Ashworth St, Denton
This former warehouse of Sutton & Co is on the east side of Ashworth St on the corner of Crown St. It is brick built, the front being of Accrington brick construction decorated with four terracotta plaques.
It is three bays wide with substantial stone lintels above each bay, the outer bays formerly having two windows. The wide central entrance has conical cast-iron soffit guards on either side.
An early reference to this company is in 1897 when it tested an experimental Daimler van in Manchester. The proprietor was a J Burgess of Manchester but the address was not recorded. Slater's Trade Directories for 1903, 1909 and 1911 show that this company then had a warehouse at Denton. The telephone directory for 1931 shows that it was trading as Sutton & Co (Manchester) Ltd with premises on Oldham Rd/Radium St and Palmerston St, Ancoats, Manchester, as well as at Denton. In 1935 an interest in Sutton & Co (Manchester) Ltd and Sutton & Co Ltd was acquired by Carter, Paterson & Co Ltd, a road haulage company of London associated with the four main line railway companies.
British Road Services
The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created on the 1 Jan 1948 to oversee railways, canals and road haulage. During its early years, it created a nationalised road haulage business that offered a country-wide service.
It founded British Road Services and by the end of 1951 this was comprised of some 3,766 former haulage companies and 41,265 lorries.
