About Us :: Today
At H Monk & Sons we pride ourselves on customer service. Whether purchasing a new set of towels or furnishing your house with curtains and carpets you can be assured of the best attention.
With two shops located in Market Harborough, Leicestershire we are well placed to serve new and established customers.
About Us :: 100 Years of Service
When Horatio Monk and his wife Anna Martha opened their shop in Nelson Street, Harborough, in 1895, one wonders whether they ever stopped to think how long their business would last.
Operating from the shop Mr Monk, a tallow chandler, used a wooden barrel on a cart to deliver domestic burning oil around the town and its surrounding villages.
In 1906 Mr Monk opened bigger premises in Goward Street, where he also sold hardware and furnishings. His burning oil round was extended to cover most villages within a ten mile radius of Harborough.
At about this time Mr Monk's sons Horatio junior and William began to help their father with the firm. In 1912 Mr Monk took over a business in St Mary's Road but in 1923 he was forced to move the business to its current home in Northampton Road because of a road widening scheme.
During the Second World War Monk's demonstrated its continuing ability to respond to change when, in response to the tailing off of the burning oil business, the firm started supplying fuel for agricultural customers in the villages around Harborough, capitalising on the upsurge needed in wartime agricultural production.
As a direct result of this trade in 1951 Monk's was appointed area oil distributors for Shellmex and BP. That side of the business flourished until the retirement of William Monk in 1963. From then on the company concentrated on furniture, furnishings, carpets and removals under the guiding hand of Miss Kitty Monk, granddaughter of the founder.
Miss Monk herself retired in 1991 leaving the family firm in the hands of Brian Monk, great-grandson of the founder, and his co-director Roy Carter. Oliver, the eldest son of Brian, became a partner of the company in 2001.
Today Monk's concentrates its core business of carpets, curtains, beds and bedding and prides itself on its reputation for good service to the local community which has been built up over 100 years in business.