John Fuller 1744 – 1803
Born at Melton, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, his name appears above the date of 1790 on the flyleaf of the Country Builders Estimator, published in 1770. His son John (1770-1824) and grandson Edward (b.1811) were both bricklayers.
Edward Fuller 1841 – 1894
Son of the earlier Edward, he was educated at Woodbridge Grammar School and apprenticed to a local builder, George Thurman, as a carpenter in 1857. He walked up to London in the late 1860s and found work on new housing in Wanstead, shortly afterwards starting his own business in Walthamstow.
A shrewd businessman, Edward built houses costing around £130 each, and formed a long standing and fruitful association with the local brewery, Colliers, later Tollemaches, which lasted into the 1960s.
William Fuller 1873 – 1930
William succeeded his father while still in his early 20s. His three brothers had all joined the Royal or Merchant Navies, and he himself tried to enlist as a deckhand in his early teens, but was missed and brought home from Woodbridge.
He continued doing similar work to his father; his wedding reception was held at the Common Gate, which Edward had built for £2,275 in 1888. William went on to build a large number of houses which he then rented to employees and members of the public.
Bob Fuller & Jack Fuller
Bob Fuller enlisted in the Royal Engineers in 1939, and served in England and West Africa. His brother Jack joined the Civil Defence Service, where his experiences where probably more demanding and certainly more distressing. Not only did he see more buildings in the area destroyed by enemy action than the family business had constructed since its inceptions; he was responsible for rescuing and trying to save the lives of air raid victims while running the business, dealing with the additional repairs caused by the bombing and giving support to the remainder of his family and friends whose husbands were on active service.
Bob and Jack continued working together after the war reconstructing public buildings, housing and developing a number of factory units.
Hugh Fuller & Peter Fuller
Having served their apprenticeships with Symes and Sons and Dove Brothers respectively and completing the then mandatory National Service, Hugh and Peter Fuller joined Fullers in January 1957.
With Hugh’s passion for building and Peter’s meticulous attention to detail, the company developed a reputation for specialising in buildings of historic interest and completed contracts to thousands of properties within Greater London. Both Hugh and Peter retired in the mid-1990s, handing over the reins to Hugh’s son William Fuller.
William Fuller 1970 – present day
William started his career in the construction industry in 1986, originally training as a Carpenter/Joiner. Following 8 years of working with other contractors, he officially joined the family business in 1994. William continued his studies and further developed his surveying skills, officially taking on the role of Managing Director in 1996. Since, William has managed and overseen works with a cumulative value of around £70,000,000.00, with most works involving Listed Buildings.
William has developed further the long-standing relationship with the SPAB, and has been known to speak at SPAB Technical Days; sharing his expertise and experiences with employees and other members of the industry.
William further provides his expertise working as a Governor for a local independent school. He is a keen skier and tennis player – challenge him to a game, if you dare!