page_title: Elliott Brothers (builders merchant)
section_title: Elliotts after WWII
hierarchical_section_title: Elliott Brothers (builders merchant) / Elliotts after WWII
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Elliott brothers Millbank site in Southampton
context_page_description: Elliott Brothers is a builders' merchant based in Southampton, United Kingdom. The company's headquarters is in Millbank Street, Northam and it has a chain of outlets in and around Hampshire and Dorset. It also operates an online tool warehouse that serves the whole of the United Kingdom. Elliott Brothers and Elliotts Premier Roofing constitute the two components of the holding company, Elliott Brothers Limited.
  The company can trace its origins to October 1840 when 26-year-old Thomas Elliott took over the Southampton business of Robert Young who had died earlier in the year. Young's business had been based at Godfrey's Town on the banks of the River Itchen about 0.5 km south-west of the headquarters of the present-day company. Within five years Thomas had purchased a nearby cement works and had extended the range of products sold to include cement, lime, bricks, chimneypieces and many other items. Over the ensuing 40 years until his death in 1886 Thomas continued to expand the firm though at a slower rate. Meanwhile, his brother John was involved with the building and restoration of several churches around Southampton and in Sussex until his death in 1891.
context_section_description: In 1933, Mason Elliott's brother, Christopher, had taken charge of a new roofing section. In 1945 this became the basis of a new subsidiary company, Elliott Brothers (Roofing) Ltd. The annual income of the company increased from £15,000 in 1945 to £90,000 in 1966. Following the Christopher's death in 1969, Newlyn Mason Elliott took over as managing director. In 1973, the company was reintegrated into the main company and became first Elliotts High Performance Roofing and, in 1986, Elliotts Premier Roofing, Ltd.
  In 1947, Mason Elliott's son, Newlyn Mason, returned from five years army service and, in the following year, was appointed to the board. During the 1950s the company's turnover rose from £110,000 to £364,000. But the sale of timber sales was contributing such a small proportion of the total output that, in 1954, it was discontinued. However, thirty years later the fact that timber was not supplied by the company was putting it at a competitive disadvantage, so it was resumed.
  After the closure of the Blanchard brick works at Bishop's Waltham in 1956, Elliotts turned to the London Brick Company for the supply of most of their bricks. The sales of bricks from them and other sources grew until, by the 1990s, it accounted for one third of total sales. Transportation of bricks within the premises was the main beneficiary of the purchase by the company of forklift trucks in the mid-1960s. Shortly after the delivery of heavy materials to customers was eased by the acquisition of a fleet of crane trucks.
  In March 1966, after 45 years of service, 30 of which were as managing director, Mason Elliott handed over the reins of the company to his son, Newlyn Mason. A notable achievement in his final years was to more than double the turnover between 1960 and 1964 in which year it stood at £787,000. However, his retirement was not long. He died in 1966 and, in the following year, his brother Christopher also died.
  In 1967, a kitchen and bathroom showroom was opened at Millbank and, after erratic growth during the 1960s, turnover topped £1M for the first time in 1970. During the mid-1970s Elliott Brothers became the first point-of-sale computerised builders' merchant in the country. Both computerisation and mechanical handling contributed to increased efficiency. Although staff numbers only increased from 40 in 1938 to 90 in 1973, turnover over the same period increased 25-fold.
  By 1970, as result of its continuing expansion, the company needed to find more space at its Millbank headquarters. 0.5 hectares (1.2 acres) of tidal mud-land was therefore purchased from Southampton Council and a £75,000 scheme of land reclamation was put into operation. The reclaimed area was concreted over and the project work, which was completed in 1973, nearly doubled the area of the Millbank site.
  To facilitate overseas trade, a new company, EB (International) Ltd was formed in 1974. Furthermore, a holding company, Elliott Brothers (Builders' Merchants) Ltd was established to which all the assets of Elliott Brothers Ltd and EB International were transferred. In fact the year had not been a good one the firm, or indeed for builders merchants nationally. Nevertheless, Elliott Brothers' annual group sales reached £2M for the first time. Growth during the rest of the decade was significant and in 1980 turnover topped £5M. Meanwhile, market conditions for builders' merchants were changing. Medium-sized and small builders had always been a stock in trade of the company. But such companies were turning to the provision of extensions and rebuilding work rather than undertaking new-builds. Furthermore, the DIY market was expanding rapidly. To meet these requirements the warehouse that fronted Millbank Street was converted into a 1,200 m² (13,000 sq ft) self-selection store.
  During the 1980s, using the Millbank Street store as a template, branches were opened at Ringwood, Fareham, Chandler's Ford and Fordingbridge. With the headquarters at Millbank and the established branch at Bishop's Waltham, that brought the totals number of outlets to six. In the perio
caption: Elliotts Millbank site in 1992
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