Magherafelt Joinery / Door
Gallery began in May 1979 as
'David Bradley Window Specialist'. Davey, having completed his joinery
apprenticeship locally, made the decision to jump off at the deep end and start
his own business, manufacturing timber windows, at the back of his mother's
shop.
With savings in his pocket,
for the princely sum of £436.89, a Sedgwick Mortiser was purchased. 40
years later this machine is still in operation!
40 years ago, Health &
Safety was not in force like it is today. The first timber windows were
made out the back of 35 Church Street, which was formerly Davey's mother's chip
shop, 'Bradley's Fish & Chips', in later years 'Mary Bradley's Sweet Shop.'
From there, Davey, along
with his first employee, Robin Caskey, progressed to the loft above the old
Fire Station & started making timber doors. Both Davey & Robin
were retained fire fighters and were able to quickly respond to fire calls from
here.
After 12 years of turfing
heavy doors up and down a set of metal stairs, a site was bought from the IDB
at Station Road Industrial Estate, Magherafelt and the first workshop was
built. After years of measuring by night and manufacturing by day, the
hardworking ethos of Davey and Robin led to an expansion of the business and a
decision made to change the name to 'Magherafelt Joinery.'
With the business going
from strength to strength, 2 more extensions were carried out in 2003 and 2007 with a
showroom opened under the name of 'Door Gallery.' During the
recession, like most local businesses, the business struggled to survive but we
have come out the other end of the tunnel & are currently completely
re-vamping the showroom (launch date in May) to showcase a selection of
the Bespoke, Exterior Doors, Sliding Sash Windows and other
products that we can manufacture. Our workforce now consists of 2nd
generation family members (3 of our sons) and Robin, after 39 years, is still
with us & still fighting fires!
Our new website has just
been completed by
North Down Media in Bangor, Co. Down and this is something we will continue to work on as we go
forward. Keep an eye on what we're doing by checking out our 'Latest
News' section or following us on Facebook and Instagram.
