Ceramic Butcher’s Ham Stand by Parnall & Sons Ltd, 1920s

Ceramic ham stand by Parnall & Sons Ltd, Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, Bristol.

Parnall & Sons was set up in 1820 by William Parnall in Narrow Wine Street, initially making weights and measures, before expanding into shop keeping equipment and shop fittings. By the 1880s, it was the largest shop fitting company in England. In 1923, Parnall & Sons moved to Lodge Causeway, Fishponds, in Bristol. The company resumed manufacture of shopfronts, including the bronze shopfronts and display cases in Piccadilly Circus tube station and steel canopies at the Savoy. Other High-profile work included the internal fittings for passenger liners including RMS Britannic for the

During World War I, the company started the manufacture of aeroplanes and seaplanes, producing over 600 by 1918. This was repeated in World War II when the company made parts for aeroplanes such as the Short Stirling, the Bristol Beaufighter and Horsa Gliders. The Parnall aircraft company still exists today specialising in the reconstruction of historic aircraft.