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29
Jun

A Harrogate stonemasonry business run by the same family for more than 100 years has been put up for sale.
Stephenson’s Memorial Works LLP, on Wetherby Road, is owned by Dr Bob Stephenson and his sister, who were bequeathed the business by their father when he died in 2021.

The showroom. Photo: FSS.
Dr Stephenson told the Stray Ferret:
We weren’t interested in selling the business at all – it’s been in the family for a very long time, and we've been desperately trying to keep it that way.
But the two partners who work in the business, Martin Ingram and Stephen Gill, want to retire, and getting skilled masons to move to Harrogate has proved impossible.
We’ve had an offer, and I’m hoping the sale will go through soon. But whatever happens, the business will continue, there will be a smooth transition, with no issues.

The workshop. Photo: FSS.
The current partners will continue to run the business until July 2027.

The business is located next to Stonefall Cemetery. Photo: FSS.
Stephenson’s is located right next to Stonefall Cemetery, and has provided a large proportion of its headstones and memorials over the last century.
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