HISTORY

Memorial Masonry, like most traditional trades still around today has seen some significant changes since the days that Robert Kenward began his business.

Staff, Horse and Company vehicle outside works in Hanwell.
Circa 1890's

Kenward and Son (his son is the small boy sat on the cart) first started trading from a premises in Hanwell in around 1888, producing finely crafted memorials, sculptures and supplying various raw materials.

Over the years Robert Kenward involved several partners in his business (see below), the last of which was a Peter Mayer, who eventually took over the business when Robert Kenward died sometime in the early 1940's.

Mr Kenward and Mr Lamb outside premises in Hanwell.
Circa 1912

Basil Dearing joined the company 1937, after war service in the Royal Navy, he returned to work for Kenward and Son until eventually taking over the business in 1969. He then worked until his retirement in 1988, when the business was transferred to his grandson, Mr Nick Batt.

Up until the 1980's all the work involved in producing memorials was extremely labour intensive, using stone quarried from around the British Isles and Europe. Now days most of the shaping of the memorial stones and the cutting of the inscriptions are carried out using computer technology and machine cutting equipment.

Greenford site before the construction of the Greenford road.
Circa 1937

Furthermore most of the stone now used for memorials is imported from abroad, good quality marble is still obtained from the mountainous regions of Italy. However most of the granites available today will originate from sources in India, France and South Africa.

Certain types of stone are still quarried in the U.K such as Welsh slate, however these now tend to be more expensive than the popular overseas imports.

Kenward and son still employs a fully trained letter cutter who is able to provide traditional inscripting skills should they be required to match work carried out in the time before machine cutting.

Nick's Grandfather (left) with the Grandfather of our skilled letter cutter Andy.
Circa 1974