Keith Prowse - History

History

Robert William Keith (1767–1846), a musical composer, instrument maker and organist at the New Jerusalem Church, Friars Street, London, opened a shop in London in the late 18th century, in 1830 he entered a partnership with another musical instrument manufacturer and music publisher, William Prowse (1801–1886), to form Keith, Prowse & Co.

The company entered the theatre ticketing business after acquiring "Theater Ticket Messengers" a company which used young message boys to go to theatres and either hold seats or collect seat tokens for favoured clients. The first reference to the firm's selling theatre tickets appeared in an article published in 1786 in the Morning Chronicle, referring to "The New System of Ticket Agents". One of the first ticketing companies to have a telephone installed, Keith Prowse appeared in the first UK telephone directory published in 1880. In 1886, the company first represented Royal Ascot, opened the World's first flight ticket booking office at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, in 1911 and soon opened another at London Aerodrome. In 1924, they first represented the Wimbledon Championships.

In 1954, Peter Cadbury borrowed £75,000 from his father to buy the Keith Prowse ticket agency, which went public in 1960, and later became a subsidiary of Westward Television. In 1969, EMI bought Keith Prowse Music Publishing and Central Songs. Keith Prowse Music released many recordings of library music by composers such as Alan Hawkshaw. In 1981, the company opened its first office outside the UK in New York and a further office was established in Dublin in 1982. In the same year, the company was officially appointed by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club through its purchase of Ashton & Mitchell which held royal appointment and rights to Wimbledon.