In 1982 Gerald Brown founded Abbey Saddlery, later renamed Abbey England Ltd. A family business, Abbey employs over 50 people including 9 family members, situated in Knutsford, Cheshire, and further premises which house the foundry, lock making and rubber moulding are located in Walsall, the heart of the British saddlery industry.
Abbey England is proud to support a multitude of manufacturing, commercial and leisure businesses in both the UK and abroad. Supplying high quality British made materials and tools. One of the market leaders amongst equestrian wholesale suppliers, Abbey England was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1995 for their quality goods manufactured in the foundry.
The Abbey England Foundry is home to a number of highly skilled craftsmen who produce high quality riding and driving bits, locks, commemorative brass plaques, industrial hinges, belt buckles, saddlery accessories and other metalwork items for various industries. Casting predominantly in Brass, but also Pewter, Aluminium Bronze, Aluminium, Copper and recently Eco Brass, buckles and bag fittings can be supplied in a variety of finishes from the in house plating and lacquering plants.
Specialist polymer products are also produced at the foundry under the Equus brand. These rubber products are of exceptional quality and are produced from UK sourced rubber. The Equus range includes Overreach Boots, Quarter Boots, Rein Grips, Martingale Stops and Bit Guards, amongst other products.
Not content with just supplying Saddlers, Harness and Rug makers, Abbey England also supply specialist metal work for the fashion, motor and refrigeration markets.
Working closely with industry manufacturers, Abbey England is able to meet the demand for traditional tools including: knives for cutting leather, races to cut grooves, awls for marking and stabbing out holes in the leather, needles, hole punchers, hammers and trimming tools.
High quality English leathers, Leather Tools, Hardware, Webbing and Outdoor textiles form the core of Abbey England's extensive product range. The truly comprehensive range enables Abbey to offer clients the best possible service at competitive prices.
Abbey prides itself on keeping the British saddlery and associated trades alive by supplying niche products to those retailers and manufacturers requiring the more traditional goods and tools.
With a ”Buy British, Sell British” ethos instilled in the heart of our business, we at Abbey make every effort to source and produce our products in England. When it looked like the last brass buckle foundry in the country was going to close, we bought it to ensure the continuity of British manufacturing and to safeguard the jobs and skills of the foundry workers. Similarly our lock making and rubber moulding businesses were acquired to keep the manufacturing in Britain in our Walsall manufacturing base. The majority of our wholesale products are sourced in the UK but some skills have been lost forever and we must out of necessity buy some items, such as hooks and stainless steel buckles, overseas.
Our metals (some recycled) for the foundry and lock making are sourced in the West Midlands. Our high quality rubber for rubber moulding is sourced in Manchester and North Wales. Printing of catalogues and packaging is done in the North West and the West Midlands. We try to buy British and, where possible, buy locally. For items supplied through our wholesale division we endeavour to source in the UK but where this is not possible we import a small range of goods from Europe, the USA and Asia.