This was an English printing firm which developed the capability to engrave matrices both for in-house use and for sale. Harrison (see below) indicates that they made Monotype-compatible matrices for sale (sometimes even making them for The Monotype Corporation Ltd.) and that later they became involved in the making of Ludlow matrices. They ended up acquiring either Ludlow Typograph as a whole or the UK aspect of Ludlow and, as Ludlow (UK) took over manufacturing for Ludlow after the close of the Chicago Ludlow plant.
See: Moran, James Stephen Austin's of Hertford: A Bi-centenary History . (Hertford: Stephen Astin & Sons Ltd., 1968). [I haven't yet read this; I'm citing bibliography from Wallis.]
See { Harrison, John. "Matrix Making at Stephen Austin and Sons; Work Leads to Merger with Ludlow, U.S. Closure." ATF Newsletter. No. 33 (October, 2009): 32-34. }
According to { Bolton, David. "Showing of Monotype Matrices Expanded; Proprietary English Mats Revealed." ATF Newsletter. No. 33 (October, 2009): 31. } they sold matrices to Guest, Keen & Nettlefold, an engineering firm with an in-house typecasting and printing capability.
A story related in Wallis (p. 33) indicates that in 1915 the firm of Grant, Legros & Co. Ltd. attempted (unsuccessfully) to acquire Russian types from Stephen Austin & Sons. In this capacity Austin's must have been acting as printers, not yet as matrix engravers themselves.
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