Our History

The Taylor Woodrow Story

For more than 80 years, Taylor Woodrow has helped to shape the world around us.

As a household name offering construction and facilities management services across a multitude of sectors including retail, airports, education, health and rail, Taylor Woodrow has built a reputation based on teamwork and innovation.

Taylor Woodrow had fairly humble beginnings when 16-year old Frank Taylor borrowed £100 to build two houses. Too young to form his own company, his uncle Jack Woodrow lent his name to the business and Taylor Woodrow was born.

The foundations were set at a very early stage for an organisation run on sound principles, with the flexibility to meet changing market and customer needs, whilst building a name for quality and service.

The company seen many changes since Frank Taylor set out to build two houses, but our vision has remained constant, that by working together we achieve excellence.

Translating this vision into action has resulted in many award winning and industry leading initiatives, from groundbreaking partnerships with our supply chain to innovative facilities management.

Following Frank Taylor's initial success in Blackpool, Taylor Woodrow continued to expand, becoming a major player in the construction market. Times of crisis can often result in new technologies or methods, and the fast track techniques we developed during the war years laid the foundations for our future operations and sealed our reputation for delivering on time and to quality.

Coming together to take ownership of and solve a challenge is a Taylor Woodrow trait, exemplified by our collaboration on the construction of the Mulberry Ports, used to land men, vehicles, and supplies in France following the D-Day landings.

  "Piers for use on beaches: They must float up and down with the tide. The anchor problem must be mastered.…let me have the best solution worked out. Don't argue the matter. The difficulties will argue for themselves – Winston Churchill.

The 1950s saw the beginning of one of our longest relationships, when we began work at Heathrow Airport, where we are still working today. 

We continued to develop new technologies and construction methods – being one of the first to develop modular construction to meet the postwar housing need.

The 1960s were marked by two Queen’s Awards for Industry, for Technological Achievement and for Export, the first company in our sector to be awarded such an honour.

Our reputation for innovation continued as we designed the Taywood Pilemaster – the world’s first silent pile driver. Following a noise complaint on a Taylor Woodrow site, Frank Taylor asked one of his engineers if it was possible to invent a silent pile driver machine.

The 1970s saw the creation of our Research Laboratories as we saw the need to invest in research and development to ensure that we continued to represent the best in our industry.

   "You have, in fact, literally built the foundation of our cities, … many of our industries, much of our commerce, much of our new development in energy and much of our public services, and you've done it because you have always believed in excellence and you believed in delivering what you said you'd deliver, and you believe in quality… - Margaret Thatcher, inaugurating Taylor Woodrow’s Research Laboratory

This decade also saw us commence work on redeveloping London’s crumbling dockland, near the Tower of London, the first project of its kind.

We completed the Dubai Dry Dock, the largest civil engineering project in the world under construction at that time. A fitting highlight whilst we celebrated our Golden Jubilee.

As one of the founder members of the Transmanche Link formed to build the “civil engineering feat of the century”, the Channel Tunnel, Taylor Woodrow developed new technologies to manufacture precast tunnel lining segments.

As we move forward in the new century, we're looking to develop the technologies and skills that will create the built environment for the future. Winning the QIC Supplier Integration award in 2008 reflects the dedication and experience that our team and strategic suppliers bring together to achieve outstanding results.

We were the first company in our sector to win the Committed to Excellence award, presented by the British Quality Foundation in recognition of our journey towards excellence.

By focusing on strong, innovative relationships with customers, suppliers and staff, we continue to grow from strength to strength, securing new work with BAA, Docklands Light Railway, Royal Parks and Nationwide.

Taylor Woodrow have played a role in shaping many landmarks, including:

• Channel Tunnel
• Docklands Light Railway
• Dubai Dry Dock
• Heathrow & Gatwick Airports
• Heathrow Express Rail Link
• Jubilee Line Extension – London Bridge Station
• Kings Cross Station
• London Water Ring Main
• National Assembly for Wales
• Upton Park for West Ham FC
• Royal Albert Hall
• Riverside Stadium for Middlesbrough FC