A family company which has helped to build and maintain the fabric of Maidstone for almost 140 years has closed.

Nigel Head is the last in the family dynasty to run H.Head and Sons, which was founded in 1870 by his great grandfather.

Mr Head said: “My great grandfather, grandfather and father were all involved in the business, but neither of my own two children is interested in carrying on.”

So when he turned 60 last year and decided to retire, Mr Head had no-one to pass the business on to.

He said: “My children have their own careers: my daughter is a doctor, my son Robert a chemical engineer.

“We began running things down last year and I let the last half a dozen employees go at Christmas.”

Mr Head is just completing the sale of the yard in Foley Street where the company has been located since

1939 and deciding what to do with the company’s ledgers. He said: ”It’s quite interesting looking back at the paperwork from the 1930s.”

The firm started life as Head and Barden, when builder Horace Head went into partnership with Barden plumbers. Just after the First World War, when Barden died, Horace’s son Harold bought out the Barden interest and it became H.Head and Son. The company continued under the guidance of his son Lawrence with Nigel taking over in 1982.

Mr Head now intends to travel more and “see a bit of the world” with his wife, Sheila.