A BUILDERS merchant, which has a branch in Tadley, went back to its roots to celebrate a milestone anniversary.

Elliotts decided to deliver goods the traditional way of by horse and cart on Wednesday, 8 November as the firm marked 175 years of being in business.

The company has 13 branches including in Brick Kiln Industrial Estate, Tadley.

Staff took goods to Southampton builders RH Hammond in traditional style from Elliotts headquarters in Millbank Wharf, using a 19th century flatbed dray pulled by two horses, commemorating the original delivery method when Elliotts was founded in 1842.

Managing Director, Tom Elliott, and his father and chairman of the company Stuart Mason-Elliott, dressed in 1840s attire for the occasion, and Stuart even travelled to work on his penny farthing bicycle.

Stuart said: “Back in 1842, my ancestor Thomas Elliott ran a very different company. Our headquarters is still on Millbank Wharf in Northam but we now have 13 branches across the south and nearly 300 staff.

“We pride ourselves on our old-fashioned customer service and enjoy great relationships with our customers and suppliers.”

The cart was loaded with sand and timber by staff dressed as 1840s yardsmen before departing to make the delivery to Queens Terrace.

There, it was received by longstanding customer Richard Hammond, Managing Director of RH Hammond, which was founded in 1894. Like Elliotts, the company is still family-owned.

Elliotts is now run by the sixth generation of the family, Tom Elliott, and is the 112th oldest family business in the world, according to familybusinessunited.com.

Tom added: ““We are proud of our heritage but, at the same time, we always make sure Elliotts is ahead of the game in supplying the latest and best products to our customers. Our range of building supplies is outstanding, and we are constantly looking for new innovations for the business.”