Est. 1975 · Elland, West Yorkshire
We started by rescuing what other people threw away.
How it started
A backpacking trip, a shipping container, and an eye for character
Andy Thornton founded the business in 1975 after spotting an opportunity most people walked straight past: architectural salvage that Britain no longer wanted was exactly what a nostalgia-hungry American bar and restaurant scene was after.
By the early 1980s, UK breweries had noticed what was taking shape in the US, and the same eye for character came home — building pub, hotel and restaurant interiors across Britain.
Still hands-on
Drawn, welded, and finished under one roof
Every project moves through the same hands: a technical drawing, a 3D visual for sign-off, then manufacture, finishing and installation, all from our workshops in Elland, West Yorkshire.
Fifty years, in short
The short version
A container of salvage, and an idea
Andy and Kate Thornton begin shipping architectural salvage the UK no longer wanted to bars and restaurants in America.
The idea comes home
UK breweries take notice of what's taking shape in the US, and Andy Thornton starts building pub, hotel and restaurant interiors across Britain.
From furniture to fabrication
Workshops expand into bespoke architectural metalwork — staircases, canopies, bandstands — alongside furniture, lighting and salvage.
Andy Thornton Ltd
The business is incorporated, growing into a full turnkey design, manufacture and installation service for hospitality spaces.
Fifty years in
Still based in Elland, still run on the same instinct: find the character in a space, and build it to last.
What we do now
One workshop, five disciplines
Contract furniture
Tables, chairs and fixed seating for pubs, restaurants and hotels, made to withstand daily trade.
Architectural metalwork
Bespoke staircases, canopies, balustrades and structures, designed, fabricated and installed in-house.
Turnkey interior fit-outs
From concept and 3D visuals through to manufacture, delivery and on-site installation.
Decorative lighting
Interior and exterior lighting sourced and custom-fabricated for hospitality spaces.
Architectural antiques & salvage
One of the UK's largest stocks of reclaimed and salvaged architectural pieces.