|
Tue 10 Oct 2023 |
We were treated by Keith to a very informative
presentation on the history & development of
Leonard
Fairclough (1855-1927) who founded his Building Architectural &
Monumental Stone Masonry business in 1883.
From local
beginnings the company expanded rapidly and the timeline below
illustrates the expansion. |
Keith Hick with the original mason's
mallet.
|
Timeline: From Fairclough to AMEC (Amalgamated Mechanical
Engineering and Construction)
1883: Leonard Fairclough opens
his Monumental, Architectural and Stone Mason's business in
Chapel Street, Adlington, Lancashire
1887: Statue of Queen
Victoria raised and erected on roof of Chapel Street showroom to
celebrate the Monarch's Golden Jubilee
1889: Leonard Miller
Fairclough born (Leonard the Younger)
Pre WWI: Leonard the
Younger joins his father gaining experience in managing an
expanding workforce as the business expanded into public works
1917: Leonard Fairclough becomes a limited company; Leonard the
Younger appointed Director
1927: Upon death of his father,
appointed Governing Director
1930's: Continued expansion
throughout the North West
WWII: Appointed Regional Leader by
Ministry of Works for demolition and repair of war-damaged
infrastructure
1956: Fairclough wins the contract for bridges
and structures to (M6) Preston Bypass - to become Britain's
first motorway
1959: Leonard Fairclough Ltd becomes a public
limited company
1968: Leonard the Younger appointed CBE
1972: Sir James Drake joins board of Leonard Fairclough Ltd upon
retirement
1974: (Sir) Alan Cockshaw appointed Contracts
Manager of Leonard Fairclough Ltd
1976: Leonard Miller
Fairclough dies; Formation of Fairclough Civil Engineering
Limited; Oswald Davies appointed Chairman
1980: Formation of
Fairclough Construction Group
1982: Acquisition of William
Press Group to form AMEC plc
1983: Sir Oswald Davies
appointed Chairman of AMEC plc. Ted Garner appointed Chairman of
Fairclough
1984: Sir Alan Cockshaw appointed Chief Executive
of AMEC plc. Appointed Chairman in 1988 before receiving his
Knighthood in 1992
1993: The Fairclough identity is removed
from all company names in favour of AMEC
From Fairclough to
AMEC - a Lancashire-based construction dynasty
1997: AMEC
acquires French construction conglomerate Spie Batignolles
following an unsuccessful bid for AMEC by Scandinavian giant,
Kaeverner in 1995.
1997: Sir Alan Cockshaw retires to be
succeeded by Sir Peter Mason
2000: AMEC acquires Canadian
Environmental business, AGGRA Inc.
2006: Closure of
Adlington, Lancashire, offices after 123 years; Samir Brikho
appointed Chief Executive of AMEC
2007: Sale of AMEC's civil
engineering and construction business to Morgan Sindall plc.
AMEC concentrates on engineering & project management
2017:
Merged with Wood Group |
The original offices on Chapel St
Adlington. |
Leonard Fairclough (1855-1927) |
Leonard Miller Fairclough (1889-1976) |
Adlington phonebook 1902. |
Original mason's mallet and record
book. |
Lindsay Hoyle MP. |
The five sons of Leonard and Mary (nee Miller) Fairclough each
trained as Apprentice Stone Mason's at Horrobin's Quarry,
Rivington
Paul Fairclough: later trained as a Classical
Sculptor in Italy
Harry Fairclough
Leonard Miller
Fairclough
Isaac Fairclough
Tom Fairclough
Leonard
Miller Fairclough (1889-1976) continued the business on the
death of his father.
The Chapel Street offices have now gone
to be replaced by housing. The original showroom building can
still be seen at the junction of Chapel Street and Park Road. |
A lot of the WW2 reconstruction was thanks to Fairclough’s
including the manufacturer of prefabs. They also demolished the
original Doric Arch at Euston Railway Station in 1961.
In
later years Keith told us about the amusing discussions to
decide on the colour of the AMEC logo - eventually deciding on
orange.
One of the original characters in the TV programme
Coronation Street was Len Fairclough played by Peter Adamson.
The name was bsed on Adlington’s Leonard Fairclough.
BH |
 |
