Horace was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire in 1922 when the furniture industry was thriving in the Chiltern area. His father George had inherited the family ironmongers in Desborough Road, which had been started by his father Isaac in 1892. At this time Isaac Lord had two shops in High Wycombe the other one being in Priory Road, where Horace worked and mastered the trade.
At that time there were a number of ironmongers in the town and regular meetings were held in the upstairs room of a pub in White Hart Street, under the auspices of National Federation of Ironmongers (NFI).
Factory visits were arranged, social gatherings and training encouraged for the younger staff by the National Institute of Hardware (NIH).
Beside the trade supplies to the furniture industry, Isaac Lord had a large range of tools, ironmongery, china and glass, cleaning materials, gardening tools and lawnmowers, as well as many other products too numerous to mention.
Frank Pain, a famous woodturner, lived locally lived and would come into the shop and regularly pick out the best woodturning tools, some of which he sent all over the world to students of the craft. Years later, woodturning would become an important part of the business with the sale of lathes and tools and the running of training courses.
Horace spent a lot of his time buying product and negotiating with suppliers. With the advent of rocker and reclining chairs, he sourced a rocker chair action from USA and also had reclining chair actions manufactured in the UK to an exclusive design.
He also visited the Interzum Exhibition in Cologne, Germany, to expand the range of products stocked. The advent of knock-down furniture saw Isaac Lord ready to supply fittings to this important market.
Exhibitions were arranged in local hotels, sometimes at the Red Lion in the High Street, where suppliers were invited to display their range. 3M who supplied abrasive papers and GKN who supplied screws found this a good way to meet the local factory owners and buyers. There was always a new product to entice, power tools were just coming in and local factories found the screwdrivers excellent for screwing in the one-and-a-quarter and one-and-a-half inch, 12-gauge, wood screws into the chair frames. They had to have the right driver bits though and these took some sourcing. Besides these exhibitions, Wycombe Show was held every September and a stand was taken to display the product range.
Horace was invited to join the Rotary Club in High Wycombe becoming Treasurer and Secretary, an important lunch meeting every week. He would have met many of the local business owners, two of the most well known customers were G Plan and Ercol, both located at the London Road end of town. They did need extra attention and deliveries were made to these factories on most days.
Horace was very proud and appreciative of his loyal staff, many of whom gave long years of service.
Horace retired in 1984, when his brother David and eldest son Alan continued to manage the company. He had seen many changes, including the expansion of the business into new purpose built premises on Desborough Road opposite the existing shop and a separate Warehouse and Trade Counter in Desborough Park Road. The company now exhibited nationally at the ASFI (Association of Suppliers to the Furniture Industry) and produced its own catalogue.
Horace took on the challenge of writing a book in preparation for the centenary of the company in 1992. He spent many hours visiting all parts of the country, interviewing suppliers, talking to old staff and customers, plus a lot of research at High Wycombe Library. “A Century at Lord’s” was distributed to customers and suppliers.
In recent years the company has achieved the honour of being named “Tool Dealer “ of the year, with all the competition from DIY Warehouses and online trading the company continues to prosper under new owners.
Matthew, Horace’s grandson, now has his own business supplying the kitchen industry with fittings. With foresight Horace had seen into the future and his first visit to Interzum many years ago had enabled his grandson to carry on in his footsteps.
Horace leaves a wife Joy, four children, eight grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren. He loved them all and will be missed, but his smile and quiet nature, his inspiration and dedication to his work will continue to shine through those he met in his life.
