Rattee and Kett was a building contractor based in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

History

The business was founded by

James Rattee James Rattee (1820–29 March 1855) was an English woodcarver and mason, especially noted for his skill in church ornamentation and restoration, for which his services were sought worldwide. Life Rattee was born at Fundenhall, Norfolk, in ...

in 1843. After George Kett joined the business in 1848, the partners worked together on the wood carvings for the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

. Other early projects included the reredos at Ely Cathedral completed in 1857 and ornate tables, ceilings and urns at

Wimpole Hall Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned ...

completed in the 1850s and 1860s. Projects undertaken in the late 19th century included a new hall and library at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

completed in the 1878, new lecture rooms at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

completed in 1884 and the construction of

Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs, also known as the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs (OLEM), is an English Roman Catholic parish church located at the junction of Hills Road and Lensfield Road in southeas ...

in Cambridge completed in 1890 as well as the new chapel in Walnut Tree Court at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

completed in 1891. The restoration of Arundel Castle was a major undertaking completed in 1900. The company was acquired by

Mowlem Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006. History The firm was founded by John Mowlem in 1822, and was continued as a partnership by successive generati ...

in 1926. Later projects included restoration work at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. T ...

completed after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, restoration work at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

completed in the 1980s and restoration work at Ely Cathedral completed in 2000. Following the acquisition of Mowlem by Carillion in February 2006, Rattee and Kett was the subject of a management buyout from Carillion in March 2007 but went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

in September 2011.

References

{{reflist Companies established in 1843 Companies based in Cambridge Defunct companies based in Cambridgeshire