BARBER WILSONS and CO – Wood Green, London
The Heritage: Founded in 1905, Barber Wilsons is the oldest independent family-owned manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom taps in the UK. They continue to manufacture their entire range from their original site in Wood Green, North London, where they hold a Royal Warrant for their services to the Royal Household.
The Verdict: This is industrial archaeology in active production. Barber Wilsons is one of the few makers globally that still produces a mastercraft range using traditional heavy-duty casting techniques that haven't changed in a century. Their sustainability model is the purest form of the circular economy: they provide a full refurbishment service where they can strip, re-machine and re-plate a Barber Wilsons tap that was installed in the 1930s, returning it to an as-new condition. This makes their products an infinite-life investment. As they’re a small-scale, batch-manufacturer, they avoid the energy-intensive waste of high-volume automated lines and support a rare pocket of skilled urban manufacturing in the capital.
Core Products: Traditional compression-valve taps and exposed "Regent" shower systems.
