George Bainbridge’s Death Notice in the Eastbourne Chronicle dated April 16th 1921 states in part ‘Eastbourne has lost one of its oldest and most esteemed businessmen…he was born in Godalming, Surrey (1835), during the time that his father was constructing the new spire to the church…when George was 3 years old the family moved to Wilmot Square, Bethnal Green, his father becoming surveyor of Bethnal Green…on leaving school the son was placed under a French artist named Selous to study oil painting…later he (George) branched out into designing for fabrics…he designed the state dress which Queen Victoria wore on her first visit to Wales…his brother Thomas, who had been assistant to his father, went to India and secured a post of surveyor of fortifications…George took Tom’s place in his father’s office, and on his father’s death he became surveyor of Bethnal Green…after this he entered into partnership with his father-in-law in a builders business in Sevenoaks… (later George and family moved to Eastbourne)…the firm of George Bainbridge and Son specialised in new-style shop fronts.’ An advert in the Eastbourne Chronicle dated January 1882 states ‘George Bainbridge, Plumber, Gas Fitter, Painter, Glazier, House Decorator &c., 77 Terminus Road, Pumps, Baths and Water Closets Fixed and Repaired.’ The 1881 census showed that George employed 10 men at that time, but by the time of his death in 1921 he was employing over 176 staff. An article in a 1988 copy of the Eastbourne Gazette reported the 125th anniversary of G. Bainbridge & Son ‘…trading as a builder in Eastbourne…Thomas Bainbridge his son took over in 1898 and began to develop the shopfitting side of the business, in parallel with the expansion of general building…in 1974 G. Bainbridge & Son became part of the Llewellyn Group…the firm, which now employs 200 staff, specialises in all forms of high class shopfitting.’
From the Art UK website referring to Eastbourne’s war memorial in South Street: There are bronze plaques to north and south…as there were more than a thousand names of the Fallen from Eastbourne, it was decided to erect oak panels in the Town Hall on which they would be carved rather than the original proposal to carve the names on the war memorial. The oak panels were produced by Messrs. G. Bainbridge & Son.
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