Skip to content

'Heart-wrenching' closure of 112-year-old firm

News imageBBC A man in shorts and a dark polo shirt stands at the entrance to a white building, with blue shop frontage advertising 'TAPS', 'SHOWERS' and 'GEO JONES & BROS' above three consecutive shop windows. There is a red 'Closing down sale' sign in the main window to the right. BBC
Plumbing supply company George Jones and Brothers will close this weekend after 112 years in St Pauls

The owner of a 112-year-old plumbing business has described its closure as "heart-wrenching".

Geo Jones and Bros, on Lower Ashley Road, in Bristol, opened in 1914 and stocks bathroom, shower and plumbing accessories.

Owner Mike Jones, whose children both work with him at the store, said the closure was down to a the lack of nearby parking facilities and being unable to compete with online prices available at larger businesses.

"It's been heart-wrenching pulling the showroom apart. The history - all the years it's taken to build - literally just pulling it all apart. I'll miss it badly."

News imageThree people stand in a row behind a desk in a plumbing supplies shop. A woman stands to the left of an older man, with a younger man on his right. They all wear black t-shirts, emblazoned with a yellow logo on the right. Behind them on the wall is a selection of plumbing accessories. They are smiling for the camera.
Mike's children, Ben and Emily, both work at the family business alongside their father

Jones said the business was vibrant and busy when he began working there, aged just 14, in 1978.

"At one stage we had 300 active accounts in the South West and Bristol area [and] absolutely thousands of customers.

"We shipped stuff all over the place - even to the Caribbean."

News imageGeo Jones and Bros A black-and-white historic photo of a pub called The Lord Nelson - taken approximately 100 years ago. It has a three large windows facing the street and two smaller windows on the first floor. It occupies a corner position at the end of a row of shops, with a large sign for Georges' Beers across the corner wall.Geo Jones and Bros
The Lord Nelson pub once occupied part of the property now used by Geo Jones and Brothers

Geo Jones started out selling glass and fireplaces, later becoming a builders' merchant, before choosing to focus on plumbing materials.

The Jones family moved into the property in the early 1900s - later expanding the business into the pub next door, The Lord Nelson - creating a large premises.

"We've always offered advice on how to plumb things in and prided ourselves on customer service," he said.

"Even now, right up to closing, we're still getting people out of scrapes and troubles."

"However, parking has been an issue and these days people want internet prices.

"The larger stuff, which is what you actually make a living out of, people buy online.

News imageGeo Jones & Bros A black-and-white photo taken approximately 100 years ago: a woman stands at the doorway of a shop selling fireplaces. The name Geo Jones & Bros is written above the shop window.. A large assortment of fireplaces and basins can be seen both outside and inside the shop. Geo Jones & Bros
Ethel May Jones - Mike's grandmother - pictured on the steps of the family shop before it expanded and became a plumbing specialist.

Jones' daughter, Emily, who works alongside her father, said the business would be sorely missed.

"I think it's going to leave a big hole.

"It's really rewarding helping people that you can see are struggling. They're coming in expecting to spend maybe hundreds of pounds and we can sort them out with a £5 washer."

"We weren't after making loads of money from people when we could just help them out - it was always our ethos to help people fix things."

Once the business has cleared its remaining stock, it is expected the prominent corner property will be converted into flats.

More on this story