Arthur Padgett Limited is a 4th generation family run plumbing and heating company based in Nelson, Lancashire, covering the surrounding areas of Colne, Barrowford, Fence, Burnley, Brierfield, Pendleside Villages and throughout the Ribble Valley.

Founded in 1924 by Arthur Padgett himself, Arthur Padgett Limited has been providing high quality plumbing services for over 95 years.

In 1913 Arthur Padgett started out as a fourteen year old apprentice to Tom Rycroft, the President of Nelson Master Plumbers’ Association. Working from Rycroft’s premises in Railway Street, Nelson, Arthur attended plumbing school at Burnley College.

Arthur’s apprenticeship was, however, interrupted by the First World War. His engineering skills saw him drafted into the Royal Navy air service as an engineer on the NS7 airship, hunting submarines over the North Sea. After returning Arthur completed his apprenticeship. In 1924 he decided to start his own business in Water Street, before moving to the firm’s present office in Leeds Road, Nelson, in 1925. The tiled walls of the workshop remain a reminder that it was originally W.H Oddie’s bakehouse.

Arthur completed 50 years in charge before retiring with a gold watch from the Mayor of Nelson, Janet Smith. Arthur, with his wife Margaret, raised three sons Alan, Harry and Donald. Alan ran the firm with wife Joan from 1974 until 1991. Harry, a surveyor, became Borough surveyor for Kendal. Donald, having been an award-winning apprentice at Burnley College, started his own firm in Morecambe. Alan and Joan retired in 1991. The business now passed to their sons Edward and Colin.

In 2005 Edward and Colin enlisted the help of a friend, Phil Cox, to computerise and expand. Phil was invited to join Edward and Colin as a director. A fourth director was added in 2013 with the promotion of Dan Haythornthwaite, an apprentice from 1996, and another Apprentice of the Year at Burnley College. Arthur’s great grandson, Henry Padgett, was Apprentice of The Year at Burnley College in 2013, exactly 100 years after Arthur started his apprenticeship. That centenary was also marked by Edward Padgett, Arthur’s grandson, becoming President of Nelson and Colne Master Plumbers Association. Arthur Padgett Ltd has now been continuously plumbing in Pendle and the surrounding area for 95 years. Great care is taken to uphold its family values and skills. The firm is listed as one of the UK’s top 100 companies to train apprentices, something one can be certain Arthur would have been proud of.