About Us

Hayes & Finch - History

In 1882, Mr William Hayes and Mr James Finch set up business in Old Leeds Street, Liverpool as church candle manufacturers and church suppliers of most church requirements. The beginnings were on a small scale, with local deliveries being made by hand carts and outlying areas of the city and Birkenhead supplied by hired horse drawn wagons.

With dedication and hard Work by all concerned, the small business prospered and in 1905 became a limited company and a new factory was built in Vernon Street, Liverpool. Shortly after Mr William Hayes decided to depart from the venture which he had helped to establish. Mr James Finch, the Great grandfather of the present generation of the family, became the proprietor of the company.

The ensuing years became a great challenge to James Finch, not only had he to steer the company through early teething troubles, but he also had to repay the original share of the capital to William Hayes. However, by this time James Finch had the support of his son Thomas James and the first branch offices and depots were opened in London and Glasgow. The opening of a Manchester branch came immediately after the First World War. These progressions were all made possible due to the unstinting service of the employees of the company and the unceasing loyalty of our customers who were obviously the cause of the expansion in the business.

Thomas James, the son of the co-founder, produced six sons who followed their father into the business. Through him they learned the most important lesson concerning the conduct of a business, namely, to ensure that the customer receives every possible courtesy and attention, and is offered true value for money. The unfailing support of our customers over the years has shown that these lessons were well and truly learnt.

Soon after the First World War a factory was opened in Eustance Street, Dublin. This was to supply the considerable trade in Ireland and at times of pressure to assist the Liverpool factory to meet demands such as Candlemas and Easter. However, the advent of the Second World War forced the closure of this factory due to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary raw materials required for candle making. During this period the company virtually went into mothballs. All the sons and other able bodied staff either volunteered or were conscripted into the armed services. However, by the grace of God, all returned safely after the war and miraculously, the factory in Vernon Street was unscathed by the repeated bombing attacks upon the city, although every building on all four sides of the factory was either destroyed or severely damaged.

The post war period in the history of the company proved the most exciting, with the additional branches and depots being established in Birmingham, Gateshead and Huddersfield, which replaced the Manchester branch. At the same time, a branch in Dublin was opened to continue the service given prior to the war.

In 1969 the company moved out of the Vernon Street factory and into a modern purpose built factory on Aintree Industrial Estate. Modern candle-making machinery and ancillary equipment was installed to enable the company to offer the best quality in candles. The move to Aintree saw the development of the other in-house production units, namely The Wine Cellar, Metal Shop, Plating Shop, Wick Manufacture, Vestment Department and 'state-of-the-art' Furniture Factory.

Every sacristy and furnishing requirement is now available directly from Hayes & Finch and delivered to your door by our transport fleet. As we move into the new millennium, Hayes & Finch are committed to providing the very best of service and products to all our valued customers