Did you know the world-famous Corby Trouser Press was born right here in Windsor? When Scotsman John Corby arrived in 1929, he set up at Frances Road and created a clever new way to keep trousers neat. Encouraged by his friend Austin Reed, the freestanding press took off — and by the mid-1930s, thousands were being made each year in Windsor.
After the war, John’s son Peter Corby took the idea further. In 1960, he introduced the revolutionary heated trouser press, developed with help from a Concorde aeronautical engineer and Eton College. What began as a local invention soon became a global success, with production reaching 80,000 presses a year by 1973 — turning Windsor into the home of a true design classic.
Based upon “The Corby Trouser Press” by our friend Geoff Try, and published in Windlesora 23 (2007). Why not read more of this inspirational story?
Windsor Local History Group 