Founded two hundred and sixty years ago, William
Anelay, is among the UK’s leading and longest-established
specialist in the conservation and restoration of fine and historic
buildings throughout the UK, Ireland and overseas as far as Japan.
The company employs over 110 permanent staff with office bases
in York and Manchester.
The business, which was acquired by its management
team in January 2006, combines long-standing traditional building
expertise and centuries-old craftsmanship skills with a modern-management,
skill-focused business vision to conserve, repair and restore
a wide range of properties including abbeys, churches, stately
homes, historic industrial premises, municipal buildings, libraries,
parks and private homes.
The Company has constantly progressed by adopting a dynamic, forward-thinking,
solutions-approach through its many in-house skills, which include
stone masonry, carpentry, joinery, brickwork, lead work and traditional
plastering. This has led to numerous awards
from the Royal Institute of British Architects, English Heritage,
Civic Trusts, building guilds and conservation bodies.
The business has wide-ranging construction expertise and management
skills to act as a specialist subcontractor or as main contractor,
offering project management and a turnkey solution for large or
small restoration or conservation projects around the world. The
company’s aim is to build long lasting business relationships
with its customers and business partners.
The Management Team:
Vernon Carter
Managing Director
Vernon
began his working career as an Indentured Building Student
with Shepherd Construction and on completion of his training
took up a position within the Estimating department. Vernon
gained greater knowledge and experience of the construction
industry by working for some of Yorkshire’s major
Contractors and in 1995 was invited to join William Anelay
as Chief Estimator/Surveyor.
In 2002 Vernon became the company’s
Commercial Director and now holds the role of Managing Director
driving the firm’s strategic direction with direct
involvement in its commercial operations including estimating,
marketing, new business development and customer services/relations.
Vernon is proud to be a member of an organisation
that “is involved in preserving the nation’s
built heritage and one that helps breathe new life into
old buildings”. Vernon is keen to emphasise that William
Anelay has the aspiration through developing partnerships
with suppliers, customers and stakeholders to become the
‘Contractor of Choice’ with resources in place
to work at a national level.
Vernon is a Member of the Chartered Institute
of Building (MCIOB), of the Royal Institute of Chartered
Surveyors (MRICS), the Architecture and Surveying Institute
(MASI) and holds a MBA.
Charles
Anelay
Special Projects Director
Charles
graduated from University College, London with a BSc in
Architecture Planning Building and Environmental Studies
and an MSc in Building Economics and Management. After several
years in London working on a number of prestigious office
refurbishments, Charles returned to the family business
and has been involved in a working capacity with the firm
since 1985.
As the firm has grown and developed, Charles’
roles have changed – Contracts Manager, Contracts
Director, Joint Managing Director, Managing Director, and
now Special Projects Director.
He is therefore a bit of an all rounder, but
his particular enthusiasms are for the technicalities of
what the company does and the challenges of producing top
quality work, that will stand the test of time.
Charles remains a key member of the senior
management team and is pleased that the business has retained
the original family name. Along with the name comes a strong
sense of history and tradition of a business that has been
involved with quality construction and despite its longevity,
still has a place in the 21st Century.
Charles has been responsible for overseeing
specialist projects including the refurbishment of Studley
Royal House, the re-roofing of Harewood House, the masonry
repairs of the west front of Selby Abbey, and more recently
the construction of a private chapel in the
classical style.
Charles has been a member of the Chartered
Institute of Building since 1988, is a past Council Member
of the Lead Contractors Association, is a guest lecturer
for the Conservation Course at the Institute of Advanced
Architectural Studies in York and is a committee member
of the National Heritage Training Group.
Tony
Townend
Operations Director
Tony
began his career in construction as a Designer and Technical
Advisor, moving on to the role of Project Manager for a
timber frame construction company. Over the years Tony has
gained invaluable experience within the construction industry
of working closely with Architects, Clients, Quantity Surveyors,
Statutory Suppliers, Subcontractors, direct and indirect
labour to identify customer needs in order to maximise resources.
Tony’s position as Operations Director
is pivotal to the company’s success, through understanding
the importance of meeting deadlines whilst maintaining high
standards of quality.
Tony numbers amongst his successes the overseeing
of the restoration of Middlesbrough Town Hall Clock Tower,
which took place 180 feet above ground level and in a busy
town centre location. Other projects include the total renovation
of St Peter’s Church at Fleetwood and the renovation
and restoration of St Anne’s Cathedral in Leeds.
Tony is a member of the Institute of Directors.
In his spare time, he enjoys a variety of sporting interests
and is Director of Rugby at Selby RUFC.
Tim
Donlon
Technical Director
After
completing a BSc in Building Construction at North Trent
Polytechnic, Tim worked in the Local Authority sector for
a short time followed by the role of Contracts manager with
Furse Specialist Contracting.
It was whilst working with Church Conservation
that Tim was asked to join the CIOB Building Conservation
and Heritage Working Group. Tim went on to join S &
J Whitehead as Construction Manager working on restoration
and conservation projects involving national organisations
including the National Trust.
Tim brought his knowledge and expertise to
William Anelay in 1999 taking on the roles of Contracts
Manager and then Technical Director. Tim is thrilled that
projects he has overseen including 78 Derngate and Blackwell
have won RIBA and Civic Trust awards for the company.
Tim firmly believes that “restoration
and conservation can work side by side and William Anelay
has the experience and know-how to help smooth the way ”.
Tim is a member of Chartered Institute of
Building and has contributed to published works including
Lightning Protection of Historic Buildings, Conservation
Directory 1997 and Works to Historic Buildings, Chartered
Institute of Building 1999.
Stephen
Brown
Financial Director
After
completing a business degree at Sheffield City Polytechnic,
Stephen obtained positions in London with British Telecommunications
followed by the Virgin Group becoming familiar with large
corporate financial operations. Upon returning to Yorkshire,
he held finance positions with companies in the Williams
Holdings and IMI groups before joining William Anelay in
April 2000.
Stephen is responsible for all behind-the-scene
activities within the company and for ensuring that strategic
plans have a financially sound basis.
Despite his lack of general visibility, Stephen
manages to get out on site from time to time and is well
known for his straightforward approach to business matters.
Since taking on the role of Financial Director,
Stephen has seen significant business growth and believes
that the “financial objectives are being consistently
met due to a combination of clear direction and a committed
workforce”.
Stephen is a member of the Chartered Institute
of Management Accountants.