A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CORNISH LIME COMPANY

The "Cornish Lime Company” is proud to be a business founded on quality, with a passion for the proper care of this country’s built heritage and a thirst for knowledge regarding the building and conservation industry.

The building company “Darrock & Brown” was formed in 1985 by Phil Brown (Managing Director of “Cornish Lime”), and they quickly established themselves as specialists in the restoration and conservation of existing properties. This was reflected in their 1996 name change to “Darrock & Brown Building Conservation”.

“The Cornish Lime Company” was founded in 1992 in order to service the requirements of “Darrock & Brown” in the care and repair of old buildings, whilst also supplying contractors and members of the public.

Starting with no previous knowledge of manufacturing lime products, after thorough research Phil Brown set about building a modern lime slaking and storage facility.

This ‘clean sheet’ approach, enabled “Cornish Lime” to create an improved material, much cheaper than had previously been available. With continual investment in quality and efficiency, prices have been held over several years - a fact that won’t sit well with competitors, but one that Cornish Lime take a great deal of pride in.

This combination of starting with a a clean sheet and striving for quality is why Cornish Lime now supply Lime Putty and Lime Mortars to the discerning restorer.

Although very close links are still maintained with “Darrock & Brown”, “The Cornish Lime Company” is now completely independent after separating in 2002.

From its humble beginnings, the company continues to thrive and grow. Additional land was purchased in 2003, doubling the size of the stock yards and creating a three acre site from which to operate.

Work is well underway to expand the sands and aggregates side of the business and a bespoke sand washing plant is being built, allowing the production of engineered sands from any source in the country.

The expansion of “Cornish Lime” continues with new products being sourced or developed. A retail shop, showroom and training centre was completed two years ago.

The new retail store provides customers with a wider selection of products. A range of courses both practical and informative are held at the training centre. The training centre comprises of an purpose built audio-visual suite and a practical training room and courses are held at least once a month. These cater for the trade, DIY and custodians of old buildings and will keep everyone advised and better equipped to deal with the many diverse aspects of the care and repair of the regions built heritage.

November 2007