Sunday 29 January 2012

Stairlifts Maidenhead – Berkshire Stairlifts

 
Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Maidenhead, Berkshire 








If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website






Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Maidenhead, Berkshire. And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.
Give us a call today on 01865 477 004  If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.

Stairlifts Maidenhead – Stairlifts Berkshire


Welcome to Maidenhead in Berkshire where the retired population is just over 15,000 of the ever-changing population of 78,000.  It is located on the River Thames about 25 miles from London.

If you are retired or have a mobility problem – that’s more than 400 of you - Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help.  We have been supplying stairlifts to the UK since 1999.  During that time we have built up a sound reputation and are now the national agents for all UK manufacturers.  What we don’t know about stairlifts isn’t worth knowing!



If you’d like us to share some of our knowledge with you, please give our local office a call on 01865 477 004.

History – what’s in a name?
How towns get their names is always fascinating and we probably never consider that they may have changed over the years.  The name Maidenhead comes from Maidenhythe meaning ‘new wharf’ and refers to the riverside on which is built.  We are going back probably to Saxon times when the joining of several small communities including Bray and Cookham, when a bridge was built across the Thames replacing a ferry in 1280.  This is when it became known as Maidenhythe – ‘new wharf’!

With the Great West Road diverted over the bridge taking travellers to Reading, Gloucester and Bristol, Maidenhead grew up around this point.  It became a stopping point for coaches on their journeys between London and the west.

Significant places
Maidenhead’s NatWest Bank on the High Street has royal connections!  The building used to be the Greyhound Inn and is where King Charles I met his children for the last time before his execution.  This was in 1649 and there is a plaque there today to commemorate this.

Another building with a chequered history is Skindles Hotel in Maidenhead which was originally known as the Orkney Arms.  It stands on the banks of the River Thames and it was William Skindle who turned it from an old coaching inn into a fashionable hotel in 1833, hence its name.  In the 20th century its notoriety was for ‘adulterous assignations’.  Winston Churchill and Princess Margaret were amongst its guests and The Rolling Stones and The Strawbs played there.



Cliveden House was the home of the Astors; now a Grade I listed building turned into a luxurious country house hotel surrounded by formal gardens with views across the river.  Guests of Cliveden have included every Monarch since George I, Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, President Roosevelt, George Bernard Shaw, John Profumo and Christine Keeler.



Boulter’s Lock on the River Thames at Maidenhead is both a lock and a weir.  The lock was originally built in 1772 but some years later, it was decided to build it on the other side of the river; this move caused the creation of Boulter’s Island popular for boating parties especially after Royal Ascot.

An intriguing solution to reduce the congestion at the lock at the beginning of the 20th century was introduced – a sort of lift!  A moving ramp of wooden slats and chocks to stop rowing boats rolling over was constructed as a lock ‘bypass’.  It worked in a similar way to an escalator as boats simply rowed towards it and were carried higher whilst the people in the boat could remain in place.  Operated by an electric motor, the ‘boat lift’ opened in 1909; no one is sure when it stopped operating but you can still see where it was at Ray Mill Island.

Modern lifts
Even though the first modern stairlift was invented not much later than the boat lift in the 1920’s, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are definitely still going strong supplying modern electric and battery operated stairlifts.

The stairlifts we supply maybe straight, curved or perch for those of you who find sitting difficult.  Before you make a choice, we need to consider several things: the cost, the size of your staircase and weight rating.

Our information about costs is all clearly laid out on our site; prices start from £895 for a reconditioned stairlift and upto £2,650 for a curved stairlift.  Curved stairlifts are always more expensive because they are tailor-made to fit your staircase.

Take a look at the grants that maybe available to you or 0% finance and don’t forget to use the £50 voucher you’ll find at the top of this page.

Industry in Maidenhead
Maidenhead is right in the middle of the M4 corridor also known as Silicon Valley; other Berkshire towns that are also located in this corridor are Slough, Bracknell, Reading, Windsor and Newbury.  Maidenhead's industries include: software, plastics, pharmaceuticals, printing & telecommunications.  Many people from Maidenhead commute to work either to London or to Slough and Reading.

The average house price in Maidenhead is almost half a million pounds.

