Maker record
Sutcliffe
Sutcliffe Pressings was a British maker of tinplate toy boats and submarines, based in Horsforth near Leeds. The company began making boats in 1920, adding clockwork speedboats, cruisers, battleships and submarines to its range. Its boats were formed from pressed steel; from 1932, a single-piece hull with a soldered deck seam made production faster and cheaper. Sutcliffe also produced oil cans and other metal goods, and later introduced plastic boats.
- Founded
- 1920
- Final year
- 1984
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Locations
- Horsforth, Leeds, England
- Founders
- John W. Sutcliffe
The story of Sutcliffe
John W. Sutcliffe began his metalworking business in Horsforth, near Leeds, and moved to dedicated premises on Town Street in the early twentieth century. The firm made industrial and photographic equipment before adding oil cans in 1903. In 1920 it introduced a toy boat as a sideline; demand led to further models. The company continued making non-toy metal goods alongside its toys.
Its range included spirit-fired boats, pressed-steel battleships and motor boats, and later clockwork speedboats, cruisers and submarines. In 1932 Sutcliffe changed its boat construction: instead of soldering two hull halves together, it pressed each hull from a single piece and joined the deck with a soldered seam. The method enabled faster, lower-cost production and was used across its tinplate boats by 1950. Sutcliffe later made plastic boats, though tinplate boats remained a staple. The factory closed in the 1980s; its name, machinery and remaining stock were purchased by an individual after closure.