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  • 1746

    The Beginnings

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    1746

    Francis Allen of Norwich starts a basket-making business in 1746 that would be the start of our history.

  • 1762

    Brush making, clogs and paper merchants

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    1762

    Samuel Deyns takes over the business in his own name and expands into brush making, paper, pattens and clogs.

  • 1803

    A Page enters the building

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    1803

    Samuel Deyns Page, grandson of Samuel Deyns, is taken into partnership. The business is now known as Deyns and Page.

    Three years after the death of his grandfather, Samuel Deyns Page names the business S D Page.

  • 1839

    We're printers

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    1839

    Samuel Deyns Page had brought his son, also called Samuel Deyns Page, into the firm in 1831, adding ‘& Son’ to the company name. In 1839, letterpress printing is added to the product range.

  • 1860

    Welcome 'Our' Frederick

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    1860

    S D Page & Son becomes S D Page & Sons, as Samuel Deyns Page (Junior) welcomes his two sons Frederick John Page and Charles Fountain Page to the business.

  • 1869

    Growing rapidly

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    1869

    Due to growth, the premises at the Haymarket and Theatre Street in Norwich are rebuilt and extended.

  • 1886

    Designated printing works

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    1886

    We’re renamed again to Page Brothers & Company – St Stephen’s Printing Works. We have our printing works built at St Stephen’s Back Street in Norwich and are officially letterpress and lithographic colour printers.

  • 1890

    Bye-bye brush making

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    1890

    Frederick John Page and Charles Fountain Page dissolve the partnership.

    Frederick will head up Page Brothers & Company and give his attention exclusively to the paper and printing trades.

  • 1892

    Our most famous employee begins his apprenticeship

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    1892

    Alfred Munnings, later to become Sir Alfred Munnings, begins his seven-year apprenticeship as a lithographic poster artist. He goes on to become one of the country’s best known and well respected artists.

  • 1920

    The name appears

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    1920

    Printing Firm registers as Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd.

  • 1927

    Thanks for everything

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    1927

    Frederick John Page dies aged 89 and his son F S Deyns Page becomes Chairman and Managing Director.

    Thanks for everything, Frederick.

  • 1942

    Sold and bombed

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    1942

    The business leaves Page family ownership and is sold to a local timber products manufacturer, Boulton & Paul Ltd. F S Deyns Page remains as Chairman and Managing Director.

    In the same year, the St Stephen’s printing works is destroyed during one of the blitz raids on Norwich. We move to makeshift premises just outside Norwich, before the move to our current site at Mile Cross Lane.

  • 1947

    The last Page turned over

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    1947

    F S Deyns Page retires at the age of 81 and so becomes the last Page family member to be associated with the business.

  • 1953

    Joining forces

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    1953

    1953 sees Page Bros sold to the Eden Fisher Group, making it part of one of the largest printing groups in the UK. This marks the beginning of 40 years of ownership outside Norfolk from Eden Fisher, to Harrison & Sons, to Lonrho plc.

  • 1966

    Perfect perfector

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    1966

    We install our first litho perfector machine. Shortly after come the second and third. In due course all letterpress and hot metal systems are phased out.

  • 1968

    Leading the way

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    1968

    Page Bros becomes one of the first companies to install computer-assisted composition and typesetting systems, with our own ‘Pageprint’ branding.

  • 1992

    Back in local, private hands

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    1992

    The company is returned to private ownership as a team led by David Armstrong purchases the company from Lonrho plc. We go on to establish ourselves as a leading supplier of educational materials.

  • 2011

    Wonderful world of colour

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    2011

    A new management team oversees our first venture into the world of colour print, with the installation of our first HP Indigo and Heidelberg colour presses.

  • 2016

    Page Bros turns over a new leaf

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    2016

    2016 sees the company rebrand itself, with one eye very much on the future. We specialise in creation, fulfilment, and of course print and associated services.

    We are Page Bros Group.

  • 2021

    We evolve

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    2021

    A fundamental element of what makes Page Bros is our openness to change. While we excel at what we do, we’ve never been content to stand still. It’s part of our DNA, part of what it means to be Page Bros.

    As we embark on the next leg of our amazing 275-year journey, Page Bros enters a new era under new ownership and leadership. With our wealth of experience behind us and vision fixed firmly on the future, we continue to broaden our service offering giving us routes into new markets.