Page 25 - Real Rochdale Issue 14 Summer 2022
P. 25

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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