The first generation: Francis Binning (c.1822-1909) married Sophia Edwards at Trinity Church, Marylebone, in 1853, when he was recorded as a joiner living in Norton St, the son of the late Richard Binning, a servant. He can be traced in census records, in 1861 as Frank Binning and there after as Francis Binning. In more detail: in 1861 at 52 Devonshire St, Finsbury, as a composition ornament and frame maker, age 35, born parish of St George Hanover Square, with his wife Sophia, age 30, born Winchester, a daughter Sophia, age 6, and son Frank J., age 4, both born in St Pancras. In 1871 at 84 Theobald’s Road, now a widower, as a glass and picture frame maker employing six men and two boys, with two sons Frank J., age 14, and Albert E., age 10. In 1891 at 132 Theobald’s Road as a picture frame maker, age 65, with his son Harry, age 18, as an assistant and three younger children. In 1901 at 130-2 Theobald’s Road as a picture frame maker and employer, age 70, with five sons and daughters given as workers in picture framing, namely Albert, age 41, Harry, age 28, Ernest, age 23, Alice, age 25, and Mary, age 20.

‘F. Binning’ advertised in the 1880s as a composition ornament, glass and picture frame, cornice, table and tripod stand manufacturer, also offering to supply work in any state to upholsterers and the trade (trade card, repr. Alabone & Johnson, fig.2). A view of his premises at 130 Theobald’s Road shows more than a dozen staff standing outside the shop (Alabone & Johnson, fig.3). At one stage or another, the Binning family used the adjoining premises at 132 Theobald’s Road as a newsagent and as a confectioner.

Francis Edward Binning died age 86 in the Holborn district in 1909. At his death in 1909, the business passed to his sons, Harry and Ernest.

The second generation: Four of Francis Binning’s sons were active in picture framing. The eldest, Frank John Binning (1857-1920), was born in St Pancras in 1857 and married Susan Bowers in the same district in 1876, when described as a carpenter, the son of Frank Binning, similarly described as a carpenter. He died age 63 in the Islington district in 1920. In census records, he was recorded as Frank J. Binning, except in 1901 when he appeared as Francis J. Binning; he was variously described as a picture frame maker or picture frame joiner. In 1861 and 1871 he was living with his father (see above), in 1881 at 21 Harrison St, St Pancras, age 24, with his wife Susan, 23, and two young daughters, Kate and Alice, in 1891 and 1901 at 57 Exmouth St with his wife and eight children, aged between 2 and 24, and in 1911 at 13 Hanover St, Islington, with his wife and four daughters, all described as bookfolders. He was living at 57 Exmouth St from at least 1891 to 1908, and at 18 Hanover St in 1915, according to the electoral roll.

The second son, Albert Edward Binning (1862-1924?) was born in the Holborn district in 1862. He can be found in the 1871 and 1901 censuses living at his father’s, and in 1911 as a picture frame maker and worker, living at 19 Whitfield Place, off Tottenham Court Road. He appears to be the individual who died age 63 in the St Giles district in 1924.

The third son, Harry Binning (1872-1910) can be found in the 1891 and 1901 censuses at his father’s. He died in September 1910 at the age of 38, just a year after his father, leaving effects worth £691.

The fourth son, Ernest Binning (c.1878-1960), has not been traced in birth registers for his presumed year of birth, 1878. He can be found in the 1891 and 1901 censuses at his father’s, and in 1911 as a picture frame maker and employer, age 33, with his wife Maud and two-month-old son, Harry Ernest. Following his father’s death in 1909, Ernest traded initially with his brother Harry as H. & E. Binning (trade card, repr. Alabone and Johnson, fig.4), until his brother’s untimely death the following year. He then continued under his own name, with 17 employees in the business in 1913. He died in the Shoreditch district, age 82, in 1960.

The third generation: Ernest’s son, Harry Ernest ‘nonty’ Binning (1911-1990), was born in the Holborn district in 1911 and married Betty McGrath in the same district in 1932. They had children Bryan in 1933 and Peter in 1937, both born in the Holborn district. Harry Binning started running the business before the Second World War and continued working in the shop until his death in 1990, as Gerry Alabone has traced.

The fourth generation: Peter Binning (1936-2005), nonty’s son, was born on 29 December 1936 and his birth registered in the Holborn district in 1937. Bryan M. Binning was born in the Holborn district in 1933. Following Peter's death in 2005 the moulds used by the Binning family were acquired by his long-time customer, Joseph McCarthy, and are now owned and used by Joseph McCarthy (Fine Frames) Ltd, 68 The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5TN (see the website, Joseph McCarthy - Craftsman Built Frames - Bloomsbury Collection). However, little of the business’s records appear to survive other than a few trade cards and photographs.