Company History
Samuel Charles was born in the village of Middleton Cheney in 1854, and worked as a labourer in the local building industry, before becoming an apprentice, and learning the skills of plastering and slating, the two trades being closely linked at that time.
Samuel and his wife had several children, including James Pearce, born in 1879, and generally known simply as “J.P.”.
After an apprenticeship in Painting & Decorating at Grant & Sons in East Street, Banbury, and a position with Garnder Brothers of Cropredy learning plumbing, J.P. eventually followed in Samuel’s footsteps, having spent several of his professional working years alternating between the jobs of bicycle repairman(!), and painter & decorator, in both Middleton Cheney, and Coventry, where work was more plentiful.
J.P. was joined by two of his sons, initially Arthur in 1920, and then Kenneth in 1928. The first workshop was in Church Lane, but eventually these premises became too cramped, and in 1936, J.P. announced to his sons that he’d acquired two acres of land along the Main Road, to provide a yard, offices and build some houses on.
Ken eventually took over the running of the business following J.P’s death in 1959, and his elder son Chris returned from working for Boyd & Murley in Reading in 1971, to take up a position with the firm.
Ken retired in 1980, leaving Chris to run the business.
In 1994, Chris was joined by his elder son James, following a career with Costain Construction in London, and then S. Hutchins & Green in Oxford.