Telegraph, telephone and electric cable manufacturers

The company of Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1, and 13 and 14 Blomfield Street, London Wall, London EC; was founded by William Thomas Henley, who commenced the manufacture of submarine cable at North Woolwich in 1853. He went on to manufacture the shore ends of the Trans-Atlantic cable in 1865 and generally helped lay the foundations of modern communication, as we know it today.

In 1918 Henley's Tyre and Rubber Co was set up as a subsidiary to take over the tyre department, and in 1937 an Electric cable manufacturers company was established. In 1959 the company was acquired by AEI and the Woolwich factory was closed. In 1997 Henley's was acquired by TT Electronics.

Amongst the one time employees of the Company was the thriller producer Alfred Hitchcock. He worked in the advertising department of Henley's London offices, writing short stories for the in house magazine (The Henley) and providing illustrations for product marketing, until leaving in 1919 to start his career in the movies.

Henley died in 1882 but his legacy lives on in the company, which still bears his name.