8 cm. Kirby Beard & Co. Ltd. The founder of what would become the Kirby Beard Company was William Cowther. He established this business in 1743. His son, Richard, succeeded his father & went into partnership with Robert Kirby. Mr Kirby was well connected & became the Sheriff of London in 1816. By 1820 two further partners George Beard & William Tovey joined the firm. Mr Tovey was responsible for regional sales. By 1840 the firm was known as Kirby, Beard and Company. They were the longest established & most successful pin making concern in Gloucester. In 1853 George Beard was living in a substantial house in Solihull, named Hillfield Hall.The residence was served by one butler & six other servants. Probably the most important surviving industrial site in Gloucester, England, was the pin manufacturing premises of Cowther, Kirby, Beard and Tovey known as Kirby Beard. In this region of England the pin industry has been documented from the late sixteenth century until well into the 19th century.