Batsford Timber

General information

For 25 years the family business of Batsford Timber has been supplying fencing requisites to the professional contractor and public sector.

Having been a fencing contractor since 1978, Bob Clark founded the business in 1989 with a sawmill at the Batsford Estate Yard near Moreton– in–Marsh, Gloucestershire. Based on quality timber and fair prices the business grew and prospered.

In 1999 another sawmill and yard was acquired in the picturesque setting of Longleat, near Warminster, Wiltshire.

The company has since grown and today with 20 employees including Bob’s wife Maureen a fellow director, their son Robin also a director who is charged with business development.

The cornerstone of the business has been sourcing the best timber, 60% of which is UK grown with the balance imported from Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.

As a former fencing contractor Bob, is only too aware of the importance of the correct wood preservative and its application to ensure the longest possible life of the timber. Bob and Robin have undertaken in-depth research to find the best wood treatments and the differences in quality of such generic terms as ‘creosote.’ In 2012 a state of the art creosote treatment plant was installed at Longleat replacing the old creosote plant. The purchased untreated redwood is then treated with 90% creosote oil imported from Germany. Such high quality contrasts with some imported creosoted timber products where the creosote oil content can vary from 3% to 14%. At the Longleat plant the timber is impregnated with creosote at 100°C. This gives better penetration, is cleaner to handle and gives off less smell. Domestic decking and other timber products are treated with ‘Tanalith E’ to give optimum protection against insects and all forms of wood decay.

Today, Batsford Timber is so much more than just a timber merchant. The extensive shop and retail area is a ‘One stop shop’ for everything to do with fencing; from fixings and wire, tools and safety equipment plus posts, rails, sheds and decking.

Over the years the company has come a long way and earned an enviable reputation for quality products at sensible prices all backed by sound advice.

On his desk Bob keeps a quotation, possibly first made by Benjamin Franklin (1706 1790) that is as true today as when it was first said; “The bitterness of low quality is long remembered after the sweetness of low price is forgotten