 History
“Tall oaks from little acorns grow”...In
1850 the Walden’s’ seed was sown by founder,
Alfred Walden. He and his wife Amelia wove willow
into baskets and other containers in the rear of the
original premises in St. John Street, London, with
Amelia selling them in the front shop.
The business gradually expanded, selling large numbers
of willow baskets to the General Post Office and various
regional railways, such as Great Eastern, Great Northern,
and Great Western. Queen Victoria also appeared on
the customer list with regular deliveries being made
to Buckingham Palace. The rapid growth meant more
people were required, and Alfred’s and Amelia’s
three sons joined the business.
 Later
after continuous expansion two of the brothers, Albert
& George, eventually took over the business and
Alfred Walden retired. It was at this point of the
company’s history that the name became A. &
G. Walden Brothers.
During the First World War Walden’s spent
the majority of its time producing balloon observation
baskets. In the last World War, however, large baskets
were still produced as airborne panniers. These carried
soldiers’ equipment and were delivered to their
destination by parachute and then filled with earth
to act as a defensive wall.
A New Direction in Materials' Handling Equipment
In 1929 the present Managing Director’s father
joined the company. Kenneth Walden started at the
bottom, as has always been the family tradition. He
started by watching and indeed helping the skilled
basketmakers, but later became a highly skilled weaver
himself. The period  from
1929 to 1980, during which Kenneth was active in the
business, saw enormous changes, many of which were
due directly to his foresight. New products evolved,
including Walden's ash framed Sack Trucks. And although
Kenneth Walden was himself a skilled basketmaker,
he envisioned the future as being in metal engineering,
and after much persuasion he convinced his father
and uncle to manufacture the baskets’ metal
undercarriages. This proved most successful was the
forerunner of the tubular steel materials' handling
equipment.
It was only after more than a century of continuous
production, in the early 1960s, that the last basketmaker
left the company. Baskets, however, remained part
of the ever-developing product range until the early
1980s.
Walden's on the Move
Throughout this period, the company remained at
St. John Street and achieved the rare feat of completing
an entire ninety-nine year lease. In 1959 the company
had finally outgrown the enlarged facilities at St.
John Street and moved to freehold premises in Dalston,
London E8. Later in 1965 Walden's acquired the adjoining
building, doubling the size of the site.
The next generation now began to join the company
with Kenneth’s eldest son, Tony starting. Around
five years later brother Peter joined, with both being
expected to begin their education on the shop floor.
During the late 1970s, it became apparent that the
continued growth of the company meant Walden's needed
additional facilities. But expanding the Dalston premises
was out of the question, so the search was on. And
after much soul-searching, Walden's decided to move
from London to a purpose-built factory in Brandon,
Suffolk.
With Kenneth Walden retiring at this time, his two
sons, Tony and Peter, arranged and controlled the
move. Of the original staff only the present Production
Director, Tony Rossiter, moved to Brandon with all
replacement staff coming from the local area.
Since 1980 Walden's have expanded several times,
increasing the original 5,000 square foot premises
to the present figure of 20,000 square feet.
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