A family whose ancestors had their own jewellers shop in Liverpool over 200 years ago is still trading in the city today.
Located on the corner of Lord Street and North John Street in Liverpool city centre, Boodles has welcomed generations of customers through its doors. The Wainwright family first established the business in Liverpool in 1798 and six generations on, Boodles is still a prominent name in Merseyside and beyond.
Over time, the business has evolved along with the city, and now designs and makes all of its own jewellery. And while Boodles has stores across the UK, everything from design to production still takes place in Liverpool where it all began.
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Chairman Nicholas Wainwright told the Liverpool ECHO: "We've always been in the centre of Liverpool. My family, the Wainwright family, we had our own jewellers shop, H Wainwright & Sons which was a nice business but then in 1911 we bought the then much better jewellers, then called Boodle and Dunthorne.
"We kept the name of Boodle and Dunthorne because it was a better known name than our own jewellers. Since 1911, when both Mr Boodle and Mr Dunthorne both died, the Wainwright family took over and we’ve owned it as an independent jewellers since that date.
"We’ve kept their name and it's still very much a family business. My great-grandfather bought it in 1911, then it was my grandfather, then my father came back from the war in Burma where he was serving in the army to take over in 1945.
"I joined the company in 1968, which is a long time. I've been here 54 years as a junior, as a salesman, as a director and now I'm the chairman of Boodles."
Around 15 years ago, the business changed its name from Boodles and Dunthorne to Boodles. But a lot more has changed in the city and at Boodles since the 19th century.
Nicholas said: "There were many good jewellers in Liverpool in those days. There was Bagshaw's, there was Pennington and Batty, there were Pykes, Oldfields, there were many good jewellers, respectable jewellers, selling beautiful quality jewellery to the wealthy business people in Liverpool.
"It's very different today because in those days we were very much I think for me to say a nice county jewellers, we served as the family jeweller. We would sell diamond engagement rings and silver and silver plate and many brands of watches and clocks and antiques.
"We've changed in that we've focused on jewellery and on very fine quality jewellery. We decided to back out of silver and silver plate and so many brands of watches, we still have one brand, we have Patek Philippe, but we decided to focus on jewellery."
Today, everything from design and production to accounts and more takes place at Boodles Liverpool. The company also has other stores around the UK, such as London, Leeds and Dublin.
Nicholas said: "We now design and make all our own jewellery. Our design team is based in Liverpool and it's one of the finest design teams in the country, no question about that and the five of them are based in here Liverpool under the direction of Rebecca Hawkins, our head of design.
"Jewellery that we’re selling in Liverpool, in London, in the rest of the UK and abroad, is all, every single piece, designed here in Liverpool."
Boodles has grown through the decades along with the city and has also been part of other big moments in history. Boodle & Dunthorne were commissioned to design and make a silver-gilt switch box for presentation to King George V on his visit to open Birkenhead library on Borough Road, Wirral in 1934.
As part of a regional offering, Boodle & Dunthorne also designed and made the solid silver stand for one of Princess Elizabeth's wedding cakes, as well as making the gold trophy for record breaking Grand National winner, Mr What, Ridden by the Queen Mother's jockey on 1958.
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In March 2014, the exclusive world of Boodles was unveiled for all to see in a Channel 4 'Behind the Scenes' documentary called ‘The Million Pound Necklace: Inside Boodles’.' But for Nicholas, some of his favourite memories of Boodles is working with his father and welcoming generations of customers in the city.
He said: "I love the fact that we’ve survived in Liverpool. I love the fact we are able to support a lot of charities, that we have some wonderful customers, customers who have been with us for generations, but others that are new customers, new people who’ve done well and they want to go to the right place to buy their jewellery and so it makes me thrilled that that still happens."
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Boodles still remains a family business, with brother Michael Wainwright as managing director, and Nichola's son Jody and nephew James as directors. A few younger members of the family have since become involved in Boodles, and Nicholas said the team want to keep improving everything they do to continue thriving in the city for years to come.
Nicholas said: "We've done well to survive, we’ve been through two World Wars, recessions, depressions, even covid or business problems with the stock market. On one hand we’ve survived so we possibly are one of the oldest jewellers in Liverpool but I would like to say you are as good as you are today.
Have you ever visited Boodles? Let us know in the comments section below.
"Just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you're the best so we still try very hard to improve everything that we do - our every bit of standard, quality, our design, our service - everything. I think a lot of people in Liverpool pass our windows daily or quite often and they possibly think we might not be the jeweller for them, they might think we’re a bit “posh” but we’re not, we're very nice people, we look after everyone, whatever they want.
"We respect everyone, whether there wanting a watch strap or an engagement ring or a more valuable piece of jewellery. We are a nice company, we ‘re a fun company, we’re a company which has high morals and good integrity and I'd like people in Liverpool to know more of that."
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In July, the Liverpool ECHO reported how a huge Boodles 'dazzling' jewellery exhibition is to launch at Lady Lever's Art Gallery. 'Pure Brilliance: The Boodles Story' will launch at the gallery on 22 October, 2022 and will run throughout the gallery’s 100th anniversary year until 5 March 2023.
Boodles fans will have the opportunity to see the story behind the jewellery from the sourcing of precious stones and metals through to the design and the manufacturing process of the pieces. They'll also be able to see how the famous Boodles brand was created and venture into the glamourous world of high-end jewellery.
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