Originally the Birchdale brand started in 2003 with Brian Glazebrook laying the foundations for what was to follow. Day one was just Brian, a master carpenter and joiner however by word-of-mouth Birchdale Developments rapidly needed a host of additional colleagues and dedicated sub-contractors to meet the demands of their ever-expanding customer base and diversity of projects.

In 2005 Jack Glazebrook (Brian’s son) joined the team fresh from school as an apprentice carpenter, gaining vital insight and experience from ‘Dad’ and the myriad of experienced tradespeople on the team. The combination of college work and the immersion onto the frontline helped Jack accelerate his learning and capabilities that in turn helped the business take on more detailed and diverse projects with ever growing trust and satisfaction of their client base.

Extensions and New builds joined the standard portfolio of bespoke carpentry and joinery and Jack’s roles and responsibilities grew with them.

Then 2010 it was time to bring Jack onto the board not only to support Brain and Marissa with the operations but also with an ever-progressive approach to expanding the business and scaling it as a major player in and around Hertfordshire, Essex and their main base of Bishops Stortford. With a fire in his belly, Jack set about scaling the business with a mindful eye on quality as well as quantity.

In came Josh Dowton a long-time friend of Jacks to support the business full time and with also having the advantage of understudying Brian Glazebrook, Josh progressed through his carpentry apprenticeship with distinction and hit the ground running. In record time he became suitably qualified and highly capable of managing multiple site activities within the Bishops Stortford area thus building his own credibility on site with his teams and enhancing the Birchdale reputation with an ever-growing customer base.

Jack then married a ‘Shropshire Lass’ Becky and a relocation to Shopshire gave the team the opportunity to continue operations in Hertfordshire whilst opening up new opportunities in Shropshire and the North and South divisions were born.

In 2020 Brian decided that he wanted to step back and that Birchdale developments was no longer going to be his main focus and following a move ‘North’ to be closer to Jack and his family stepped away from his directing role. As a natural fit Josh was a natural selection to join the board of what was to become a new business Birchdale Builders.

Brian now works part time operating our busy workshop providing bespoke joinery and does occasionally help out on site (when Josh and Jack can persuade him!).

Today Birchdale Builders undertake their own developments, perform as main contractors and undertake a broad portfolio of business operations from New Builds, extensions, renovations, loft Conversions, Annexes (Granny Annexes) Kitchen refits Landscaping inc Tarmac and resin driveways plus they undertake maintenance agreements in support of clients with multiple business operations in both their key base of Hertfordshire and Shropshire.

For the serious DIY person, we even offer a project procurement service enabling the homeowner to do as much or as little of the work themselves, safe in the knowledge that they have the right quality and quantity of materials on their project.

Throughout what has been a significant growth period for Birchdale builders, both Jack and Josh remain dedicated to developing a truly dynamic and agile business that understands the needs and wants of its diverse clients base and ensuring that they deliver the highest quality product regardless of scale, in time, in full!