Crown Wallpaper

Crown Wallpaper, also known as the Crown Wallpaper Company, was a British wallpaper-manufacturing agglomeration formed in 1899. It brought together a number of established manufacturers in the United Kingdom, including Arthur Sanderson & Sons, and was associated with the industrial production and distribution of wallpaper and related decorative wallcoverings. The group’s development reflected the consolidation of the British wallpaper industry at the end of the nineteenth century. Rather than operating solely as a single product label, Crown Wallpaper functioned as an umbrella organization for several specialist businesses. Its portfolio expanded particularly into relief decoration, a category of textured and embossed wall finishes. By 1904, the group had acquired a majority of companies specializing in this field, including Lincrusta-Walton and Anaglypta. These businesses were significant names in decorative wallcoverings, and their incorporation broadened Crown’s position beyond conventional printed wallpaper. The company had premises in Darwen, Lancashire, an important historic center of British wallpaper manufacturing. Its activities therefore formed part of the region’s wider industrial and design heritage. The surviving Crown Wallpaper Archive contains approximately 5,000 wallpaper samples and pattern books dating from the early 1950s through the late 1960s. The collection is held by the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and provides evidence of the group’s design output and commercial product development during the postwar period. Crown Wallpaper eventually transformed into Crown Ltd. The business later became part of a wider corporate transaction when Borden Inc. purchased it from Reed International in 1985. At that time, the business was reported to hold approximately 18 percent of the relevant market. Borden expanded its decorating interests again in 1988 by acquiring the decorating operations of T & N for £12 million; contemporary reference material stated that this added a further three percentage points to the business’s market position. The available historical record does not establish a current standalone Crown Wallpaper operating company, a present-day owner, or an official active website. Accordingly, the brand is best documented as a historically important British wallpaper and wall-decoration enterprise whose corporate identity evolved after its original formation.

Crown Wallpaper was created in 1899 as a consolidation of several large British wallpaper manufacturers. It was also known as the Crown Wallpaper Company. One of the founding members was Arthur Sanderson & Sons, an established name in British wallpaper design and manufacturing. The formation of the group reflected the increasing scale and concentration of the wallpaper industry, in which manufacturing capacity, pattern libraries, distribution networks, and specialist decorative techniques could be combined under broader corporate ownership. The group was based at premises in Darwen, Lancashire. Darwen was associated with the British textile and wallpaper industries, making it a logical location for a large wallcoverings enterprise. Crown’s business was not limited to ordinary printed wallpaper. During the early twentieth century it expanded into relief decoration, a field involving textured, embossed, and architectural wall finishes. By 1904, Crown had acquired a majority of companies specializing in relief decoration. The businesses named in historical accounts include Lincrusta-Walton and Anaglypta, both associated with decorative textured wallcoverings. These acquisitions gave Crown a broader product and manufacturing base and connected the group with important traditions in Victorian and early modern interior decoration. Crown Wallpaper subsequently evolved into Crown Ltd. The precise dates and corporate mechanics of that transformation are not established in the available reference material, but the change indicates that the original agglomeration developed into a more conventional corporate structure. The business continued to be associated with wallpaper and decorating products into the later twentieth century. Its historical output is documented by the Crown Wallpaper Archive, which includes around 5,000 wallpaper samples and pattern books from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. The archive is held by the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and preserves examples of the group’s patterns, materials, and commercial presentation during a period of substantial change in postwar domestic interiors. In 1985, Borden Inc. purchased the business from Reed International. The business was reported at the time to hold 18 percent of the market. Borden subsequently enlarged its decorating operations in 1988 by acquiring the decorating activities of T & N for £12 million. Reference material states that the latter transaction increased Borden’s market position by an additional three percentage points. These transactions placed the Crown business within a wider decorating-products strategy rather than leaving it as an independent wallpaper manufacturer. The available sources do not identify a current standalone Crown Wallpaper company, current executives, an active official website, or a confirmed present-day owner. The brand’s documented significance is therefore historical: it represents a major British wallpaper consolidation, an early corporate platform for relief wallcoverings, and a business whose products and pattern literature remain represented in a specialist design archive.

