T Cooke and Sons Ltd

Founded by Thomas Cook in 1837, by 1855 Thomas Cooke had built a factory at Bishophill in York. Following the death of Cooke in 1868, the business was continued by his sons. In 1914, a new factory was built in Bishophill. In 1915 Vickers acquired a controlling stake in the company. In 1922 Vickers merged it with Troughton & Simms to form Cooke, Troughton & Simms. In 1924 the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Vickers. In 1963 the company was renamed Vickers Instruments.