R. Durtnell & Sons
51°16′41″N 0°06′42″E / 51.27806°N 0.11167°E R. Durtnell & Sons is an English building company established in 1591 that has been continuously in the same family in Brasted, in the English county of Kent since that time. The first building it constructed, Poundsbridge Manor (also called The Picture House), was completed in 1593, and it was the same firm that restored the house following bomb damage in World War II.
Durtnell family business
Starting in 1591, the firm that became R. Durtnell & Sons Limited has been handed down from father to son as a private company for thirteen generations.[1] It is claimed to be the oldest building firm in Britain.[2][3] According to Dun & Bradstreet, the business information provider, it is "the third oldest company in the UK still in operation" – there are only two older companies in any sector in Britain with a continuous existence: Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.[4][5] However, conflicting claims have also been made.[6][7]
From about 1570 John Durtnall[a] had been a "carpenter" (the name for a builder at that time) and master carpenter making timber-frame Wealden houses. He teamed up with his brother Brian to build a house for their father, William. Thus he became a housewright, employing carpenters and other craftsmen, purchasing the timber, stone, tiles and other building materials required.[8] The seventh generation owner, Richard (1766 to 1845), is regarded as establishing the modern business. In the ninth generation the owner, also a Richard, set up a formal partnership with his two sons so giving the firm its present name.[5] To mark their quatercentenary, Hugh Barty-King wrote a book about the history of the firm, A country builder: The story of Richard Durtnell & Sons of Brasted 1591–1991.[11]
The business is still based at its original location in Brasted, Kent, building luxury houses and doing specialist building, restoration and renovation of historic buildings over the south-east of England for customers such as local authorities, heritage organisations and churches.[2][5][12] In 2014 the firm had a turnover of more than £50 million and more than 130 full-time staff.[8]
Notes
External links
References
- ^ "R Durtnell & Sons Limited". R Durtnell website. R Durtnell & Sons. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Bloom, Jonty (26 October 2012). "How Britain's oldest builder survived the recession". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Price, Chris (29 January 2014). "Britain's oldest builder R Durtnell and Sons from Brasted, near Westerham, appears in BBC Four documentary Hidden Histories". KentOnline, Kent Business. KM Group. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ McCooey, Christopher (27 August 2005). "A family business for 400 years". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|registration=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help)[permanent dead link] "The builder, based in Brasted, Kent, is the third oldest company in the UK still in operation, according to Dun & Bradstreet, the business information provider. Only Oxford University Press, founded in 1478, and Cambridge University Press, founded in 1534, are older. Number four is the Old Bushmills Distillery in County Antrim (1608) while the Post Office is fifth (1635)". - ^ a b c d "Thicker than Morter". Kent Life. Kent Life. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Top ten oldest UK companies". News. Real Business. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Cambieri, Giulia (21 October 2011). "UK's oldest family businesses, a history of longevity". Campden Family Business. Campden Research, Campden Wealth. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c McCooey, Christopher (27 August 2005). "A family business for 400 years". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|registration=ignored (|url-access=suggested) (help)[permanent dead link] - ^ Harper, Charles G. (1906). The Old Inns of Old England, Volume II. London: Chapman and Hall. p. 221. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Poundsbridge Manor". Domesday Reloaded. BBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Barty-King, Hugh (1991). A country builder : the story of Richard Durtnell & Sons of Brasted, 1591–1991. London: Melland. ISBN 978-0907929208.
- ^ "First Bobcat Excavator for UK's Oldest Building Company". Global information on the Bulk Materials Handling, Recycling & Quarrying Industries. Hub Digital Media Limited. 20 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
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