business
Pre the Second World War there were many different types of shops catering for the needs of the village. Circa 1950 there was a bakery and butchery, grocery stores, a fruit and vegetable shop, which also sold fish and chips, a sweet and tobacconist shop, which was also the post office. In the last decade the remaining general store, Bennetts of Beckington, ceased to trade and in 1999 the Post Office closed.
Today various mobile vendors visit the village, whilst in the centre of the village there is a garage and petrol filling station, Beckington Motors, which has been in business for 4 generations. At the entrance to the village on the bypass by the Trowbridge road roundabout, there is a motorists' service area, with a fuel station, travel lodge and restaurant. Groceries, sweets, fresh coffee, tobacco and newspapers are also sold at the filling station.
There are 3 public houses in the Parish. Two,
The Woolpack and the Foresters' Arms
are in Beckington whilst the Full Moon is in Rudge. All serve meals and offer accommodation.
There are also several guest houses in the village (see below).
A highly successful engineering business (SEA Ltd) is now located in the 17th century
building and grounds known as the Castle, which they have renovated with some care
during the last decade. Other businesses in Beckington include three building contractors,
two electricians, a plumber, and Emma Books Ltd in Mill Lane.
In August 2006 the village welcomed the opening of the only shop in Beckington -
Mes Amis. This is a thriving delicatessen and coffee shop that also serves
light meals and a selection of meals to take away. The menu changes daily, but is
always freshly prepared and uses only the best produce and ingredients. Mes Amis
is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. You are sure to find
a friendly welcome and become one of their many regular customers. 01373 830723.
Business Listings:
We are pleased to list here those local businesses in and around Beckington which
advertise in our Parish Magazine
Network. Through this they support the life of the village and
encourage a sustainable community.
If you are looking for a local purchase or service, please give them a call.
Springmead School
Nursery and Pre-preparatory. 01373 831555 / 0771 3267627. Independent co-educational
school.
White Row Country Foods Farm Shop 01373 830798 for organic produce, fresh
foods, bread, butchery, cafe, plants, gifts, etc. etc.
Quality Bespoke Kitchens 01373 464703 Copperfield designs individually crafted
kitchens of style, elegance and durability.
Michael John Thompson LRPS LBPPA. No Frills Wedding Photography.
email: forminmed@aol.com
website: www.photographerwiltshire.com
Telephone: 01373 830196
Eden Vale B&B
01373 830371. Quiet riverside farmhouse. En-suite accommodation, fishing available.
Electrical Contractor R.G. Brown 12 Goose St. 01373 830052 Domestic wiring,
storage heating, shower installations etc.
Busy Bees
Cleaning & Maintenance 2000 Ltd. 01373 455911/300726, offering residential
and commercial cleaning services.
Roofcheck 01749 347547. Roofing contractors; PVC-u replacement specialists.
Hollytree Cottage B&B 01373 830786. Julia Naismith, Hollytree Cottage,
Laverton, Somerset BA3 6QZ
The Full Moon,
Rudge 01373 830936. An old village inn with en suite rooms looking over
the Westbury White Horse. Intimate dining rooms and imaginative English Food. Since
the Spring of 2003 additional village cottages have been available and guests are
able to use the new indoor pool.
Jeremy Alderman Building Contractor 01373 467953 mobile: 0850 285874. New
builds, renovations, alternations etc.
T.S. Prescott 01373 832749 Plumbing & Heating installation, extensions
& alterations; decorator & iphe registered plumber.
Driving Instructor Steve Dayman-Johns 01373 466611 DOT Approved, mock test
included, pick up at home or work; any time of day.
The Somerset Smithy 01373 462609 Ornamental ironwork of exclusive character.
Funeral Directors William Adlam & Son 01373 452100 day or night.
PAINT IT Brian Fumagall 07964 706675. Painting & Decorating to a very high standard.
Interior & Exterior. All work guaranteed.
ALL ABOUT LOCKS The local locksmith company 07886 338121.
Locks opened, supplied and fitted. Non-destructive opening whenever possible.
Hair at Lullington Nicola Walsby 01373 834406 or 07849 833926.
A salon providing a comprehensive one to one hair design service in a quite country house setting.
25 years experience. Flexible appointmentsw and ample parking.
MILLERS Electrical Contractor Martin Miller 01373 466301. Fuseboard upgrades;
Security lights; Underfloor heating; Telephone points.
email.
