The Basildon Bond Story

The name of Basildon Bond was coined by Percy Parminter, a director of Millington & Co., for a watermarked writing paper similar to that used for Treasury bonds. The name evolved after attending a house party at Basildon House near Reading, now in the care of the National Trust, but then the country seat of Mr Morrison, one of Millington’s financial backers. Parminter suggested Basildon Bond as a reminder of a happy weekend there and so the brand name was launched in 1911.

Millington’s were a progressive business having evolved from one founded in 1824 by William Leschallas, a paper and rag dealer in Bishopsgate. The first ready folded notepaper was an innovation that other companies were quick to follow, later Millington’s became a major manufacturer of envelopes through the introduction of the first high-speed rotary machines in the country. In 1896 Parminter bought a batch of machine glazed (MG) Manilla paper which had failed to meet its intended specification but was excellent for strong cheap envelopes for which there was an immediate and expanding market. Another major line introduced in 1905 was the OUTLOOK envelope made using an exclusive licence for the UK and its colonies from an American company. With these the address, printed on the correspondence within, could be seen through a window of transparent material. A newly built factory at Tottenham was built to meet all of these production requirements in 1903.

Millington’s main competitor, John Dickinson & Co., made an offer to buy the entire Millington share capital in 1918 with the final amalgamation taking place in 1932. As a stationer and paper manufacturer Dickinson’s then made the Basildon Bond paper at Croxley and by the 1950’s were making a range of air mail products, writing pads, envelopes, notelets and gift boxed writing sets under the brand name.
During the second World War Dickinson’s escaped enemy action locally although their Bristol warehouse and the Head Office at The Old Bailey were completely destroyed. The former Millington factory, now called the Basildon Works, was damaged by incendiary bombs on the night of 19 October 1940 together with the houses of some of the employees who lived nearby. Many of them were re-located to Apsley and provided with accommodation at Shendish House, built as the home of Charles Longman, John Dickinson’s partner and acquired by the company just before the war as a sport and recreation centre. One of the refugees, a Mrs Ellis, gave birth to a daughter there, naming her ‘Shenda’ Gertrude Rose to commemorate their new home.

In the 1980’s comedian Russ Abbot created the spoof secret agent introduced with the line, ‘My name’s Bond. - Basildon Bond’. The house-hold name had been developed in many ways from a booklet entitled ‘The Etiquette of Letter Writing by Lady Eleanor Smith’ to competitions for slogans. ‘The King of Papers, The Paper of Kings’ and ‘Basildon Bond - Carries out its Duties to the Letter!’ are but two examples. Then in 1981 a specially commissioned Basildon Bond rose, bred by Harkness Roses, was exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show. Sadly it is no longer available.

We are pleased that the large clock on one of the former Dickinson buildings now belonging to the Apsley Paper Trail bears the twelve letters of the name in place of numerals. Through the century the name has had many owners, each has valued the tradition and the name. In 2005 Superbrand status was awarded confirming Basildon Bond as a market leader. In 2011, Chelsea once again featured the name of the world’s best known writing paper amongst the exhibits this time as a centenary garden.

By Michael Stanyon, Hon. P/t archivist for The Apsley Paper Trail