- OUR STORY
A family tradition, still being written
Nicholson Carpentry & Joinery Ltd was established in 2001, but the knowledge behind it reaches back to 1886.
Across four generations, the Nicholson family has worked with timber, passing on the judgement, patience and pride that still shape every project today.
- OUR BEGINNING
Built on craft
Harry Nicholson was born in Malton, Yorkshire, in 1872 and began a seven-year apprenticeship in cabinet making in 1886.
Early in his career, he worked on the Castle Howard estate, maintaining joinery within one of the country’s great historic houses. It was there that he met Sarah Ellen Parkin, who later became his wife.
At the turn of the century, they moved to south Birmingham, where Harry worked for the Cadbury family and contributed to important local buildings, including the ornate domes of the Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham.
His reputation was built in an age when a craftsman’s skill could be seen in every joint, profile and finished surface. That standard became the foundation of the Nicholson family tradition.
- FOUR GENERATIONS
Four generations later
The craft passed from one generation to the next.
Richard Nicholson followed his father, grandfather and great-grandfather into joinery, learning not only how timber should be worked, but how a finished piece should relate to the building and the people who will live with it.
Some of Harry’s original tools, stamped with his initials, remained in use within the family. Two Spear & Jackson hand saws were passed through all four generations before finally being retired from service.
Richard established Nicholson Carpentry & Joinery Ltd in 2001 to give that accumulated knowledge a working future. The business may be modern, but the standards behind it were shaped over more than a century of practical experience.
- TODAY
The workshop today
Today, traditional hand-finishing sits alongside modern design and manufacturing technology in Nicholson’s Warwickshire workshop.
The team develops made-to-measure timber windows, doors, orangeries, garden rooms and roof lanterns, and one-off joinery around the needs of each property. Modern precision helps resolve complex dimensions and repeat fine details accurately; skilled hands still determine the quality of the final fit, finish and feel.
It is understanding the building, choosing the appropriate solution and taking responsibility for delivering it properly.
- LOOKING AHEAD
Always looking forward
A long history only matters when it continues to inform what comes next.
Nicholson combines inherited joinery knowledge with contemporary materials, improved glazing, modern design tools and new manufacturing possibilities. This allows the team to reproduce historic detail faithfully where required, while also creating architecture that is unmistakably of its own time.
The methods will continue to evolve, but the underlying principles remain unchanged: listen carefully, respect the property, choose materials honestly and create work intended to become part of the building for years to come.
Every completed project adds another chapter to a story that began in 1886—and one the Nicholson family remains proud to carry forward.
- BUILT ON TRUST
Trusted by the people we build for
- START YOUR PROJECT
Bring us the idea. Let’s explore what’s possible.
Share a drawing, photograph, rough sketch or simply describe what you’re hoping to create. We’ll help you understand what may be possible and what the next step should be.