Cossart, Gordon and Co , traders in Madeira wine

Francis Newton sailed from Gravesend to Madeira in 1745 and began trading there, at first while employed as a bookkeeper but from 1747-1748 on his own account. In the 19th century his successors, Cossart, Gordon and Company, claimed the year of foundation as 1745 (see printed circular issued in 1867, in Ms 32992/151). The earliest document among the papers now held at Guildhall Library is dated 1749.

The company has traded under the following names: Francis Newton -1758; Newton and Gordon, 1758-77; Newton, Gordon and Johnston, 1777-91; Newton, Gordon and Murdoch, 1791-1801; Newton, Gordon, Murdoch and Company, 1802-5, Newton, Gordon, Murdoch and Scott, 1805-c 1833; Newton, Gordon, Murdoch and Company, c 1833-1839; Newton, Gordon, Cossart and Company, [1839-1864]; Cossart, Gordon and Company c 1864-1953; Cossart, Gordon and Cia. Lda 1953-

Although originally established in Madeira, from its earliest days the business maintained close links with London, and its principals were always British. In 1758 Francis Newton entered into partnership with Thomas Gordon. Newton returned from Madeira to London c 1767 (according to an account written in 1773, in Ms 32992/11) and thereafter appears to have acted in London as the company's senior partner. By the mid nineteenth century the company had a substantial presence in both London and Madeira, with a "London house" as well as the original "Madeira house". The "London house" traded as Webster Gordon, Cossart and Company in the 1840s, when it was based at 6 New Broad Street (1846). The name Cossart, Gordon and Company was used in London before it was used in Madeira, being applied to the London house from 1851. From c 1864, both houses traded under the same name.

The primary business of Cossart, Gordon and Company was the purchase of wine from local suppliers and its export to Britain, the United States, India and the West Indies. In the 18th and early 19th centuries it also traded in a range of other commodities such as cotton, soap, sugar, rice, grain, flour, meat, fish, fruit and dairy products. During the 19th century, however, as the demand for Madeira wines grew, Cossart, Gordon and Company withdrew from trading in general merchandise in order to concentrate on wines.

In 1913 a small group of Madeira wine shippers decided to work together and formed the Madeira Wine Association Limitada. The numbers in this group grew as the benefits of co-operation became clear. Cossart, Gordon and Company joined the Association as a partner in 1953. At the same time, the Madeira assets of the London company were put into a Portuguese company, Cossart, Gordon and Cia. Lda. which supplied the London company's requirements through the Madeira Wine Association (later the Madeira Wine Company).