» Company History

R Durtnell & Sons Limited is Britain's oldest building company and has earned an enviable reputation for quality work, fine craftsmanship and business integrity. As a family, the Durtnells themselves are no less remarkable and can trace their ancestry back to the Norman Conquest.

It seems that during the Dissolution of the Monastries, a less than scrupulous ancestor, Robert Darknall was already heavily involved in property, notably the purchase and sale of lands and buildings belonging to the local monastry. Operating on the fringes of the court it seems likely that Robert, a colourful character, eventually overreached himself and ended his days on the gallows.

The first recorded mention of building, as opposed to property, in the family - and hence the year from which Durtnells dates its existence - is 22 July 1591, when John Dartnall married Ann Hearst, registering his profession as 'carpenter', synonymous with 'builder' at a time when most houses were of timber-framed construction.

• The First Building
• Over the Centuries
• The War Years to the Present
• Tercentenarians Club
• Classic company vehicles