It was an early and effective example of corporate espionage. Once he had opened his own factory, his approach to underselling his rivals was both simple and, by today’s standards, criminal. Many of his employees were children, some paupers, hired at one-sixth the cost of men.

Within a few decades, Whitty’s carpets were renowned, initially for their value and later, after his competitors went out of business, for their beauty. King George III visited the factory, as did the future American president John Adams. Adams’s wife, Abigail, seemed smitten by Whitty’s productions. “The carpets are equally durable with the Turky,” she wrote, “but surpass them in colours and figure.”

International acclaim followed. When the first United States Senate met in 1790, in Philadelphia, a specially commissioned Axminster, with the new country’s Great Seal, covered the floor.

The company went bankrupt in 1835. For a century, the brand lay dormant until a businessman, Harry Dutfield, revived it. Soon enough, “Axminsters from Axminster” were sold to places like the Royal Albert Hall, which commissioned 43,000 square feet of carpet for rooms, corridors and landings.

Naturally, the owners of Axminster Carpets would love for Britons to think of the monarchy’s imprimatur whenever they hear the company’s name. A royal warrant isn’t easily acquired. A company must sell products or services to the Windsors in order to qualify, but that isn’t enough. A thumbs-up is needed from Queen Elizabeth; her husband, Prince Philip; or her son, Prince Charles — who are somewhat momentously dubbed “the Grantors” on the royal website.

The work with JD Wetherspoon began in 2008. While the contract was relatively brief, it has come with one enduring upside.

“If you Google ‘JD Wetherspoon’ and ‘carpet,’ what immediately comes up is Axminster Carpets,” said Mr. Young, the managing director. Up to 10 times a year, a fan of JD Wetherspoon carpets calls to order something similar.

“We never signed an exclusive design agreement with the company,” he said. “So, we could make it again.”