Welsh & Jefferies & Weatherill Bros in Eton

I don't know anything about this firm, but the name is certainly weird. As you said, Welsh & Jefferies is a well know SR tailor, as is Bernard Weatherill (associated with Kilgour). May be worthwhile shooting either of these firms an email to understand the association, if any.

I have very briefly used Welsh & Jefferies in Eton almost 29 years ago. It was so-so then, but I am sure it has had time to change several times over since, so would not like to dissuade anyone from trying them now.

At the time they dealt mostly, I think, with Eton boys, so were less expensive than London tailors; it is probably the same today. Welsh and Jefferies (London), if anything, must be a now separate offshoot of the Eton firm, not the other way around.

You might also look at Tom Brown at the top of Eton High Street, farthest from the Thames; I had quite a few garments made there, some of which I still have and wear. They were by quite a margin better quality than W & J, with prices lower than London and very likely a high proportion of Eton boys in their customer base as well. It must be one of the very oldest firms still in existence, founded by the first Mr. Brown in 1784, if I remember correctly, and still, at the time, run by members of the original family.

On the same street you will find New & Lingwood so you can buy pretty much all your clothing within a few steps, if you live in that part of the world,

Frog in Suit

Until about 25 years ago, Welsh and Jeffries was owned by Sidney Boddy, the owner of John Walls, also of Eton. The Saville Row operation of Welsh and Jeffries, had been a separate business, under different ownership, for many years even then. Mr Boddy retired, and the Eton business was sold.

W&J Eton were my own tailor from about 1964 until the late 70's. I have not been there since, but recently were in touch with them again. I was very surprised at the low prices quoted for true, hand made, bespoke. They claim to have their own workshops, but the prices quoted were almost certainly for factory made.

The key to good bespoke is the person who measures and cuts the suit, and the coat and trouser hands who make it up. When ownership or staff change, there will always be a change in the nature of the product they make. This will inevitably result in an improvement or deterioration in quality and fit. So the name of the establishment is less important than the key people involved.
 

I remember Mr Boddy, from ca. 1984. The place looked like a hovel, with worn wooden floors and low ceilings, exposed beams etc… in a nice worn Dickensian way, reached by a few steps below street level. I had the impression that Mrs Boddy was the one keeping things going in some sort of order such as ensuring garments were paid for…

The prices were low, lower even than Tom Brown’s up the street. As to the garments being factory made, I remember, on one of my few visits, a pair of middle-aged women either bringing in the work they had finished, or asking if Mr Boddy had any work for them, or both. There probably were, in those days, outworkers in the provinces who did not have to pay London rents and charged correspondingly low prices. I wonder if such still exist…At around the same time, I was told at Tom Brown that a waistcoat I had ordered as part of a suit was delayed by floods in Devon where, I suppose, the waistcoat hand was based.

My connection with W & J, Eton, was minimal but I am happy to think the business is still in existence.

Frog in Suit