Century-old family printing firm ceases trading

Managing directors Julian and Lincoln Barnwell are also known for helping to find the royal shipwreck HMS Gloucester

An award-winning printing firm owned by two brothers who helped to discover "Norfolk's Mary Rose" has gone into liquidation.

Barnwell Print Ltd in Aylsham, Norfolk, had been owned by the Barnwell family since 1908.

It blamed "higher costs and lower margins" for winding up the company.

The business name has been transferred to its competitor, Micropress Printers, based in Reydon, Suffolk.

The chartered accountancy firm Larking Gowan - appointed to help place Barnwell Print into Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation - said "all staff" had been made redundant.

Account details published earlier this year showed the company, which printed products such as books, magazines and brochures, employed 18 staff.

Julian and Lincoln Barnwell bought the company from their father, Michael, in 1994

"Coming out of the pandemic with lower sales, entering a period of higher costs with an energy crisis and still trying to operate in a very competitive market with reduced margins, has sadly proved to be too much," managing director Julian Barnwell said.

"However, we see Micropress as an excellent fit for us with their modern equipment, continued multi million pound investment and strong position in the marketplace."

The Barnwell family first started printing in Aylsham in 1908.

The company said the Aylsham office would remain open to customers and all existing work would continue.

Julian and Lincoln Barnwell helped to discover the shipwreck, the Gloucester in 2007 – however, details of the find were only made public in 2022.

The royal ship sank off the coast of Norfolk in 1682 and almost killed the the Duke of York, the future King James II.

The brothers are part of The Gloucester 1682 Charitable Trust - set up to preserve the wreck of the Gloucester and conserve its historical artefacts.