Page 24 - Real Rochdale Issue 14 Summer 2022

H Bell & Sons celebrate

110 years of business

Originally founded as a plastering business in 1912 by
Henry Bell, H Bell & Sons Ltd has been serving the
Rochdale borough from the same Princess Street
location for 110 years – and is looking forward to many
more years serving the local community.

Henry came to England in 1901, from Belfast, where he
settled in. He worked on both Birch Hill Hospital and
Heybrook School when they were first built.

The business grew until his son, Henry T Bell, took over
in the 1930s; Henry Jnr ran the company until World
War Two when he was called to work in London. His
father kept the business running until his return.

The war played a huge part in this era as the company
had to diversify to incorporate property repairs. During
this period, the business overcame the declining trend
and the business survived.

Harry Bell joined the firm straight from school in 1953,
with his brother David following in 1958. The two
brothers took over the firm in 1969 when Henry T Bell
retired. In 1979, Chris Bell joined the firm and took on a
quantity surveyor degree in the evenings.

When David retired in 1990, Chris ran the business
alongside his father.

In 2000, Louise Scott, Chris’ sister, joined the company Chris Bell, Louise Scott, Harry Bell & Cllr Aasim Rashid
to take over the financial management, a role which she
continues to this day. “For our business anniversary to be in a Queen’s Jubilee
year makes it even more special.”
Chris and Louise – the fourth generation of the family to
run H Bell & Sons – have continued to grow the company, Further trees will also be planted in Norden Jubilee Park,
making it a highly successful building company for the and other local green spaces, plus wildflower hedging
private, commercial and industrial sectors. The company near the Willows Dementia Hub and Caldershaw Green.
employs 30 members of staff, including apprentices from
Hopwood Hall College. A major sponsor of the Rochdale In Bloom effort, H Bell
& Sons is also committed to making Rochdale a better
It is this close family ‘hands-on’ approach which has place to live and work, maintaining the memorial
enabled the H Bell success story to last so long. gardens and other parks across Rochdale as part of their
volunteer work. They also provide Springhill Hospice and
To mark 110 years of success, the company has pledged local schools with plants, materials and support
to plant 110 trees across the borough this year, with the throughout the year.
first being planted in the Rochdale Memorial Gardens
in April. The tree will stand as a celebration of the local The company is involved with construction and
company’s longevity and a mark of the Queen’s Platinum maintenance projects throughout the town and can be
Jubilee. regularly seen working in schools, hospitals and offices
as well as new build work across the Rochdale area.
The occasion was very poignant for veteran Harry, who
planted a tree in the same garden when he was They even created the registrars wedding venue in
chairman of Rochdale Round Table in 1977, the Queen’s Number One Riverside during the Covid-19 pandemic,
Silver Jubilee year. He said: “It’s good to be able to plant as the existing one at the Town Hall is closed whilst the
a new one here which will grow tall just like that one did. building undergoes an extensive refurbishment.

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