The Abbey Bar Rent-a-Bar 01373 830774 or 07855 742959. Outside bar specialist;
Weddings; fetes; parties.
email.
Davies & Davies Crockery Hire 01373 836177 Crockery, cutlery, glasses,
tables, chairs, marquees PLUS washing up!
Clean It Ian Rendall 01749 675586 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Specialist.
Newlands Tree Care Andy Brake 01373 830429 All aspects of tree surgery undertaken.
Carpet, Vinyl & Wood Floors K. Corcoran 01373 303733 Supplied & Fitted - Free Estimates
TnT Bar Services 01373 836122 NO CHARGE FOR OUR SERVICES! All functions considered,
none too large! Contact Patrick or Rachael
The Woolpack Inn 01373 831244 A former small 16th century coaching inn.
Food and accommodation. Special seasonal events and meals. Always a warm and friendly
welcome.
Prior Park
College, Bath 01225 831000 Independent Fully Co-educational HMC school.
Boarding and day.
A Bit Of A Do Outside Catering 07801 070222 or 01373 831254
Brian Allsop Carpet & Flooring Ltd 01373 463866 Mobile: 07887 953014
West Couontry Tiling 01373 462224
Housemaids Cleaning Services 01373 474246
Claire Merritt Antiques & Furnishings 01373 464993
Seymours Court,
Beckington. Country House B&B. 01373 830466
Joanna Hanstead Chiropractic & Craniosacral Therapy 01373 454595; 01225
313153; 01454 320088
The Sunday
Group Independent Personal & Corporate Financial Planning 0870 429 6028
Sunny Hill Preparatory Nursery & Pre-prep School for girls ages 3-11
and boys aged 3-7. Bruton School for Girls 01749 814427
Paul Barrett for Kitchens, floors, doors and locks 01373 463931; 07816 466213
Massage Therapy Lynn Bean 01373 831196
Class One Computers Computer installation, tuition and repair. Data Recovery service also available.
Contact Martin on 01373 830145 or 07525 743804.
Richard Robbins Gardening Trained, experienced gardener. Your gateway to a better garden. 01373 473008.
Terry Baxter Grass Cutting, Strimming, Lawn Care, Hedge Cutting. 01373 473092 or 07717 495681.
Women's Health Physiotherapist Kate Charlesworth MCSP. 01373 304510 or 0785 483 4538.
Decorating and Handyman Services Nigel Brokenshire. 01373 834405 or 07712 811288.
Three C's Local Cleaning Services Regular and one-off general cleaning plus... 01225 866892.
Night Nannies Lisa Cooke 01373 831095 Fax: 01373 831410
The Mill at
Rode great food, great wine, great place. 01373 831100 Fax: 01373 831144
Dog Grooming & Pet Sitting 01373 831566
SJH Plastering Steve Harris 07717 534732. Call for a free no obligation quote
Basic Computers Software & hardware problems sorted. 01373 301676; 01373 836888
Cats Protection Beautiful cats and kittens always available for good homes.
01985 218559
Sam Allen Metal gates, railings and ornamental metalwork. 01985 219610; 07970 174718
Catherine Harris Professional Hair Stylist. 07905 500 969
The Garden Company Turfing, fencing, patios and ponds etc. 07974 742068;
01373 472312
Higgins Landscapes Garden design and construction; garden maintenance. 01749
850365; 07946 748029
Gary Holt Painting, decorating and plastering. 01373 831476; 078 913 12503
Rusty's Window, gutter, patio, deck cleaning; lawn cutting. 07962 239938;
01373 472546
Oakley Garden Machinery 01373 467712
Personal Fitness Kirsty Doonan: 01373 831178; 07788 100269
Teaching natural English to speakers of other languages. Janet O'Brian: 01373
453934
Brittany Coast Holiday House.
details.. 01373 831619
Berkley Bouncers Children's bouncy castle. 01373 830542; 07812 000539
The Blue House, Frome Accommodation for elderly residents. 01373 462577
Slimming World Weekls groups in Frome. 01373 472327 / 01373 461357 / 01380
720998
Beckington Limousines for all occasions. 01373 831717
Wellness Workshop Non-toxic household products, doorstep delivery. 01373 831348 / 0800 0752527
Advanced Fabric
&. Floor Care Carpets and upholstery plus all types of hard floors
etc. The most thorough cleaning you've ever seen or it's free!! 0800 195 8266
Beckington Motors filling station and garage workshop 01373 830238
Eden Vale 01373 830371 Mill Lane, offering horse riding
Systems Engineering & Assessment Ltd. 01373 852098 Beckington Castle PO Box 800 Bath
BA3 6TB
Texaco filling station 01373 867900.
