Yardley Was on Every British Dressing Table. Who Owns It Now?

What happened to Yardley? Yardley English Lavender was on every British dressing table, and since 1967 the name has had seven owners; an Indian company owns it in most of the world today. What is Yardley English Lavender worth? I found no sold price for a talc tin, but the china figures that advertised it sold for £130 to £242.25 at auction, each on its own terms (hammer price, premium, a lot of two). What this video covers, in order: why the label says 1770 when the paper record shows William Yardley taking over in 1823; English lavender and the French lavender in the cheaper lines; the works at Carpenters Road, Stratford (1904), Bond Street, six royal warrants and the move to Basildon in 1965-66; the London Look and Twiggy; the sale to British American Tobacco in 1967, then Beecham, Wasserstein Perella, the 1998 receivership, Wella, Procter and Gamble, Lornamead and Wipro; and what the old china figures sold for at Bonhams and Tooveys, with a tip for dating a tin by its shop address. The bathroom cabinet follows: Imperial Leather, Pears, Brylcreem and Vosene. Sold prices only, with their dates. Tell me in the comments: what was on your nan's dressing table, the tin, the bottle or the soap, and have you still got it? Check your loft. You never know what you kept. Chapters 00:00 The Tin 01:12 1770, Says the Label 02:56 English Lavender 05:07 Bond Street to Basildon 07:02 The London Look 08:45 Old Lace and Lavender 10:43 Seven Owners 13:11 What Nan's Lavender Sells For 15:50 The Rest of the Cabinet 17:22 Where I Stand Sources Cosmetics and Skin, Yardley: https://cosmeticsandskin.com/companie... Cosmetics and Skin, Yardley (post 1945): https://cosmeticsandskin.com/companie... Companies House, Yardley and Company Limited: https://find-and-update.company-infor... Companies House, Yardley of London Limited: https://find-and-update.company-infor... Accountancy Age, Yardley receivership not a bed of roses, 15 Sep 1998: https://www.accountancyage.com/aa/new... Cosmetics Business, Yardley quintessentially British: https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/yardley... Cosmetics Business, Wipro acquires Yardley operations, 5 Nov 2009: https://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/ind... Business Today, Wipro acquires Yardley UK, 25 Jul 2012: https://www.businesstoday.in/story/wi... Bonhams, Chester, 15 Sep 2007: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/15162... Tooveys, 16 Jun 2011: https://www.tooveys.com/lots/195134/a... Bonhams, Knightsbridge, 4 Sep 2019: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/25303... Clips from Coverr and Wikimedia Commons, trimmed and cropped; photos from Openverse and Wikimedia Commons: Yardley, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... David Boté Estrada, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... Yardley, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Konrad Grunsky-Peper, Gabriel Simons / LVR-Institut für Landeskunde und Regionalgeschichte, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... Yardley, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... garryknight, flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/8176740... Reading Tom, flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/1680191... Abel Nunez, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... Anthony Quintano, flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/2288227... Footage: Coverr (coverr.co) S Pakhrin, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... Dei Ville, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=... quinet, flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/9199404... Garry Knight, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/... Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/... Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-23): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/... CC-BY-4.0, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Map data: Natural Earth, public domain. Place search: © OpenStreetMap contributors (Nominatim). This video uses AI-generated visuals and an AI narration voice. Arthur is a fictional narrator. Facts and auction values are sourced in the description; values vary by condition and are not financial advice.