About
CUSHION
A Brief History
Family anecdotal history has it that William Cushion from Bergh Apton started selling wood in Norwich during the reign of William IV near Rising Sun Row, a street in the Chapel Field area which has since disappeared.
By 1858, he had moved his timber business a mile north to the corner of Orchard Street and Lothian Street.
Following his death in 1863 his widow, Elizabeth, managed the business until their eldest son Alfred was able to take over around 1877 with his younger brother William joining him soon after.
In the 1880s, the pair established the business on a former gasworks site on Barn Road, where the firm - which still bears the brothers' initials - remains to this day. At this time, the firm was principally involved in sawmilling deciduous timber from Norfolk and Suffolk woodlands.
Before the end of the century though, the firm bought Balloon Wharf at New Mills, Westwick Street, to accommodate the growth of coniferous timber which the company was now importing from Sweden. The wood was shipped to Great Yarmouth, discharged into wherries, unloaded at Balloon Wharf, and carried the final journey to Barn Road by horse and cart.
During the 1890s, Alfred had a son Alfred Cecil and William had a son, William. The former joined the business but the latter chose, after a brief period with the firm to join the army and then the RFC/RAF.
At the turn of the century, Alfred and William Cushion acquired the business of Orchard Turning Mills on Heigham Street (now the site occupied by Holden Motors).
This became Cushion Brothers and traded alongside the Barn Road site, which remained known as A & W Cushion.
Orchard Sawmill was destroyed by enemy action in 1942 and was not restored. It may or may not have been the same Baedeker raid of April that year which destroyed much of the mill and yard of Barn Road together with the family and firm’s records of the previous one hundred years. Hence, the reliance of family recollections for some of this information.
Following the war and his release from the Royal Navy, Alfred's son-in-law Geoffrey Copping, a jeweller by training, joined the firm, becoming the fourth generation to do so.
Together with his father-in-law he set about repairing the damaged company. By this time shipping had changed and sea going vessels with sufficient capacity could reach the port of Norwich but could not reach Balloon Wharf due to bridges and the shallow Wensum at that point. It was therefore sold.
For the next twenty five years the bulk of the firm’s softwood imports were brought by ship direct from Scandinavia to Norwich to be discharged either on Riverside Road or Baltic Wharf. At this point, the business started to withdraw from the primary log conversion activity to concentrate with modern machinery for the softwood business. Panel products such as wallboard and plywood were introduced with the firm soon becoming a leading regional stockist.
In due course Geoffrey Copping was followed into the business by his son, grandson and great grandson.
In 1973 the firm installed its first wood preservative impregnation plant. Treatment operations were expanded in 1982 and again in 2016 with the addition of high pressure plants at Great Yarmouth and Norwich.
In 1991, A & W Cushion acquired the Great Yarmouth timber merchant Orfeur Timber Ltd, a well-established firm with which Cushions had had a long-standing association. It, too, had an old timber heritage extending back to the 1790s.
Then, in 2006, North Heigham Sawmills, at Paddock Street, a specialist hardwood supplier, was added to the group.
From its yards in Norwich and Great Yarmouth, A & W Cushion Ltd now offers a wide range of species and substantial stocks of wood and wood products, machining capacity, preservative treatment facilities, with a delivery fleet serving Norfolk, Suffolk and beyond.
A&W Cushion is proud of its rich history and longevity. Well known for its commitment to quality, the company offers a range of bespoke services, extensive product knowledge, and a team of loyal, skilled, and friendly staff, dedicated to serving a range of valued customers. The company continues to evolve; in 2024 a new office opened at the Barn Road site and Geoffrey Copping’s great-grandson joined the business, becoming the seventh generation to do so.