Rich and famous
The following people have connections, have lived or come from the Maidenhead area:
·         Author Hugh Lofting, who wrote Doctor Dolittle
·         Princess Margaret
·         Artist Sir Stanley Spencer lived in nearby Cookham and there is still a gallery of his work on show there



·         Nick Hornby who wrote Fever Pitch, About a Boy and High Fidelity was at school in Maidenhead
·         John O’Farrell known for his satirical newspaper columns and novels like May Contain Nuts and The Best a Man can Get
·         TV Dragon Peter Jones is from Maidenhead and was set to become an entrepreneur from an early age; his first dalliance with business was at 16 when he set up his own tennis academy!
·         Chat show host Michael Parkinson
·         Radio and TV presenter Terry Wogan

·         TV weather girl now media personality Ulrika Jonsson

·         Figures whizz and media personality Carol Vordeman




·         Glamorous 50’s film star Diana Dors lived here
·         Musician Howard Jones comes from Maidenhead



·         Comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor lives in Cookham
·         As does singer Chris Rea
·         Author Kenneth Grahame of Wind in the Willows fame lived in the area
·         As does author/illustrator Posy Simmonds probably best known for her Tamara Drewe cartoon strip in the Guardian ( a modern reworking of Far from the Madding Crowd)



·         Actress Jessica Brown-Findlay who plays Lady Sybil Crawley in Downton Abbey lives in the area

Here at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts we hope you’ve enjoyed our short tour of Maidenhead with some interesting facts thrown in.  Don’t forget to checkout our founder Keith Simpson’s short video which explains how and why he got involved in the stairlift industry.

If there is anything else you’d like to know, if you’d like you home assessed for a stairlift, or if you are ready to choose a stairlift, please give our local office a call on  01865 477 004  now.

Stairlifts Slough – Berkshire Stairlifts

 
Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Slough, Berkshire 




If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website








Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Slough, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.
Give us a call today on 01865 477 004  If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.


Stairlifts Slough – Stairlifts Berkshire


Slough In Berkshire is well and truly back on the map thanks to Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s sitcom mockumentary The Office, which first aired in 2001.  The series followed the mundane day-to-day workings of a typical office and its employees based in Slough.  Gervais played the central character - self-important Manager David Brent – who was forever committing social faux pas.  Gervais and Merchant have successfully sold the series to over 80 countries including America.  Gervais was born in another Berkshire town, Reading.

If you’re struggling to do the ‘David Brent dance’ or get up the stairs, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are here to help.  We are the national agents for all stairlift manufacturers and can advise you on the best lift at the best stairlifts prices for you.  We have a range of straight, curved and perch stairlifts and also reconditioned ones.  Why not give us a call on  01865 477 004  for more information.

Now and then
Slough is currently a borough of Royal Berkshire but at one time was part of Buckinghamshire and Middlesex.

Slough is first seen in old documents referred to as Slo in 1196, then Sloo in 1336 and Le Slowe, Slowe or Slow in 1437.  The name Slough may have been derived from the Old English word Sloh meaning marshes which were prominent in the area at the time.

By the 15th century Slough was already well known for brick making and Henry VI ordered bricks here to build Eton College near Windsor.  It is one of the original 9 public schools in the UK.

As well as bricks agriculture was the other big employer in the area.  The Co’s Orange Pippin apple was first grown in a nursery nearby and ‘Mrs Sinkins Pink’, a variety of Dianthus (carnation) was cultivated here in the 18th century.

By the middle of the 18th century James Elliman who had draper’s shops in Slough, developed and manufactured his Elliman’s Embrocation to treat stiffness of the joints, aches, sprains and bruises alongside his Royal Embrocation horse liniment!



Nowadays Slough still attracts some big business with companies like Centrica plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Yell, ICL, Electrolux, ICI Paints, Masterfoods (Mars), Citroen, Sara Lee, Yellow Pages and Amazon.com (UK) based there.

Slough’s proximity to the Old London Road – now the A4 – which connected Bath to London helped it develop from a humble village into the town it is today with a population of 119,070.  Of this number 23,099 are retired and as many as 600 either have or need stairlifts.

If you’re one of the 600 and you need more than Elliman’s Embrocation, Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help you solve one problem, how to get up and down stairs.  Take a look at our founder Keith’s video to learn more about us and about stairlifts generally and check out our online comparisons so that you can get a feel for the one you would like.

After that it’s a simple call to our regional office for advice.  Once you have made your decision and it’s all done and dusted, we can install a stairlift in your home in as little as one hour and at most half a day.  Give us a call on  01865 477 004  now!

Other cultural references
As well as being ridiculed in The Office, Slough has also received bad press through a poem entitled Slough written by the poet John Betjeman in 1937.  The poem was a protest to the industrialisation of the formerly rural area.  However on the centenary of his death his daughter gave the Mayor of Slough David MacIsaac a book of her father’s poems by way of apology.  Written inside were the words ‘We love Slough’ and she said her father had regretted writing the poem.

The novelist John King’s fourth novel called Human Punk is said to be his most autobiographical and is set in Slough.  It is part of a trilogy called the Satellite Cycle which includes his other novels White Trash and Skinheads.  His first novel The Football Factory has sold over 250,000 copies in the UK and went on to become a film starring Danny Dyer in 2004.

