Marlors Ltd
James Marlor founded a hat manufacturing business in a small building off Ashton Rd in 1850. This prospered and a decade later he bought a row of cottages in Taylor Ln. He tenanted the cottages with hatters who planked felt hoods for him in sheds behind where they lived. The next stages of manufacture processed the hoods into hats. Shortly afterwards he built a new hat factory on the north side of Vernon St (off Taylor Ln) and then he built a row of six terraced cottages facing the factory for his employees. James Marlor also changed the name of Vernon St to Marlor St. At some point the business was moved into part of Victoria Hat Works on Wilton St that was already occupied by P Robinson & Co. The short-lived George Marlor (son of James) lived next door to Victoria Hat Works at Laburnum Villa, 83 Wilton St, and a bridge connected the house to the works.

James had seven sons, five of whom were in the family hat manufacturing businesses at varying times. The original business was called James Marlor & Sons and the partners were James Marlor, Charles Marlor, William Marlor and Samuel Marlor. Following the death of James Marlor, the partnership comprised William Marlor, Charles Marlor, George Marlor and Joseph Marlor. A second business was Charles Marlor & Brothers and the partners were Charles Marlor, George Marlor and Samuel Marlor. On the 19 Jun 1866 George Marlor stepped down as a partner of Charles Marlor & Brothers and he died on the 4 Oct 1880, aged 35 years.

Two brothers, John and Robert had no connection with the family businesses. John stayed as a hatter and Robert initially went into the hatting business with James Bromley under the style of Marlor & Bromley and later on his own account. Samuel Marlor also went into the hatting business with Alfred Booth and Thomas Moores under the style of Booth, Moores & Marlor only to step down from this partnership, which then became Booth & Moores.

A separate Marlor hatting business, on another branch of the family, was Nathan Marlor & Sons, which was situated on Manchester Rd.

In 1902 the family hatting business was restructured and incorporated as a limited company called Marlors Ltd. By 1932 the directors were James Edward Marlor (also known as James Edwin Marlor or Edwin Marlor) and his son, Leslie Vernon Marlor. James Edward Marlor was the grandson of the founder, James Marlor. A major shareholder in the business was Reginald Marlor who was the nephew of James Edward Marlor. It is known that this business was still active in 1937 but around this time it is possible that it closed down. However, it was not until Apr 1958 that it was finally struck off the Register of Companies.

P Robinson & Co (Denton) Ltd
In 1881 the firm of P Robinson & Co occupied Victoria Hat Works and they were hatters' furriers. After the relocation of Marlors into the works from Taylor Ln it is believed that Robinsons then occupied the bottom end (western end) of the works. A sign was erected on the wall at their end of the works that read:

The significance of the year, 1907, is obscure.

In 1922 this business was incorporated as a limited company called P Robinson & Co (Denton) Ltd, Company No. 179646. At a meeting held at Victoria Hat Works on the 11 Feb 1931 a resolution was passed to voluntarily wind up the company. The chairman at the time was Joseph Roper. He was born at Denton on the 15 Mar 1871 and by 1939 he was resident on Windsor Rd, Denton.

Denton Hat Co Ltd ('Attaboy' Hats)
The Denton Hat Co Ltd was founded in 1921 by Harry Greenhough, who was the great grandson of James Marlor the founder of James Marlor & Sons/Marlors Ltd. He started his business in a shed at the rear of a cottage in Town Ln. The business grew and it moved to the Vinery Hat Works on Town Ln near Melbourne St.

The business continued to expand and in 1932 it moved into the part of Victoria Hat Works formerly occupied by P Robinson & Co (Denton) Ltd. However, Marlors Ltd was still working at this time, so they must have occupied the top end (eastern end) of the works while the Denton Hat Company occupied the bottom end (western end). As soon as Marlors Ltd closed the Denton Hat Co Ltd occupied all of Victoria Hat Works.

Harry Greenhough was eventually joined by his brother, Walter, who controlled the advertising and dispatch side of the business, while Harry controlled the technical side.

The Denton Hat Company created its popular 'Attaboy' range of hats, which were well known throughout the hatting industry and the 'Attaboy' Trade Mark was registered on the 20 January 1937. This company was the last firm of hat manufacturers to be established in Denton.

The Denton Hat Co was ultimately inherited by Harry Greenhough’s identical twin sons, John H and Harry R Greenhough. John began work in 1946 and Harry in 1947. During the 1950s the company was understood to have made one in every five of hats worn in England. By 1964 Victoria Hat Works in Wilton St employed more than 300 staff and in the same year it produced more than 400,000 hats. However, fashions were changing and fewer hats were being worn. Consequently, the company diversified into knitwear but it was unable to compete with cheap imports. By the 1980s less and less space was being used at Victoria Hat Works, as the demand for hats continued to drop, so the company moved to share the works of hat trimmings manufacturers, T W Bracher & Co Ltd, on Charlesworth St, Stockport. Unfortunately, the demand for hats declined further and on the 23 Oct 2000 a Special Resolution was passed to voluntarily wind-up the company.

The surviving part of Victoria Hat Works was demolished in 2003 to make way for the Crown Point North Shopping Park.

Interior of Victoria Hat Works. Credit: J Marlor.

Marlor’s Hat Works on Taylor Ln
After Marlors Ltd had moved from Taylor Ln into Victoria Hat Works on Wilton St the vacant hat factory was occupied by Stott Brothers (Norman and Sam Noel Stott) who manufactured electrical yarns. They named the former hat factory Phoenix Mill. Between 1922 and 1924 Stott Brothers became bankrupt and they were replaced by The Multiple Winding Co who subsequently renamed it Phoenix House. The first proprietor of The Multiple Winding Co was a Mr Adcock.