Vortexion Ltd.
72 Merton Rd. Wimbledon, S.W.19. (1927-1931)
105 The Broadway, Wimbledon S.W.19 (1931-1932)
182 The Broadway, Wimbledon S.W.19 (1931-1941)
257-263 The Broadway, Wimbledon S.W.19 (1941-1976)

The company was a notable manufacturer of high-quality transformers, Tape recorders, mixers, amplifiers, pre-amps, and P.A. equipment.  

They did not appear to have attempted to produce any Hi-Fi amplifiers choosing to remain in the more specialised markets of sound.

Vortexion was a magnetic component manufacturer and retailer in the late 1920s.

By the early thirties, they were manufacturing quality mains and output transformers.

PA amplifiers were added to their inventory in the 1930s and tape recorders in the 1950s.

With the death of one of the Directors, Sidney Brown in early 1972, the firm was subsequently sold to Clarke & Smith Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and the Vortexion manufacturing was moved to Wallington Surrey in 1976. Under CSI the brand continued as CSI-Vortexion into the 1980s.

Vortexion brand was first advertised in 1927 with Vortexion magnetic components manufactured by Kirby (Wimbledon) Ltd. selling from 72 Morten Road Wimbleton [1]

A large range of mains and tapped output transformers soon followed in 1931. [2]
From 1932 to June 1933 Vortexion advertisements were under the name of Brown and Salter. [3]

Later in 1933, the adverts were under the name S.A. Brown. [4]
Vortexion Ltd, appears in some advertisements in Wireless World from 1931. [2]

The company was established by two brothers, Sidney and Edward Brown. In 1942, Edward suddenly died, so Sidney's wife, Dorothy, assumed the position of director and the husband & wife team became the driving force behind the company for many years. [5]

By 1937 their first Public Address (PA) amplifiers were introduced under the Vortexion brand.

The Model CP20 15-watt AC and battery, portable 4-stage unit, and the Model L.H.F. heavy duty 20-watt amplifier.

During the Second World War, the company was under the direction of the UK Government to produce amplifiers for Air Raid Precaution, and other government departments and claimed many hundreds of their 50W Amplifier chassis were in use.

Post WW2, they developed a recording amplifier for disc recording purposes in 1947, and a Magnetophon recording and replay amplifier to drive a magnetic tape recorder deck. This made them an early entrant into the tape-recording field.

In 1950 they produced the Stereophonic Amplifier Mk. VII which was misleadingly named the 'Stereophonic' but was actually mono. It incorporated two amplifiers and an active crossover built on one chassis and during this time they also produced a small range of mixers designed for professional applications

They produced a high-quality Williamson output transformer in 1951.

In early 1953 they offered two tape recorders, the VWT with a Wearite tape deck and the VTT with a Truvox deck.
This was followed soon after by the Type 2A at £84 and the more expensive Type 2B at £99. These we followed by the WVA and WVB series. All these recorders were beautifully made and incorporated the high-quality Wright and Weaire transport.

The C Series followed in 1962 with the CBL stereo tape recorder. In 1968 the Vortexion CBL7T was released which was designed around the Ferrograph series 7 transport. Also, at this time the company released a full range of transistorised PA amplifiers and mixers.

Sidney Brown died in 1972 which led to the company being sold to Clarke and Smith, finalised in 1974. Dorothy Brown continued as a director on the board of the new CSI-Vortexion until the late 1970s.

The CSI Vortexion announced the Vortexion System 2000 in April 1975 that “a new range of sound equipment has been designed by our engineers to combine the aesthetics of design in the domestic field with the near flexibility of a modular system”. [6]

The company remained autonomous until 1976 when its production was moved to Wallington.

In 1979 CSI added the VTN30 3-channel 30-watt amplifier, and later the VTN5a,  an early induction loop amplifier. The final designs introduced were the Series 3000 during the 1980s with the final development appearing as the Series 4000; these were to include induction loop amplifiers such as the Model 469, and a return to the battery-powered amplifier in the 455 fifty-watt mixer amplifier that harked back to the CP50.

By the early 1990s, the Vortexion range was generally starved of resources with some of the last company accounts from the middle of the decade showing the division as being completely dormant. With the demise of Clarke and Smith, the brand name was sold off to Hagger Electronics of Letchworth, Hertfordshire who discontinued all but the induction loop amplifier range. [5]

[1] Wireless World Nov 9, 1927, Page 24.
[2] Wireless World Sep 2, 1931, Page 243.
[3] Wireless World Mar 3, 1933, Page 19.
[4] Wireless World Jun 23, 1933, Page 4.
[5] History of Clarke & Smith, The Mighty Pygmy in Electronics- Terry Martini.
[6] Wireless World Apr 1975, Page 156.