The story of Freeman and Company began in 1849 when Thomas Freeman established himself as a gas illumination engineer at 8, Little Vine Street in the West End of London. The modest ‘house and premises’ of its origin stood in a short narrow court-way that led directly onto Piccadilly opposite its parish church of St. James.

Upon his receipt of a diploma at an exhibition in Paris in 1867 for the ‘Illumination of crystal chandeliers by gas’ and his involvement with the installation of gas-lit street lamps in lower Regent Street he took additional premises in the adjacent way of Swallow Street.

With the primary cell concept of Georges Leclanche in 1866 linked to his pipe-work skills he listed on his invoices the installation of ‘electric bells and speaking tubes’.

In the decade when electricity gradually

became available for lighting the average

home and premises he was succeeded

in 1884 by William Cumby who

distributed ‘flyers’ seeking orders for

‘Installations of electric light either

complete with engine and dynamo or

to be supplied with current from

District Central Stations’.

In 1904 he was joined by his son, Adolphus, who remained its managing proprietor until his retirement in 1951 when his office manager of twenty-five years, William Adams, purchased the business of Freeman and Company from him to initiate the present three generation involvement of his family in the continuing enterprise of Thomas Freeman.

In the year following his ownership an historical feature of his acquisition was revealed in a request made by the Marlborough Club of Pall Mall for the refurbishment of a large gas lit crystal glass crown emblem that had been supplied to them by his concern in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

Apart from its restoration the symbol was required to be illuminated by electricity for display on the Club’s premises to celebrate in the coming year the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. When completed it was erected and lit by its manufacturer on the facia of that sometime gentlemen’s club.

                                                                         Another similarly lit crystal device was brought to the                                                    

                                                                         of William’s son Terence, when it’s managing director,

                                                                  from a concern that continues to be numbered among its

                                                                clients. It was a crest that had been supplied to them by

                                                                       Freeman and Company in 1897 for the Diamond Jubilee

                                                              of Queen Victoria that was required to be similarly        

                                                              refurbished and lit for the twenty-fifth anniversary of our

                                                               present Queen in 1978 upon completion of which it was displayed on the facia of their corner retail premises.

                                                                               1956 the initial enterprise of Thomas Freeman

                                                                            became a limited company in the title of

                                                                              Freeman and Company (Installations) Ltd.

In 1961 it was enrolled as a registered electrical contractor with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) and four years later as a member of the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) with Terence being registered as the qualifying manager to each body which registrations continue with his son, Jeremy.

It is under the demanding requirements of the NICEIC that the work of Freeman and Company (Installations) Ltd is carried out under the ECA Conditions of Tender and Contract as registered with the Office of Fair Trading.

During the past six or so decades its regular clientele has developed by introduction and recommendation into one composed of Universities, schools, Churches, Public bodies and the offices and works of reputable commercial concerns. These works were, as currently, carried out to their own design or those specified by Consulting Engineers.

Another aspect of its work is the preparation of reports on electrical installations to the IEE Wiring Regulations BS 7671 in compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations of 1989.

The enterprise of Thomas Freeman and his successors has functioned through two World Wars and numerous regional conflicts during the reigns of five crowned monarchs of our land from a Queen whose regency defined an era to one whose reign is forming another.

While the present management of Freeman and Company (Installations) Limited greatly value the provenance and history of their enterprise they appreciate that its future lies in their ability to competently deal with the demands of the present day and the technical advances of tomorrow which they are qualified to discharge with an earnest desire to fulfil.