JL Bradshaw, 1895 Ltd. was founded in 1895, when John Leaming Bradshaw bought P. Watson and Son China Hall. J.L. Bradshaw operated both retail and wholesale, buying large quantities of merchandise from manufacturers in England and continental Europe.

J.L. Bradshaw was the only chinaware dealer from the whole of North America who maintained his annual business trips overseas during war times.  Between 1896 and 1937 he was reputed to have crossed the Atlantic ocean 87 times.

In 1942 J.L. Bradshaw passed away and his son Harold  took over the business.

In 1965 John David Bradshaw, Harold’s son, started to run the family business.

In 1974 David Bradshaw sold off the retail store, Bradshaws China Hall and operated strictly the wholesale division for a number of years. In 1985 David Bradshaw opened Watsons Chelsea Bazaar, which was named after P. Watson. This was the man who introduced his grandfather to the china business in 1895.

2010. As a family run business for 115 years, JL Bradshaw, 1895 Ltd. and Watson’s Chelsea Bazaar has now moved into the fourth generation and continues to be run by David’s daughter Carole and son-in-law Todd Rowe.

JL Bradshaw, 1895 Ltd. still carries on the tradition of buying from England, Europe, as well as from the far east.