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The Waghorn(e) wheelwright and carriagebuilding family business probably originated with Samuel Waghorn, in the Limpsfield or Titsey area of Surrey. Samuel Waghorne (1789-1858) moved to Croydon in about 1819. By 1826 he was associated with Richard Jones (an established coachbuilder) on the west side of the High Street; and by 1834 appears to have been running the business alone. His premises (numbered 83 High Street by 1851, renumbered 146 High Street in 1886, and renumbered 252 High Street in c1931) were to remain the firms headquarters for some eighty years. Samuel II died in October 1858, aged 69, but the business continued to be known as Samuel Waghorne, presumably run by his widow, Harriet (c1789-1867), and their son, Thomas (0822-1868). In Warrens Directory for 1865-6, the firm is named Waghorne and Son. A Harriet Waghorne (probably a daughter) also worked as a milliner and dressmaker from the same address.

After the deaths in close succession of Harriet (senior) and Thomas, the business was taken over in 1868 by James T Miles, and renamed Waghome and Miles. The firm prospered in the latter part of the nineteenth century as a builder of superior carriages of various types. Its customers included various prominent members of the establishment, both from Croydon and from further afield. The firm undertook van and cart building on a separate site. From 1902 it also built motor car bodies.

In about 1906 the firm was bought up by Marchant and Sons, a firm of coachbuilders established at 34 Tamworth Road in about 1873. Marchant and Sons took over the High Street premises, and continued to operate from that address until the 1950s.

Louis Henry Turtle, born 1861 in Chesterfield, was a travelling salesman for Sheffield cutlery manufacturer Wheatley Brothers. In 1894, whilst visiting Croydon, he purchased a tool shop on Crown Hill that was up for sale. He continued to be head of the firm until his death 4th October 1940, aged 79.

Louis Henry married Kate Hibberson in 1883 and had two children, Clifford and Marion. Clifford worked in the shop until he was called up to fight during the First World War. He was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 at age 23. Marion went on to marry Martin Little whom she later divorced, changing her name back to Turtle by deed poll. They had a son named Rupert.

Rupert, a trained engineer, worked in the shop where he met Marjorie. Her father provided Rupert with a job in his engineering company whilst Marion and Rupert ran the shop. Rupert and Marjorie had 4 children. When the eldest showed no interest in wanting to run the shop, Jeremy took over, helping facilitate a move of premises in 1964. Jeremy Turtle ran the business until its closure in 2008.