Cultural references to Slough seem to go on and on and many of the references not so complimentary.  Slough has had its share of connections with the rich and famous like:

·         Gerry Anderson the creator of the animation series Thunderbirds which had cult status; last year Royal Mail produced a set of stamps issued called the Genius of Gerry Anderson



·         Political cartoonist Steve Bell was brought up in Slough; his cartoons appear in The Guardian and other publications
·         Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls lived in the area for a time; she was known as Ginger Spice



·         Stanley Baldwin comes from Slough; he was Prime Minister 3 times between the World Wars under different sovereigns: George V, Edward VIII and George VI
·         Comedian Iain Lee probably best known for hosting the satirical news show The 11 O’Clock Show was born here

·         As was crime writer Simon Kernick

·         Tracey Ullman too was born in Slough; she was the third girl alongside Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in Girls on Top; she had a succesful career as a singer and then moved to the States where she’s a presenter



·         Pop singer Gary Numan went to school in Slough

·         Comedian Jimmy Carr was brought up in Slough

·         Sir William Herschel lived in Observatory House in Slough; he discovered the planet Uranus with his self-built telescope in 1781

·         W G Nixey lived in the area; he invented ‘blacklead’ which was used to clean kitchenware.  He built Springfield House which came to be known as Blacklead Castle.  It was renamed twice and is now known as Elvian House

·         Publisher Richard Bentley lived at The Mere in Upton Park; he published some of Charles Dickens works


Ok so now you’ve read all about Slough in our short ‘visit’, it’s time to call Castle Comfort Stair Lifts on  01865 477 004.  Don’t forget to use our £50 voucher and if you need more help with funding your purchase, then check out our reconditioned stairlifts.  Remember that curved stairlifts will always be more expensive because they are built especially for you.  Also take a look at the possible grants you can get and 0% finance.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts look forward to hearing from you.

Friday 27 January 2012

Stairlifts Bracknell – Stairlifts Berkshire

 
Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Bracknell, Berkshire 




If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website





Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Bracknell, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.
Give us a call today on  01865 477 004  If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.



Stairlifts Bracknell – Stairlifts Berkshire

Where are we today?  Remember the original James Bond film starring David Niven where he was being chased by a remote controlled milk float?  That was Bracknell in the mid-sixties - there were some great aerial shots of the town.

That’s where we are today, Bracknell in Berkshire, just 28 miles west of central London and 11 miles south east from Reading where we started our tour of Berkshire.

With a retired population of just under 10,000, Bracknell residents will be glad to see Castle Comfort Stair Lifts paying a visit.  National statistics reckon that 2.6% of the retired population – that’s 253 in Bracknell who already own a stairlift – which is where we come in.  If you are in need of a stairlift to give you access to your whole house or if you have a stairlift that needs upgrading, then please contact our local office to see how we can help.  Please give us a call on  01865 477 004 .

All about Bracknell
Although Bracknell has been here since the 10th century it was only designated a ‘new town’ in 1949.  With its proximity to London it was one of a number of towns that would take overspill and encourage industry to the area.  The government plans of the post-war era, expected Bracknell’s population to grow to some 25,000; it’s rather exceeded expectations with a population of more than double that now.

Bracknell’s major industry in the first half of the last century was the manufacture of bricks.  Sir Thomas Lawrence’s Brickworks made ‘red rubber’ bricks which have been used in some iconic buildings such as Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and 10 Downing Street.

However most of the manufacturing industries have closed down now – even the Met office has relocated to Exeter in the south west - and ‘high-tech’ industries are the ones that have moved in.  Electrical, digital communications and IT seem to dominate now: Panasonic, Fujitsu, Siemens, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Cable & Wireless, Avnet Technology Solutions, Microsoft and more.  Bracknell is also the home to the HQs of Waitrose and the UK BMW Group.

Fascinating facts
In 1723 a troop of mounted Grenadier Guards took local trouble-makers, the Wokingham Blacks to task in a pitched battle in the town.

The town has a number of surviving old pubs: the Old Manor complete with priest holes, the Red Lion and the Bull.  All are timber framed and date back to the 17th/18th century.

Next door to the Old Manor pub once stood the Hind Head Coaching Inn where it is believed the famous highwayman Dick Turpin used to drink.  Underground tunnels between the buildings are believed to have given Dick Turpin an escape route should the authorities have discovered his whereabouts.

In the southern suburb, Birch Hill, you’ll find South Hill Park, a mansion owned by a variety of dignitaries over the years.  It eventually came into the hands of the local council who turned it into an arts centre in the 1970’s.  Before that time, it is believed that Oscar Wilde wrote The Selfish Giant whilst in the gardens.  Later he named one of his characters in The Importance of Being Ernest – Mrs Bracknell.

