Leonard Fairclough (1853–1927) was a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

who founded

Leonard Fairclough & Son Leonard Fairclough & Son Ltd was a construction firm based in Adlington, Lancashire, England. History The firm was founded by Leonard Fairclough, a stonemason in Adlington who established his business in 1883. Leonard's son, Leonard Miller Fai ...

which later merged with William Press Group to become

AMEC Amec Foster Wheeler plc was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. In October 2017, it was acquired by Wood Group. It was focused on the Oil, Gas & Chemicals, ...

, one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's largest

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

businesses.

Career

Fairclough was born in 1853 in Adlington,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. He apprenticed locally and duly qualified as a

. He set up in business on his own in 1883, initially carving

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

monuments. He subsequently brought his son, Leonard Miller Fairclough, into the business which was renamed ''

''. They gradually moved into general contracting building their first bridge in 1905. Leonard Fairclough Senior was Chairman of the business until he died in 1927.

References

1853 births 1927 deaths People from Adlington, Lancashire {{UK-business-bio-1850s-stub