A Century on the Tiles

Where would we be without a roof over our heads? Pretty wet and miserable that’s where. For thousands of years people have tried to make their homes watertight using whatever materials came to hand. The poor would use thatch, the better off baked tiles or slates made from local stone whilst our cathedrals and great houses were roofed in lead sheeting.

The locally available materials used by the vast majority of people gave each area of the country a distinctive look. In the 19^th century, with the spread of the railways that situation began to change. Slate quarries in north Wales found they had a market for their products which was no longer restricted to the Welsh mountains but now encompassed the whole of Britain. Nor were the Welsh the only ones to benefit, Westmoreland, Cumberland and Lancashire grey slating also became a familiar sight in roofs from Lands End to John O’Groats. And of course in Middlesbrough.

WB Robinson is an old family established business founded in 1898 by the unusually named William Brass Robinson. The company was initially founded to carry out repairs of roofs coupled with the distribution of New Welsh Slates from premises which were located directly opposite the old goods yard. The full business name in those days was WB Robinson, The North Eastern Slate Works, North Road, Middlesbrough; WB Robinson advertised himself as ‘slate merchant, slater and tiling contractor’. Limited company status and the sons would come much later. Slates were brought in by train from Wales and were then re-distrubuted by WB Robinson originally using horse and cart. The company still owns the premises of the old stabling where the horses were kept. The natural progression from mainly slate distribution was into the fixing of slates and the supply of other roofing material such as damp proofing materials and slate ‘undercloaks’ and the small firm soon branched out.

The majority of staff lived locally; they usually started in the firm from school and were put through an apprenticeship of five years before becoming a slater. In those far off days staff were called ‘men’ whilst owners were still known as ‘master’ a distinction later replaced by the more democratic sounding ‘employers’ and ‘operatives’.

Working hours in those early days, which saw the death of the Queen Empress Victoria, were 6.30am to 5pm from February through to November and from 8am until 4.30pm in the darkest months – all for just tenpence per hour old money or four pence in today’s decimal equivalent.

Slates were not the only type of roof the firm became involved in. When the built-up felt roofing system was developed, WB Robinson was the first local company to train its staff to lay felt in hot bitumen using coal fired boilers. The skill was not only in laying the roof but also in lighting the boiler and keeping it at the correct temperature to heat the bitumen. The tradesmen selected to be trained in that side of the roofing business were originally good labourers who were struggling with age to meet physical demands of carrying heavy roofing materials. Happily for them these men were trained in felt roofing and in due course this eventually became a major part of WB Robinson’s roofing business.

William Brass Robinson passed the family business down to his three sons, two of whom Harry and Herbert Hyde Robinson, worked in the business. George, the third son, went by himself but retained shares in the company.

The company continued in operation throughout the course of the first world war, the short-lived boom which followed it and the great economic depression of the 1930s. Life was never easy and one of the worst periods came during the second world war when the firm lost a lot of men who either joined the armed forces or left to work in other aspects of the war effort.

During those years the firm was under severe pressure to make roof repairs after bomb damage but with many slaters away fighting, meeting demand was not easy. Shortage of all materials and with new replacement products causing problems after fixing merely compounded the frustration. Fortunately most men returned after the war to carry on as slaters, and some had been highly decorated because of their bravery in battle; conquering a fear of heights whilst working on roofs had perhaps contributed to their brave conduct during those terrible times.

After the war years had settled, the business was passed to George William Robinson, Herbert Robinson’s son who had come out of the RAF and proceeded to carry on his training as a slater working out on the roofs alongside the men. Eventually George William, known throughout the building industry as Bill Robinson, took over the business and became Managing Director, overseeing the practical side of the roofing work. When Bill’s own two sons James and Herbert left school they followed him into the family company, and like their father before them both training out on the roofs on all aspects of roofing. Both brothers would admit that this period was one of the most enjoyable time of their training, especially as they were working with and under some of the old slaters who were always willing to offer their experience – and in some cases a heavy hand when the need arose.

On the death of Bill Robinson, his two sons James and Herbert took over the running of the company. In the early days of that period a new road system was put in which, for the first time, allowed all sizes of vehicle to the yard entrance whereas before the only way past the railway lines, locally known as “The Border”, was under low level bridges or over a single level crossing which had made road access fairly difficult. The new road system gave good access for both supplies and sales and following the purchase of surrounding properties in the early 1980s, a sales side the firm, the Cleveland Roofing Centre, was opened with Mike Read in charge.

This was a time when many builders were beginning to carry out their own roofing work rather than sub contract to specialist slaters.

The work had been made much easier with the introduction of modern materials. The sales side grew very quickly and a further depot was opened in Newcastle, though run directly from Teesside. The two sides of the company grew hand in hand, but the sales side was always Mike Read’s section of the business with Jim and Bert Robinson specializing in the traditional side of roofing. During this period the company was working throughout Britain, roofing as far away as Scotland and London; the company’s reputation for fine work was such that when in 1990 Eton College needed a roof overhaul, Robinson’s was selected for the job. The long term contract meant completing a section of the College roof each year, a project which was still ongoing more than ten years later.

A major problem for the company would be a shortage of skilled labour to maintain its high standards of workmanship, a problem made far worse when the apprenticeship system came to an end. The company’s current staff have all been trained within the company, many of the trainees having learned alongside Jim and Bert. The sales side would eventually be sold to allow the original company to specialise in what it does best, the fixing of roofing materials. This has meant that the company’s offices have moved from its original premises, which are still owned by WB Robinson & Sons, to a small industrial unit in Edith Street on the Letitia Industrial Estate, approximately one mile up river. Robinson’s however remain in close contact with the Roofing Centre for the majority of its material.

Today Robinson’s mainly concentrates on specialized roofing on all types of buildings but particularly listed buildings roofed in original and traditional materials.

In the firm’s early days it used the advertising slogan ‘Above all a good roof’. Roofs are a vital element of any type of construction and should only be fixed or repaired by skilled tradesmen. Robinson’s tradesmen are second to none and are backed by a company with more than a century of experience in the business. ‘Above all a good roof’ maybe, but behind that good roof you’ll find WB Robinson & Sons Ltd.