade marks.
In This Article
Samuel Withers & Co. at a glance
| Country | England: West Bromwich, Staffordshire (now Sandwell, West Midlands) |
| Founded | 1843 by George Withers, according to the firm’s adverts and Grace’s Guide; one dealer listing says 1845 |
| Names used | George Withers (1860); George Withers & Sons (1862); Samuel Withers, “late George Withers & Sons” (by 1876); Samuel Withers & Co.; Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd (from 1909) |
| Works | Park Works, West Bromwich: Roebuck Street in 1876, Barton Street from 1909 |
| London office | 11 Dyer’s Buildings, Holborn (1913, 1921); 29/30 Shoe Lane, EC4 (1938); 39 Hoxton Square, N1 (1953–1956) |
| Products | Fire- and thief-resisting safes, strongroom doors and strongrooms, locks; “Samco” and “Sentry” safes |
| Related firm | Thomas Withers & Sons Ltd, Sandwell Road, West Bromwich: a separate business |
| Active until | Still advertising in 1956; said to have been absorbed into the Stratford Safe Co. in 1968 (not confirmed) |
History of Samuel Withers & Co.
West Bromwich sits in the middle of the Black Country, a few miles from the lock towns of Willenhall and Wolverhampton, and by 1919 the town had at least three safe makers: the Dart Spring & Safe Co. and two firms called Withers.1 Most of what’s known about it comes from patents, exhibition catalogues and the firm’s own adverts, which I’ve pieced together below.2
Timeline
- 1843 George Withers starts the business (the firm’s own date; a dealer gives 1845).
- 1860 George Withers, “Patent Lock and Wrought-iron Safe Manufacturer”, files a patent for iron-and-steel safe plates.
- 1862 George Withers & Sons of Park Works show safes at the International Exhibition in London.
- 1863 George and Thomas Withers, both “Fireproof Safe Manufacturer”, file a lock patent.
- 1876 Adverts read “Samuel Withers (late George Withers & Sons)”, Original Park Works, Roebuck Street.
- 1909 Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd is registered, with its office at Park Works, Barton Street.
- 1913 Adverts offer twelve-corner bent steel safes and the “Samco” list.
- 1927 Thomas Withers & Sons Ltd sues Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd over its “genuine Withers safes” adverts, and loses.
- 1953–1956 Still advertising Samco safes from Park Works, with a London office in Hoxton Square.
George Withers and the iron-and-steel plate
The founder was George Withers. The firm’s adverts and Grace’s Guide date the business to 1843, but the first firm date I could find in a primary source is 1860, when he was granted provisional protection for “certain improvements in fireproof wrought-iron safes, chests, or closets, in locks for the same”. The Gazette describes him as a “Patent Lock and Wrought-iron Safe Manufacturer, of West Bromwich”.3 A dealer’s description, which I haven’t been able to check against records, calls him an iron turner and the father of nine children, Samuel among them.4
The 1860 patent is worth reading if you own a Withers safe. George proposed making the outer plates “of iron and steel welded together”, rolled with ridges or chequers so that a drill would skid, with the iron side inside so that the plate would “bend and bulge rather than crack or split” when beaten. He also wanted solid bands to hold the body together, a lock plate made solid with the body, and interiors lined with slate, marble, enamel or “non-inflammable paper”.5 It only ever had provisional protection, so the idea was never fully patented.6
That plate is almost certainly what Grace’s Guide means when it says the firm showed a safe “constructed with the composite steel plate” invented by its founder at the London Exhibition of 1862.2 I went through the official catalogue for that exhibition: the entry is a single line, exhibit 6259, “Withers, George, & Sons, Park Works, West Bromwich. Patent fire-proof and thief-resisting safes and money chests.”7 So by 1862 the sons were in the business, and the works already had the name it kept for the next century.
