William Turnbull (Turnbull & Stockdale)

William Turnbull founded Turnbull & Stockdale, a leading and innovative textile manufacturer of calico prints in 1881.

Turnbull & Stockdale was a leading producers of fine textiles based in Lancashire in the UK and operating from the late 1890’s until the mid 1960’s with that name. It employed some of the most renowned names in textile design in its time, including Lewis F Day (amongst others). It was bought by Reeds and became part of a wider print company, but in the mid 1960’s was re-started by my father Edward Turnbull, who had the foresight to preserve the print archive. The firm continues to this day, and is still headed by Edward and Richard Turnbull.

The Turnbull Archive is regarded by leading academics and design historians as being of national importance, and at its heart lies the work of Turnbull & Stockdale and is one of the largest Pattern Archives for printed cloth, covering different styles, pattern sizes and periods.

The references are held in the form of original sketches, paper artwork, and in many cases period fabric cuttings together with manufacturing colourway references. Reflecting the evolution of the history of design for more than 150 years; representing cutting edge stylistic trends of the post-industrial period. Categorised by period, style, motif and influence, our team can assist designers and producers with identifying key themes and concepts.