In the beginning...
In 1877, Thomas Swaine Kaye, my great-grandfather, took over the saw repairing and tool business of Thomas Thacker, in Hull - a business established in 1848. In 1882 he extended the shop by incorporating a neighbouring jeweller's premises, giving the enlarged shop a prime corner position. This photo shows the site of the shop in Bond Street, in 1910.
I have brought together in this website a collection of photos and documents about the family business (which finally expired in 1982) as a tribute to the determination, skill, and sheer hard work of the three generations of Kayes in whose footsteps I have failed to tread.......Tony Kaye
If you would like to find out more about Kayes Tools and Yorkshire's industrial heritage, I recommend the book written by my sister Felicity, which is part history and part family memoir. It is available from Amazon in Kindle and hardback versions, and from the FeedaRead website in hardback.