History of Greengate

Greengate started life in a shed in Saunderton, a village just outside High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, in the early 1970s,.  A well-known Wycombe furniture company, Parker Knoll, had just had a disastrous fire on their huge site which meant that many of their craftsmen were required to re-locate to another factory some distance away in the Cotswolds.

The shed in Saunderton where it all started.
Sadly, in 2016, it was demolished to make way for housing.

This gave the impetus for two men, Edward 'Ted' Chapman and Norman 'Fred' Bloxham to take the plunge and set up in business on their own.  They worked in the shed you see above, along with some part-time help from a local preacher, Frank Collins.

Frank would assemble the various sofa and chair frames as needed, and perform the all-important ritual of tea-making.   Ted, Fred and Frank provided high-end, bespoke upholstery to the hotel and decorator markets, mainly in London.

Having mulled over a few names for their venture, the trio settled on "Greengate", referring to Greengate Mill in Kettering, England - a memory from Ted's childhood home town.

Sandown Works - we spent over 25 years here.
Now demolished, the site today hosts a block of flats.

Whilst Greengate was getting on its feet, another long-established company in High Wycombe, Hearn & Son, was looking for extra men and space to enable it to meet the growing demand for its products. David Hearns already worked closely with the three amigos at Greengate, often helping them with all sorts of areas of the business, especially woodworking and delivery logistics.

A spirit of friendship and co-operation was soon built, with the two firms working together on numerous projects. Eventually, at the request of Ted & Fred, Greengate was taken over by Hearn & Son, though it kept its separate product and marketing identity.

Over the years, the Greengate brand gently developed until it eventually became the major part of the business, overtaking the original parent company which had come to its rescue many years before.

Production was transferred from Saunderton to Sandown Works, High Wycombe in 1979.   From its roots in a shed with two men and a preacher, Greengate now employs eighteen dedicated staff in its Wycombe workshop. 

It is still owned and run by the Hearn family, now in their fourth generation as furniture makers in High Wycombe, and still very much involved in the day-to-day affairs of the chair shop.

Business has moved on considerably from those early days in a shed.  Most of the furniture making industry in High Wycombe, and England more generally, has gone, a victim of the fierce price competition in today's globalised furniture market.

However, Greengate continues the traditions of old alongside the best of modern manufacturing , and we are also the chosen upholstery makers and distributors for some of the world's top designer brands.

We never forget our roots and guiding principles in all our dealings, and remain committed to the pursuit of fairness and excellence in all we do.

Whether you have a whole-house project or just need a footstool, please do visit our showroom or contact us with your questions. We'd be delighted to hear from you!