Our Heritage

The company was founded on 13th March 1875 and the first project quoted for by Alfred Bagnall and his then partner, Cornelius Lupton, was to paint a bridge in Charlestown, Shipley for £258.00. A small job in comparison to some of the bridges we have painted since but one that established the company’s fortunes.

Railways were also a key market sector which saw Bagnalls working nationally for many of the leading rail companies of the time, including the Midland Railway and the North Eastern Railway.

By now Bagnalls had established themselves as a specialist in painting and decorating undertaking contracts for British Dyes Limited in Huddersfield, British Cellulose & Chemical Manufacturing Co. Ltd in Spondon  as well as having supported the war effort by ensuring military hospitals in Boulogne, Etaples and Wimereux were kept hygienically clean through maintenance painting works.

Between 1922 and 1924 Bagnalls was commissioned by building contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, to deliver the painting, sign writing, scenic work and decorating for the British Empire Exhibition, in London. Over 200 tons of paint were used to decorate the great palaces and giant structures, as well as hundreds of gallons of enamels and enormous quantities of gold leaf and gold paint.

In addition, the company were commissioned to paint the Empire Stadium, known latterly to many as Wembley Stadium, in time for the cup final held in April 1923.

Alfred Bagnall and his sons Alfred Henry (Harry) and Albert celebrate the company’s Golden Jubilee. 50 years of trading as a painting and decorating contractor with offices in Shipley and London.

The quality of work and reputation achieved in London whilst painting for the Empire exhibition led Bagnalls to be the appointed painting contractor on several projects including the Art Deco headquarters of the Metropolitan & District Railway in St James’ Park and warehouses at the Royal Albert and Royal Victoria docks.

Bagnalls was the first company in the UK to test a new product called Dulux when painting a new build Boots factory in Nottingham.  Some areas were sprayed whilst others were applied by brush and roller.

Bagnalls continues to have a positive working relationship with Dulux to this day alongside other household names like Crown Trade and PPG.

Again, Bagnalls supported the war effort painting army camps and aircraft manufacturing facilities, often in camouflage colours. Bagnalls supported local communities by allowing their liveried vans to be used by the emergency services.

In 1946 Bagnalls started working for Shell Refinery in Stanlow which continued to be a major customer for over six decades.

By 1975, when the company celebrated its centenary, Bagnalls had additional offices in Wolverhampton, Bristol, Middlesborough, Erith, York and Ellesmere Port.

Customers now included petrochemical sites, the Ministry of Defence, aviation manufacturing and local authorities across the country.

Bagnalls celebrated its 125-year anniversary in 2000, now with branches in South Wales, Doncaster, Leeds, Nottingham and Newcastle, some through acquisition and others by providing aspiring young managers the opportunity to establish their own branch of Bagnalls.

The head office in Shipley was extended to meet the changing needs of the business and allow for additional divisions in Special Projects (Bagnalls National painting project management team) and Minor Civils to be established.

Major projects in this era included the Renault Building in Swindon, Bath Spa, the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford and Bristol Temple Mead station.

John Bagnall retired as Managing Director and Stephen Bagnall was appointed the new Group Managing Director, thus handing the reigns of a 4^th generation family business over to the fifth generation.

In 2004 David Hockney, the famous Yorkshire-born artist was exhibiting at the nearby Salts Mill and saw some of our painters working and asked for a Bagnalls’ bib and brace, which he wore when being photographed by the press.

In the same year, the company invested in a bespoke Painting Academy in Doncaster to provide supplementary training to the group’s apprentices across the country.

In 2005, Bagnalls became the inaugural winner of the Painting & Decorating Association (PDA) Special Award for Excellence. The award was given to Bagnalls for our commitment to training and development, quality workmanship in our industry and excellent customer service.

In future years, additional recognition was received by the PDA for the painting of the National Trust’s Souter Lighthouse in 2007 and the industrial coatings applied to the Dockland’s crossing at Canary Wharf in London in 2013.

In 2016 Bagnalls was named Supreme Winners of the Family Business United (FBU) awards. In the same year, Bagnalls joined The 5% Club, an industry commitment to recruiting and developing young people. We achieved Gold membership of The 5% Club in 2021, in its first year of auditing, with more than 5% of our employees being in apprentice or graduate positions. Our commitment to apprenticeships was also recognised in 2022 when we were placed 78th amongst the Top 100 Apprentice Employers in England.

Projects completed included Nottingham Hub Railway station, cyclical maintenance painting works at the University of Warwick and applying specialist industrial coatings at the Queensway Tunnel in Liverpool.

At the 2021 PDA annual trophy awards Bagnalls won the Highly Decorative category, for the intricate redecoration work undertaken at the Picton Reading Room in Liverpool central library as well as Thomas Turner, from our Doncaster branch, being named junior winner of the PDA Apprentice of the Year 2021 and Michael Murphy, from our Cardiff branch being senior runner-up.

Bagnalls history was chronicled in a book “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Won”, the story of Alfred Bagnall and Sons Ltd.

Bagnalls continues to be active with the FBU and was named Top UK Family Business Apprentice Employer in 2023 and Stephen Bagnall was named in the Top 100 Family Business influencers. Bagnalls commitment to apprenticeships was also acknowledged when we won the large employer category at the West Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards, 2023.

Bagnalls was named Supreme Winner at the PDA’s annual trophy awards for the complex management and delivery of painting works at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We celebrate a historic milestone in 2025, marking our 150th anniversary. With pride in our journey and commitment to the future, we move forward.

We have plans in place to continue to grow the business, continue to specialise in painting and decorating, develop people at every level and promote being a proud Yorkshire-based family business.