• 1988

  T & N decorating operations acquired

  [1]Crown Wallpaperen.wikipedia.org

  Borden purchases T & N’s decorating operations for £12 million, reportedly adding three percentage points to the business’s market position.

• 1985

  Acquisition by Borden

  [1]Crown Wallpaperen.wikipedia.org

  Borden Inc. purchases the business from Reed International; the business is reported to hold 18 percent of the market.

• 1904

  Expansion into relief decoration

  [1]Crown Wallpaperen.wikipedia.org

  Crown has acquired a majority of companies specializing in relief decoration, including Lincrusta-Walton and Anaglypta.

• 1899

  Crown Wallpaper is formed

  [1]Crown Wallpaperen.wikipedia.org

  An agglomeration of major British wallpaper manufacturers is formed under the Crown Wallpaper name, with Arthur Sanderson & Sons among the founding members.

A British industrial and design-oriented wallcoverings group built through the consolidation of established wallpaper manufacturers and specialist relief-decoration businesses.

• Wallpaper

  Printed wallpaper

  Printed wallpaper formed the core of Crown Wallpaper’s historic business. The group consolidated manufacturers with established pattern-making and wallpaper-production capabilities, allowing it to operate across a range of decorative styles and domestic or institutional applications. The surviving archive of samples and pattern books documents the company’s postwar design output, although the available reference does not provide a complete catalog of individual patterns.

• Relief wallcoverings

  Lincrusta wallcoverings

  Lincrusta was one of the relief-decoration businesses acquired by the Crown group by 1904. Its inclusion expanded Crown’s activities into molded and embossed wall finishes rather than flat printed paper alone. The reference material identifies the acquisition but does not specify individual Crown-branded Lincrusta products or current availability.

• Embossed wallcoverings

  Anaglypta wallcoverings

  Anaglypta was another specialist relief-decoration business brought into the Crown group by 1904. Its embossed wallcoverings complemented Crown’s conventional wallpaper manufacturing and strengthened the group’s position in textured interior decoration. The available source does not provide a detailed chronology of specific Anaglypta collections under Crown ownership.

• 1988

  Acquisition of T & N decorating operationsM&A

  Background

  Borden continued to expand its decorating business after acquiring Crown.

  Action taken

  Borden purchased the decorating operations of T & N for £12 million.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition was reported to add a further three percentage points to the business’s market position.

  Acquisition price. £12 million (1988)

  Source

• 1985

  Sale of the business to BordenM&A

  Background

  The Crown business, by then associated with Crown Ltd., was owned by Reed International before the transaction.

  Action taken

  Borden Inc. purchased the business from Reed International.

  Aftermath

  The business entered Borden’s broader decorating operations. Contemporary reference material reported an 18 percent market position at the time of purchase.

  Reported market share. 18% (1985)

  Source

• 1904

  Expansion into relief decorationStrategy

  Background

  Crown broadened its scope beyond conventional wallpaper manufacturing into textured and embossed wall finishes.

  Action taken

  By 1904, the group had acquired a majority of companies specializing in relief decoration, including Lincrusta-Walton and Anaglypta.

  Aftermath

  The acquisitions gave Crown a broader wallcoverings portfolio and a stronger position in specialist decorative surfaces.

  Source

• 1899

  Formation of a consolidated wallpaper groupM&A

  Background

  The British wallpaper industry included numerous established manufacturers and specialist decorative businesses. Crown Wallpaper was created as an agglomeration to bring several of these businesses into a larger organization.

  Action taken

  The group combined major wallpaper manufacturers, including Arthur Sanderson & Sons, under the Crown Wallpaper organization.

  Aftermath

  The consolidation created a platform that later expanded into relief decoration and eventually developed into Crown Ltd.

  Source

1. 1Crown Wallpaperen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Museum of Domestic Design and Architecturemoda.museum