A Brief History...

The Forshaw name has been established in Westhoughton since the end of the 19th Century. This early photograph shows Jessie Forshaw’s father, grandfather of Walter, outside the family shop and home on the corner of King Street, just down the road from our current head office.

Jessie had previously worked at local coalmines before branching out on his own in 1898 to become a coalman, using a horse and cart to carry his wares from place to place.

Until the end of the second world war, business remained steady and when Jessie died in 1943, Walter and his wife Annie, took over and began to develop the firm which now bears his name. They moved into general haulage when demand for coal began to fall and local pits began to close. Supplying and delivering building materials in the 1950s would eventually lead to work in demolition, the field in which the company now specialises.

The business acquired the current head office on King Street in 1959 and a haulage depot on the nearby Bolton Road in 1971. In the 1980’s the transition into recycling was made with the acquisition of a waste transfer station in Horwich, allowing us to process, reclaim and recycle waste material.

Today this family oriented business remains one with a personal touch: and it is one of the largest demolition companies in the North West to still use direct labour. But though this may be a traditional firm, there is nothing old fashioned about the way the business is run: the Forshaw family aims to provide a completely efficient and up to date demolition service using the most modern equipment and techniques available.


The future...

The company continues to look forward and is planning a new purpose-built development in the Westhoughton area. This exciting period in the company’s history will incorporate the existing facilities on to the one site whilst also allowing for additional growth in the future.

The new facility will house the company’s head office, waste transfer station, stores and maintenance garage on the one site. In conjunction with WFL’s development, other units will be constructed within the site for leasing.

Site preparation work commenced in November 2007. The site and buildings are now complete and we will be resident in our new premises from Monday 8th February 2010.