The British Vacuum Cleaner Company Ltd (B.V.C.) was established in 1901 by Hubert Cecil Booth F.C.G.I, M.I.C.E after his design of the Vacuum Cleaner was patented. Booth was born in 1871 and can be credited with the invention of the first powered Vacuum Cleaner.

The idea of the Vacuum Cleaner was borne after Booth witnessed the demonstration of a new American machine which blew dust from carpets using compressed air. It was then that Booth made considerations for a reverse system using a filter which would be inserted between the suction apparatus and the outside air; allowing dust to be retained in a container. His design was patented shortly after and nicknamed “Puffing Billy”. Unlike modern vacuum cleaners, Booth’s Vacuum Cleaner was not entirely portable, and it was not commercially manufactured by B.V.C. to be sold for domestic use. The first Vacuum Cleaner was petrol-powered, and it was produced to offer a commercial cleaning service and would be parked outside of the premises with suction pipes extending into buildings to allow cleaning to take place.

The Vacuum Cleaner soon held favour with royalty after its role in cleaning the carpet at Westminster Abbey prior to Edward V’s coronation in 1902. As well as making cleaning easier, the Vacuum Cleaner also wielded major health benefits. Multiple dust samples were analysed and revealed to be carrying bacteria such as diphtheria. As a result, the B.V.C. were awarded the Rogers Field Gold Medal by the Royal Sanitary Institute. The Vacuum Cleaner was also used to remove 23 tons of dust after other attempts to control a spotted fever epidemic amongst soldiers stationed at Crystal Palace failed. This resulted in an immediate improvement in the health of the soldiers.

Vacuum cleaners soon became, smaller, more portable and cheaper before 1915 and, after the first World War, the company became known as the British Vacuum Cleaner & Engineering Co. Ltd and began producing domestic vacuum cleaners under the trade name Goblin. However, the Vacuum Cleaner remained confined to the wealthier proportion of society. By 1961, B.V.C. manufactured industrial and domestic vacuum cleaners, spin dryers, polishing machines, industrial power plants, washing machines, teasmades and central cleaning installations. B.V.C. continued as a maker of industrial Vacuum Cleaners and central vacuum cleaning systems. By 2006 it was part of the South African Barloworld conglomerate, who also owned Lamson Engineering, a maker of pneumatic tube transport systems. B.V.C. and Lamson were bought by Quirepace, who continue to produce B.V.C. cleaners from their site in Hampshire, UK.