Last month marked the end of an era with the closure of Hailey Wood Sawmill, following almost 30 years in business for friends, Ian Elphick and Mark Gooding. The duo took over the sawmill, part of The Bathurst Estate, in 1996 and their business grew in both size and reputation until they retired in March of this year.
Hailey Wood Sawmill History
Hailey Wood Sawmill was launched in 1966 by the 8th Earl Bathurst and is located on the edge of Cirencester Park, The Bathurst Estate. Local friends Ian and Mark began working at the sawmill and in 1996, an opportunity arose for the friends to take over the business. With Mark’s technical and engineering skills and Ian’s business acumen, the business grew from strength to strength.
The sawmill specialised in making high quality wooden products, including garden furniture, gates and fencing and more recently, oak beams and cladding for renovation projects. The company was notorious for their hard-wearing picnic tables, identifiable by their green Hailey Wood Sawmill label, which can be seen at many local eateries, schools and parks around the Cotswolds.
Of their time at the sawmill, Ian says: ‘We have such fond memories of our time at Hailey Wood. It was a very special place to work, being surrounded by woodland and we loved seeing the changing seasons, from the carpets of bluebells in spring to the Narnia-like scenes in winter.
A notable time for us was during the Covid pandemic, when due to the nature of our business, we remained open. Demand soared for picnic tables and DIY projects, and the phone was red hot – until we ran out of materials!
Although we were a small team, many of our employees were with us from the start and were like a big family.’
Evening of Celebration
To mark the end of this time, The Bathurst Estate held an evening of celebration at Corinium Ales at The Old Kennels in May. The event was attended by friends and employees of the business, along with The Bathurst Estate team. The evening drew to a close with speeches from both Ian and Mark, and a speech of thanks by Lord Bathurst.
Lord Bathurst states:
‘We are sad to see the closure of Hailey Wood Sawmill. It represents the end of an era, particularly seeing Ian and Mark retire, the former of whom I worked with in the Bathurst Estate woods in 1979.
As we move towards the Cotswold Show dates, I will miss that telephone call of ‘help’ to Ian, requiring another fifty stakes for ten minutes ago! I wish them both a very happy retirement.’
The Bathurst Estate is looking at alternative uses for the site to return it once again to a thriving area. Please direct any enquiries to: office@bathurstestate.co.uk