From George Withers & Sons to Samuel Withers
In 1863 George Withers and Thomas Withers, both of West Bromwich and both described as “Fireproof Safe Manufacturer”, filed a patent for “improvements in locks” with a Birmingham merchant, William Charles McEntee.8 It lapsed after three years.6 Thomas was very likely one of the “Sons”, though I haven’t found a document that says so. He matters later, because he ended up with a safe firm of his own.
By 1876 the adverts read “Samuel Withers (late George Withers & Sons), at the Original Park Works, Roebuck Street, West Bromwich”, maker of “Fire, Drill, and Wedge Proof Safes” for home and export, for “the Indian and Colonial Trade” and for banks. In trade adverts of the time, “late” in front of a firm’s name usually meant “formerly”, so it tells you Samuel had taken over the old business, not necessarily that George had died. The word “Original” in front of Park Works hints that there was already more than one Withers in the trade.9
The same advert prints a testimonial from Charles Winn & Co. of Broad Street, Birmingham, dated 5 February 1868. Someone, “at present unknown to us”, had attacked the Withers safe in their office with a drill and put gunpowder into the lock, but the safe stayed shut, and “a quantity of the broken Drills were found in the Lock”.9 Firms printed letters like this as proof that their safes worked, and it’s the kind of detail that makes a plain iron box more interesting.
By the 1890s the name had become Samuel Withers & Co., listed at Park Works in the trade lists of Academy Architecture from 1894 to 1902.10
Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd: bent steel and “Samco”
In April 1909 a new company, Samuel Withers & Company, Limited, was registered with £10,000 in £1 shares “to take over the business of a manufacturer of safes, springs, and ironfounders’ goods” carried on by S. Withers at West Bromwich as Samuel Withers & Company and the Empire Spring Company. Its registered office was Park Works, Barton Street.11 Grace’s Guide gives the same year for the incorporation.2 Springs and ironfounding aside, safes were clearly the main line: in 1911 the firm called itself “the Old and Original Firm. Established 1843”, “Contractors to H.M. Government”, with an “annual output over 3,000 safes”.12 That’s the firm’s own figure, and I haven’t found an independent one.
By 1913 the selling point was steel. Adverts offered “Twelve-corner bent steel safes”, “all types for every market from the cheapest Export to the highest class Bankers’ quality”, and invited buyers to “ask for ‘Samco’ list”.13 A twelve-corner body is bent from one steel sheet, with flanges front and back, a method that became possible around 1905; before about 1890 safe bodies were built from separate iron plates.14 Withers wasn’t alone in this: most British makers moved to bent steel bodies in the same years.
The firm showed “fire and burglar-resisting safes, strong-room doors and frames, and complete strong-rooms” at the British Industries Fair in Birmingham in 1924.15 That March a Dublin auctioneer sold a consignment of new Withers bent steel safes, “from 20 inches to 4ft. high”, sent over by the firm because of “the continued depression in the Overseas trade”.16 An export firm with a slack market was clearing stock.
By 1938 the firm called itself “Bankers’ Safe & Lock Engineers” and listed five registered trade marks: “S. Withers”, “Withers’ Safes”, “S. Withers & Co’s. Safes”, “Samco” Safes and “Sentry” Safes. The Samco body was “formed from one tough Siemens Martin steel plate bent at all twelve corners”, with the joints welded by oxy-acetylene, and came in four grades, from “Samco” Fire Resisting up to “Super Samco”, built to resist the cutting torch. The firm also made brick safes for building into walls.17
Did you know?
Samuel Withers & Co. used a photograph of a safe “supplied to H.M. King George V. Yacht ‘Victoria and Albert'” in its adverts from 1913 into the 1920s.13 Later slogans went further: “The Safes Governments buy”.18
Two Withers firms and a court case
Here’s the catch for anyone dating a “Withers” safe: there were two firms. Thomas Withers & Sons of Sandwell Road, West Bromwich, appears in a 1919 Birmingham trade directory next to Samuel Withers & Co., listed among the safe makers.1 In 1948 it said it had been founded 93 years earlier (about 1855) and was celebrating 50 years as a limited company, exporting 90 per cent of its output.19 It was still selling safes through a Hong Kong agent in the 1970s.20 A lock collector writing in 1997 described George, Samuel and Thomas Withers as having “separate businesses in West Bromwich”.21
Samuel Withers & Co. answered with adverts headed “Caution to purchasers of Safes”. In 1927 Thomas Withers & Sons Ltd sued, arguing that the “genuine Withers safes” wording implied it was passing off its safes as Samuel Withers’. The court found no malice and nothing defamatory, and dismissed the action.22
“All genuine ‘Withers Safes’ (Regd.) are branded with the above well-known Registered Trade Mark.”
Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd advertisement, 1928–29
The advert went on undeterred after the case. The 1928–29 version names the sole makers as Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd “(late George Withers & Sons)”, “Established 1843”, and lists the directors, George A. Withers, F. Sidney Withers and Warwick E. Withers, as “Grandsons of the Founder of the Firm”.23 I like that trade mark: a little heraldic lion standing on a crown, with “REGISTERED”, “TRADE” and “MARK” set around it in small sans capitals, the kind of mark meant to look official on a door panel.
The 1950s and the end
In 1953 the firm advertised “Established over 100 years”, with its head office still at Park Works and a London office at 39 Hoxton Square.18 Adverts for “Samco” fire-resisting safes from Park Works, Barton Street, ran in the trade magazine Business until at least 1956.24 After that the trail goes cold. A safe engineer posting as “safeman” on a collectors’ forum in 2008 wrote that the Birmingham Safe Company and Phillips became part of Samuel Withers, that Withers was “absorbed into the Stratford Safe Company in 1968”, and that Stratford later sold some of its lightest export safes under the Withers name.25 I haven’t found a company record to confirm the 1968 date, so treat it as likely but unproven.
How to identify and date a Samuel Withers safe
No Withers serial number register or order book has been published, and I couldn’t find one in any archive catalogue, so the number on your safe won’t date it by itself. What you can do is read the plate, the address and the construction against the dated adverts. Start with the name.
| Wording or mark on the safe | What it points to | Dated evidence |
|---|---|---|
| “George Withers” or “G. Withers & Sons”, often with “Patent” | Before about 1876 | 1860 patent; 1862 exhibition as George Withers & Sons3,7 |
| “Samuel Withers” or “S. Withers”, perhaps with “late George Withers & Sons” | About 1876 onwards | 1876 advert9 |
| “Samuel Withers & Co.” without “Ltd” | Roughly 1890s to 1909 | Trade lists 1894–1902; company registered 190910,11 |
| “Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd” | 1909 or later | Company registered April 190911 |
| “Samco” on the plate or door | 1913 or later | “Samco” list in 1913 adverts; still sold in 195613,24 |
| Lion standing on a crown, “Registered Trade Mark” | 1920s to 1930s at least | Adverts of 1928–29 and 193823,17 |
| “Sentry” safe | By 1938 | Listed as a registered trade mark in 193817 |
| “Thomas Withers & Sons” | A different firm, about 1855 to the 1970s | See the section above19 |
Clue 1
“Late George Withers & Sons”
This means “formerly George Withers & Sons”. It was used from at least 1876 until the late 1920s, so on its own it doesn’t make a safe early. Check for “Ltd” next to it.9,23
Clue 2
Body construction
Square corners with rivets, dovetails or bands suggest a 19th-century iron safe. Rounded corners bent from one steel sheet fit the bent steel safes Withers advertised by 1913.14,13
Clue 3
Handles and fittings
One dealer describes an Edwardian Withers with a brass handle “in the form of a hand holding a baton”. It’s a nice recognition cue, but we haven’t seen it in a catalogue, so don’t rely on it alone.4
Addresses on the plate
Most Withers plates just say West Bromwich. If yours has a street or a London office, these are the dates I’ve been able to document. They show when each address is recorded, not exact start and end dates, and Roebuck Street and Barton Street may well be two sides of the same works.
