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Yorkshire Textiles History

The Waterhouse family’s cloth expertise spans more than 150 years, with textile industry skills, knowledge and an exceptional eye for detail threaded through five generations. From selling clean wool top to manufacturers across Yorkshire to supplying the finest worsted to prestigious tailors and garment makers around the world, our passion for fine cloth has never faltered.

1880s

Setting up as a wool merchant in Bradford in the mid-1800s, Robert Waterhouse sold clean wool top to the bustling textile industry across Yorkshire before passing the business on to his son.

1900s

Taking the merchant baton, his son Gilbert Waterhouse continued running the business through both World Wars and was involved in the supply chain for British Army, Navy and RAF uniforms.

1950s

Gilbert’s son, Cecil Waterhouse, started a new wool topmaking business, Cecil Waterhouse & Sons. This business grew to become one of the largest British wool topmaking businesses in the country, before Cecil sold the business to Woolcombers PLC in 1964 due to bad health.

1962

Having started working for his father’s business in 1962, Bill Waterhouse moved to Woolcombers with the sale. He worked for the group for 20 years while it grew into one of Europe’s largest combing mills, and Bill became a company director.

2005

Following his father’s footsteps, Ed Waterhouse entered the fabric industry upon leaving school. Joining Taylor & Lodge, which had been acquired into the new concentrated group, he experienced all elements of the production process, progressing from cloth warehouse to UK sales director over 12 years. After leaving Taylor & Lodge, he purchased a small worsted cloth merchant in 2016 and founded Yorkshire Textiles.