Arthur Beale, has been situated on Shaftesbury Avenue for over 120 years. Prior to that it was established on the banks of the Fleet river. It was originally named John Buckingham and was a manufacturer of ropes for the ships on the then bustling river. We are still investigating the full history of the company but it is at least 400 years old. The company was owned by the Beale family until shortly after the death of the second Arthur Beale in 1954. We are delighted that we have made contact with the descendants of Arthur Beale and we are all keen to find out as much as possible about the man and the company. We'll be posting more history here when we discover it.
The company was bought in 2014 by Alasdair Flint and Gerry Jeatt when it became apparent it was on the point of closing. They bring with them significant experience of both the sailing and the entertainments industries. The location of Arthur Beale in the heart of theatreland has long made it a popular destination for the crew of West End theatre.
Alasdair has recently joined the team at Beales. He is a keen yachtsman who has owned and maintained a varnished wooden yacht for the last twenty two years. During that time he has sailed single handed across the Atlantic and made several Arctic voyages including meeting polar bears in Spitzbergen and more recently climbing the world’s most northerly volcano for which he, and fellow skipper Tim Loftus, were awarded the prestigious Tilman Medal by the Royal Cruising Club. As you can imagine Alasdair is keen to stock not only excellent quality products for the maintenance of wooden yachts but also equipment and clothing that will withstand the rigours of tough ocean voyages.
New to the Beales team is Gerry who has a whole range of skills to bring the company right up to date. Gerry is the first to admit he is no ocean sailor although he is a bit of a fan of narrowboating holidays. Gerry is an expert on all those things that businesses completely depend on nowadays. Arthur Beale had no website and the accounts were all hand written. Carbon paper and typewriters were to hand. All rather wonderful but sadly not very practical in this modern IT dominated world. Gerry has already computerised the accounts, opened up email addresses and generally made things happen a lot faster! He will be introducing an online buying website, although it will take a while to load up all of the thousands of items that we have in stock. Gerry is as keen as all of us to keep the idiosyncratic charm of Arthur Beale but a few high tech systems buzzing away in the background will help keep the ship afloat!
» Do you have ropework experience? Would you like to work at Arthur Beales?
Do you have ropework experience? Would you like to work at Arthur Beales?
We are looking for a Rigging Manager to look after the ropes and rigging side of Arthur Beales. Not only will it involve serving and advising customers but also working in our rigging room splicing fibre ropes and terminating wire ropes. There is occassional work onsite too. It is a full time job with some rota weekend working.
It is a very satisfying photo but you really have to see this compact tool kit to fully appreciate the quality. It is made by Wera, a German company reknowned for their tool making excellence. Being small, it would be ideal on any small yacht, or it could be easily carried with you on delivery trips etc.
List price £106.36. Arthur Beale Special Price just £59.99!
Standard Selling Price £299.00
which we are still dreaming up. There will be a Christmas Tree too! We will have lots of staff on hand to help you choose presents for even your most awkward relations. It will generally be a festive antidote to chain store shopping, although ironically our store actually sells chain whilst chain stores don't!
.....and neither will you! Our Arthur Beale Beerenberg Oiled Wool Pullovers have just arrived in pure Welsh Mountain Sheep Wool. The sheep are called black but their wool is actually a rich dark brown colour. There is no dye or bleach involved, just a gentle wash to retain the natural lanolin so they smell gorgeous. These British Made pullovers are built to last with reinforced shoulder seems and thumbholes. They rarely need to be cleaned but when they are washed they will not shed any of the harmful plastic microfibres associated with polyester fleeces. Each pullover is individually numbered, they are made in small batches so don't hang around, the stock may not last until Christmas.
Admission to the talk is a nominal £5.00 which is fully refunded on purchase of the book or any item from Arthur Beale worth over £15.00.
We are looking for someone who has good knowledge of chandlery products either through working in the industry or from their own sailing or boating experience. It is a full-time job advising and serving customers with some weekend rota working.
We are looking for a Rigging Manager to look after the ropes and rigging side of Arthur Beales. Not only will it involve serving and advising customers but also working in our rigging room splicing fibre ropes and terminating wire ropes. There is occassional work onsite too. It is a full time job with some rota weekend working. A job description can be downloaded