| Original Park Works, Roebuck Street, West Bromwich | Recorded in 18769 |
| Park Works, Barton Street, West Bromwich | Recorded in 1909 and in the 1950s11,24 |
| 11 Dyer’s Buildings, Holborn, London | Recorded in 1913 and 192113 |
| 29/30 Shoe Lane, London EC4 | Recorded in 193817 |
| 39 Hoxton Square, London N1 | Recorded 1953 to 195618,24 |
| Sandwell Road, West Bromwich | Thomas Withers & Sons, not Samuel Withers1 |
For the general method (plates, addresses, keyholes and serial numbers), see our guide to other British safe makers and their dates, where Withers sits alongside Tann, Milner and Chubb.
Founded 1843 or 1845? Myths and conflicts
Samuel Withers & Co. was established in 1845.
The firm’s own adverts (1911, 1928–29) and Grace’s Guide say 1843. The 1845 date comes from a dealer listing. Neither year is backed by a document from the 1840s that we’ve found.12,26
Samuel Withers founded the company.
George Withers founded it. Samuel’s name appears on the business by 1876, and the 1928–29 directors were the founder’s grandsons.
A plate reading “Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd” can be mid-Victorian.
“Ltd” dates from April 1909. A Ltd plate on an older body would have to be a later replacement.
Thomas Withers & Sons is just another name for Samuel Withers.
They were separate firms in West Bromwich, close enough in name to end up in court in 1927.
I have a Samuel Withers safe: what now?
Keys
No key?
Withers made its own locks, and no Withers key or lock records have been published.17 A safe engineer can usually make a replacement key for an old safe from the lock itself. Don’t drill or force it.
Weight
How heavy is it?
We haven’t found a Withers catalogue with weights. Measure the outside and put the figures into our safe weight calculator for an estimate in lb and kg.
Moving
Moving it
Even a small one is heavier than it looks. Read how to move or get rid of an old safe before you try the stairs.
What is a Samuel Withers safe worth?
Withers safes turn up with British dealers, mostly as small office safes. The prices below are dealers’ asking or last listed prices, not auction results, and they’re here to show the range, not to value yours. Age, condition, original paint and lining, a working lock with keys, and the cost of moving it all matter more than the name. Our guide to whether old safes are worth anything explains why.
| Safe | Kind of price | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Withers & Co., cast iron, painted grey, 1900s | Dealer, asking, October 2026 | £29526 |
| Thomas Withers & Sons, late Victorian, 47.5 cm high, four keys | Dealer, sold | £67527 |
| Thomas Withers, about 1920, 51 cm high | Dealer, sold | £77027 |
| Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd, 61 cm or 84.5 cm high, three keys, brass maker’s plaque | Dealer, sold | Price not shown4 |
This is an informal guide, not a professional appraisal. Want help dating yours? Send us photos of the plate, the keyhole and any numbers, and we’ll tell you what we can about who made it and when.
Frequently asked questions
Who made Samuel Withers safes?
Samuel Withers & Co. of Park Works, West Bromwich, the successor to George Withers & Sons. The firm dated itself to 1843 and became a limited company in 1909.
How old is my Samuel Withers safe?
Check the wording first: “Ltd” means 1909 or later, “Samco” 1913 or later, and plain “Samuel Withers” or “George Withers” points to the 19th century. Then compare the address and the body construction with the tables above.
What is a Samuel Withers safe worth?
Small Withers office safes are usually offered by British dealers for a few hundred pounds; condition, keys and original paint make the difference. It’s an informal guide, not a valuation.
How much does a Samuel Withers safe weigh?
No Withers weight tables have turned up. Measure the outside and use our safe weight calculator, and assume it’s heavier than you think.
Can I get a key for a Samuel Withers safe?
Usually, yes. A specialist safe engineer can make a key from the lock itself, without damaging the safe.
Is Thomas Withers & Sons the same company?
No. Thomas Withers & Sons of Sandwell Road, West Bromwich, was a separate safe maker, founded about 1855 by its own account. It sued Samuel Withers & Co. in 1927 and lost.
