Thomas Bradford & Co. was established in 1850 at the Crescent Iron Works in Salford. The company manufactured dairy appliances and butter churns, and within a decade became one of the first major manufacturers of washing machines in Britain. The company also set up a steam laundry at 140, 142 and 143 High Holborn, London. The company later established premises at Victoria Avenue, Manchester, and 130 Bold Street, Liverpool. As an exhibitor at the Royal Jubilee Exhibition in Manchester in 1887, the company stand included commercial laundry and swimming-bath machinery, steam driers and disinfecting equipment. The company is mentioned as the supplier of a fully equipped laundry on board the Pacific Steam Navigation Company's passenger liner, Reina del Mar, in the 22 June 1956 issue of The Engineer. The company was formally dissolved on 6 August 1991, although it is believed that production ended during the 1960s.