The history of Fanning Builders in Mill Hill. A guest blog by Chris The Millhillian

Fanning Builders were founded by brothers George and Jimmy Fanning in Mill Hill after being demobbed  from the army after World War two. They found plenty of building work in Mill Hill, undertaking many bomb damage repair jobs and other projects. Their first yard was located in the old Bunns Farm buildings (now known as Bunns Lane Works) situated at the junction of Flower Lane and Bunns Lane next to the old railway sidings and coal depot with the entrance opposite Mill Hill Park. The firm eventually moved out of there in the early fifties and their buildings were taken over by Laurie Tichborne who co founded Macmetals, a car crash and metal work repair shop. There were other business owners in that yard including Lynn Products making kitchens for local councils, Smiths Coffee roasters (now based in Hemel Hempstead), Higginsons Joinery, Daleys fire places and Blake engineering. It was an industrious workplace with a strong smell of freshly ground coffee and cellulose paint wafting across the park land.

The move was to occupy larger premises on the sloping railway sidings of Mill Hill Station fronting Bunns Lane. Most of the buildings were old wooden site huts and the office building was constructed at street level to designs submitted to Hendon Council by George. They operated there until the yard was taken over by the council for use as a car park and the old Station Masters House, Garden, sidings and station yard and buildings were all demolished and built over in 1973. There were no toilet facilities at the yard so staff would use the toilets at the station which were also basic. The joiners shed was heated with off cuts of wood in an old iron burner and the hot water was fed to iron radiators rescued from jobs.

 The yard man Joe, who was the uncle of George and Jimmy,  a Lancastrian. Joe would chop up all the old scrap wood and sell it at the gate for firewood for about 6 pence a bag. This paid for his beer at the service men’s club in Hartley Avenue.

At Christmas the men knocked off early and went to the yard for a Christmas booze up and ham sandwiches from a barrel supplied by the Brothers. There was a Christmas club, so each week the staff contributed to a fund and the firm matched the funding which was put into Premium bonds and shared out at Christmas including any prize money. Joe would create a crib in the shop window with a light which was always fascinating for the children to look at. Each summer was a firms coach outing to Southend which was a boozy and jovial affair.

 

There was quite an industrial set up in Mill Hill situated all along the railway sidings where several businesses thrived. There were builders merchants such as C. J. Hunts just by the bridge, the roof tiling suppliers were along the railway siding’s behind Millway, several garage repair places, joinery shops and next to Fanning's yard was Ace shop fitters. There was the Rawlplug factory in Hale Lane, Middlesex Reboring engine restoration at the bottom of Lawrence Street, an iron fabrication place called Rocar welding in Bunns Lane and an asphalt roofing company in Daws Lane. Builders really had it all on their doorstep except for specialist stuff such as cast iron but that was brought at the Thames Bank iron Company in St John’s Wood.

 

Tea breaks were often taken in local cafes as parking outside was always possible, there were a few choices such as, the cafe across the road, the Ivy in Daws Lane, San Remo in Staton Road and my favourite, the old Forge at the bottom of Lawrence Street. This was run by Phil Matthews who lived there as a boy with his brother Geoff, sons of the last Blacksmith. Builders vans all parked up on the green to pile in for a cup of tea poured from a large metal pot. Geoff was was carpentry foreman, very skilled and bit of a character who told many a yarn particularly about Mill Hill. He would hold court filling us with his mixture of angst and witty humour, the original stand up comedian.

Fanning Building Supplies closes in 1972

When the yard was shut down the company moved over to a more concealed yard in Daws Lane but it seemed like the builders had gone forever. The brothers split the premises in the mid sixties leaving Jim Fanning to run the building Company and George Fanning to run Mill Hill Building Supplies. They were offered alternative premises in Graham Park but George sold out to Lawfords and Jim wanted to remain closer to Mill Hill centre.

 In those days parking was always possible outside any property we worked on and that was just about every road in Mill Hill. Lorry loads of sand were simply poured at roadside as well as several thousand bricks and rubbish was piled along the pavement verge to be collected and loaded to a tipper lorry as seen in the attached photo and then dropped up at the landfill site at Hendon Wood Lane and later in Radlett. Fanning Builders Ltd closed in 1987 and Jim retired and moved away as he was battling with cancer. He had six sons who all spent time working on the firm during the summer holidays. I became his apprentice bricklayer and my first job was working on the fabric at the UK optical building- now demolished. There are still some examples of my brickwork in different places.

 
It was great being a builder in Mill Hill getting to know so many people and all over town. Very fond memories for us all.

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Chris the Mill Hillian worked at Fanning Builders and was a resident for many years.
Guest blogs are always welcome at The Barnet Eye.