Sources:
- Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Journal, vol. 20 (1919), trade directory, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Grace’s Guide, “Samuel Withers and Co” (also filed as “S. Withers and Co”), citing the 1914 Whitaker’s Red Book. ↩︎
- The London Gazette, 11 May 1860, issue 22384, p. 1799, provisional protection No. 1071 to George Withers, “Patent Lock and Wrought-iron Safe Manufacturer, of West Bromwich”. ↩︎
- Sinclairs Antiques and Interiors, Thornton, Fife, listings on Antiques Atlas, both marked sold (checked 29 October 2026): “Edwardian Samuel Withers safe” and “Samuel Withers & Co. safe”. Dealer descriptions, not historical sources. ↩︎
- Patent Office, Patents for Inventions: Abridgments of Specifications relating to Safes, Strong Rooms, Tills, and Similar Depositories, A.D. 1801–1866 (London, c. 1873), pp. 19–20, No. 1071 of 27 April 1860, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- George Hayter Chubb, Protection from Fire and Thieves (London, 1875), lists of patents for locks and for safes, via Project Gutenberg. ↩︎
- International Exhibition of 1862: Official Illustrated Catalogue, part XII, Class 31 (iron and general hardware), exhibit 6259, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- The London Gazette, 21 April 1863, issue 22728, p. 2137, patent notice No. 417 (William Charles McEntee, George Withers and Thomas Withers, “improvements in locks”). ↩︎
- Samuel Withers advertisement in an 1876 trade directory, image via Grace’s Guide. ↩︎
- Academy Architecture and Architectural Review, vol. 6 (1894), trade list “Locks and latches”, via the Internet Archive; the same entry appears in later volumes up to 1902. ↩︎
- The Foundry Trade Journal, April 1909, vol. 11 no. 88, new companies, “Samuel Withers & Company, Limited”, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- The Board of Trade Journal, 30 March 1911, vol. 72 no. 748, buyers’ guide, safe makers, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Samuel Withers & Co. advertisement, 12 April 1913, image via Grace’s Guide; the same advertisement ran in December 1921 (image). ↩︎
- safeman.org.uk, “Coming of age: from iron to steel”. ↩︎
- The Architects’ Journal, 28 May 1924, “The British Industries Fair, Birmingham”, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- The Irish Times, 20 March 1924, auction notice of James Hill & Son, Dublin, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd advertisement, 1938, image via Grace’s Guide. ↩︎
- Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd advertisement, British Industries Fair, 1953, image via Grace’s Guide. ↩︎
- The Foundry Trade Journal, 12 August 1948, vol. 85 no. 1667, news in brief, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Hong Kong Dollar Directory 1973, entry “Thomas Withers & Sons, Ltd., West Bromwich, England: Safes”, via the Internet Archive (the firm appears in the 1968 to 1977 editions). ↩︎
- Locks & Keys, the newsletter for lock collectors, issue 3, July 1997, wanted notice from Trevor Dowson, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Thomas Withers & Sons Ltd v. Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd (1927) 44 R.P.C. 19, as summarised in S. Venkateswaran, The Law of Trade and Merchandise Marks in India (1937), p. 423, note 20, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd advertisement, City of Birmingham Official Handbook 1928–1929 (Geo. B. Ashford), p. 262, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Samuel Withers & Co. Ltd advertisement, Business, April 1955, vol. 85 no. 4, via the Internet Archive. ↩︎
- Post by “safeman”, 12 June 2008, in the antique-locks.com thread “Possibly a Burnside safe”. ↩︎
- On The Square Emporium, “Vintage Samuel Withers & Co. cast iron safe”, asking price (checked 29 October 2026). Dealer description, not a historical source. ↩︎
- Antiques Atlas listings marked sold (checked 29 October 2026): Brookland Antiques, “Very small Thomas Withers cast iron safe with keys”; Witch Antiques, “Early 20th century safe”. The price shown is the dealer’s last listed price. ↩︎
