Summer 2022H 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 to take over the financial management, a role which she continues to this day.

Chris and Louise – the fourth generation of the family to run H Bell & Sons – have continued to grow the company, making it a highly successful building company for the private, commercial and industrial sectors. The company employs 30 members of staff, including apprentices from Hopwood Hall College.

It is this close family ‘hands-on’ approach which has enabled the H Bell success story to last so long.

To mark 110 years of success, the company has pledged to plant 110 trees across the borough this year, with the first being planted in the Rochdale Memorial Gardens in April. The tree will stand as a celebration of the local company’s longevity and a mark of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The occasion was very poignant for veteran Harry, who planted a tree in the same garden when he was chairman of Rochdale Round Table in 1977, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year. He said: “It’s good to be able to plant a new one here which will grow tall just like that one did.

“For our business anniversary to be in a Queen’s Jubilee year makes it even more special.”

Further trees will also be planted in Norden Jubilee Park, and other local green spaces, plus wildflower hedging near the Willows Dementia Hub and Caldershaw Green.

A major sponsor of the Rochdale In Bloom effort, H Bell & Sons is also committed to making Rochdale a better place to live and work, maintaining the memorial gardens and other parks across Rochdale as part of their volunteer work. They also provide Springhill Hospice and local schools with plants, materials and support throughout the year.

The company is involved with construction and maintenance projects throughout the town and can be regularly seen working in schools, hospitals and offices as well as new build work across the Rochdale area.

They even created the registrars wedding venue in Number One Riverside during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the existing one at the Town Hall is closed whilst the building undergoes an extensive refurbishment.