Pickford House
Tel/Fax 01373 830329 B&B and catering.
FossilDesign
Tel 01373 830949/07821 355463 for printing, signs and image processing.
Business Focus:
Beckington Motors - Telephone: 01373 830238
Four generations of the Hillman family have run their business in the centre of
the village for 123 years. The present garage provides full servicing for most types
of vehicles, repair and recovery facilities. They are specialists in auto electrics,
carry out annual MOT tests and sell tyres, exhausts and batteries at competitive
rates, which they fit free and they offer free collection and delivery of vehicles.
Beckington Motors is a valuable village asset, providing a friendly and quality
service at truly competitive prices.
SEA Ltd at Beckington Castle
Telephone 01373 852000
Following the move of Ravenscroft School in 1970, Beckington Castle was left unoccupied
and sadly deteriorated to a ruinous state – so bad in fact that it was featured
in a national newspaper as "heap of the week"!
In 1989, however, the Castle and grounds were acquired by Systems Engineering &
Assessment Ltd (SEA). At that time only 12 strong, SEA was created to provide specialist
technical support to the Ministry of Defence. The Company initially occupied a temporary
building in the Castle grounds, while negotiations continued with the planning authorities
and English Heritage regarding refurbishment of the Castle and erection of a new
office building in the grounds. These negotiations ended up being very protracted
and it was not until 1996 that the splendidly refurbished Castle was finally re-opened.
The first phase of the sympathetically designed office building was also completed
in 1996, and in the same year SEA occupied a further office in North Bristol.
SEA's growth was accompanied by a diversification of activities, and the Company,
now 120 strong, has successful business units addressing the defence, aerospace
and transport industries. In 1998 a new company, SEA (Advanced Products) Ltd, was
formed to exploit high technology spin-offs from SEA. With further growth in prospect,
in September 1999 work began on phase 2 of the new office block, completing development
of the Castle site.
Over the years SEA has built up close and cordial relationships with the village,
sponsoring the cricket and football clubs, supporting the school and putting the
castle at the disposal of the village for charitable and community purposes. Over
20 staff live in the local area.
Emma Books Ltd.
Little Orchard House, Mill Lane Telephone 01373 831216
The company is run by David Bailey working from his home in Mill Lane. The company
was formed in 1992 by David and his stepdaughter, Emma. Emma has since left the
company. David has been involved with children's books for many years.
Emma Books specialises in the creation of novelty books for children in the 6 years
and below age group. It has an international reputation, selling its books in many
countries throughout the world. Eighty per cent of its sales come from overseas.
Last year almost 4 million books were sold.
Amongst the various concepts used by Emma Books are pop-ups, jigsaw books, books
with sound modules, books to be used in the bath, books with squeakers, books with
wheels on them and many more. Jane Caston, sales manager, and David Bailey travel
to many parts of the world selling books.
During the year to July 1999, the company has had a stand at book fairs in Frankfurt,
Bologna, Los Angeles and London. The "Beckington, Somerset" sign on the stand's
name board is proudly putting the village's name well and truly on the map.
Madeline's Pickford House
Tel/Fax 01373 830329
Angela Pritchard set up her own business in outside catering in 1989, having spent
long hours studying the history of Italian and French Cuisine. Prior to this she
had been constantly asked to provide people with dishes for their private drinks
and dinner parties as well as offering quality dinners for her accommodation guests.
The business grew by word of mouth but Angela was insistent that her bed and breakfast
business with quality dinners would take first priority. It was recently awarded
4 Diamonds by the AA Inspection Team.
However over the years both businesses grew with several very prestigious catering
events. More part time employment from outside was becoming important and in 1997
it became apparent that the two businesses should be separated. It was decided that
Madeleine's should become a catering company and stand on its own, leaving the bed
and breakfast to continue to grow and thrive separately with Angela's husband Ken
playing an important part in fronting the bed and breakfast business and acting
as Company Secretary to Madeleine's. In recognition of their excellence and enthusiasm
in food and wine and their strong connections in Burgundy, both were made Cousins
of Savigny les Beaune.
Ivy House Farm
Geoff and Kim Bowles and family farming in the village since 1985 now run an Organic dairy farm-
Milking Jersey cows and processing the milk for bottled milk, creams and butter.