• McArthur History
• Changing Faces
• In Good Company
• Keeping The Customers Satisfied
• Consolidation Expansion

Victorian Bristol 165 years ago played a key role in the industrial transformation that led to the creation of modern Britain.

John McArthur, son of a Glasgow iron-works manager, arrived in Bristol to seek his fortune around 1837 at a time when Isambard Kingdom Brunel was launching his famous steamship liner, The Great Western.

The leading engineer of his era, Brunel was also busy with Bristol projects that included the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the SS Great Britain, and the creation of the Great Western Railway.

With Bristols sea port, navigable rivers and the promise of railway and canal links, John McArthur recognised the citys importantance for importing and exporting iron and steel.

Despite the spirit of optimism, the economy was in a sorry state when John McArthur acquired his ironmongery business in 1839. But his perserverance, energy and enterprise enabled the firm to grow rapidly to make a significant contribution to the industrial life of the age. That legacy continues.

In 1989 McArthur Group celebrated its first 150 years and honours the man who founded the firm which still bears his name. Now McArthur Group is one of the largest family controlled companies in the country and remains a major supplier of iron and steel. Today McArthur Group enjoys a vastly expanded range of products, materials and expertise.