In nearby Windsor Forest on the edge of Bracknell, is Easthampstead Park, now a Victorian Mansion but originally a medieval hunting lodge used by Henry VIII.  It is where his first wife Catherine of Aragon was banished when the king’s affections wandered to Anne Boleyn.  Catherine lived there awaiting news of her threatened divorce.





I’m sure you all know of Henry VIII’s connection with stairlifts.  As he aged and after a jousting injury that he never fully recovered from this very famous King of England acquired considerable weight – up to 30 stone.  Maybe something to do with those 32 course dinners?  His injury and great weight made it impossible to get up and down the stairs at his palaces, Hampton Court, Greenwich and Whitehall and so a ‘stairlift’ of sorts was invented based on a block and tackle method.

More recently an American engineer, Mr Crispen invented a stairlift for a friend who had suffered polio and didn’t have the use of his legs.  The stairlift was called the inclinator.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can offer you something far more sophisticated whatever the condition that has caused you to lose mobility.  We have straight, curved, perch and reconditioned stairlifts to choose from – please give us a call on  01865 477 004  to discuss which is best for you and to give you great stairlifts prices.

Media connections
Did you know about Bracknell’s famous connections?  Many TV shows and films have used Bracknell as a backdrop:

·         Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at Martins Heron and Time Bandits at Birch Hill

·         Pie in the Sky (TV detective series) called Bracknell Laxton and scenes of the exterior of the police HQ in the series were shot in Waterside Park

·         Psychological thriller The Offence starring Sean Connery and Ian Bannan was filmed in Bracknell with many scenes of the town and surrounding areas

·         Connerys character’s flat was filmed in the listed building Point Royal

·         Bracknell features in two PlayStation 3 games: Resistance: Fall of Man and the sequel Resistance 2


Famous residents or visitors
·         Queen Victoria stopped at a Bracknell Inn to change her horses but never actually alighted the carriage

·         Actress Dani Harmer who played Tracy Beaker in the TV series was born here


Most other famous residents live nearby either between Bracknell and Ascot or in Ascot itself which is mere 4 miles away:

·         It’s the home of Sarah, Duchess of York mother of Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, ex footballer and manager Glenn Hoddle, swimmers Sharron Davies, Sarah Hardcastle and David Wilkie



·         Kate Bush went to school in the area

·         Ascot is also home for Brian May and Anita Dobson, Gary Lineker, Chris Evans, Rolf Harris and Marti Pellow of Wet, Wet, Wet



If you’re not as nimble as Anita Dobson proved in Strictly Come Dancing but would like to be able to dash up the stairs like her, let us help!

We may not be able to give you back your dancing legs but as national agents for all stairlift manufacturers we are in the perfect position to recommend the right one for you with absolutely no bias.  Have you watched the video that our founder Keith has made?  If not take a look now and then, please get it touch with us for advice, no heavy selling here!

If you need advice on raising the finance, have a look at our grant suggestions and at our recommended 0% finance option and of course don’t forget to claim your £50 with our voucher.

Castle Comfort Stairlifts look forward to hearing from you on  01865 477 004 .

Thursday 26 January 2012

Stairlifts Reading – Stairlifts Berkshire

 
Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Reading, Berkshire 

If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website

  

Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Reading, Berkshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.
Give us a call today on 01865 477 004  If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.


Stairlifts Reading – Stairlifts Berkshire


We’ve crossed the Wiltshire border into the Royal County of Berkshire.  Why Royal?  Because the Queen has a residence at Windsor Castle.  But first Castle Comfort Stair Lifts are heading to Reading.  What do we know about Reading?  It’s the County town and the largest in Berkshire but unless you have ‘sat nav’ impossible to find your way around.

Yes Reading has a population 232, 662 and as 19.4% of the population are retired that would mean somewhere in the region of 44,136 in Reading.  About 2.6% of the retired have stairlifts – so that’s about 1,173 of Reading’s population..  We have the national figures on our website with constant updates – take a look at the bottom of this webpage.

So if you’re in the Reading area and looking for the best stairlifts prices, your search is over.  Here at Castle Comfort Stair Lifts we have a good range as the national agents for all UK manufacturers and can give you a totally unbiased recommendation.

Why not give us a call for more information on  01865 477 004  today?

A Royal connection
Reading itself has a current Royal connection.  Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge grew up in the nearby village of Bucklebury with her sister Pippa Middleton; her family still reside there.




Reading also seems to have bread a number of ‘luvies’ – directors, actors, actresses including another Kate, Winslet this time who’s just won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a mini series for her role in Mildred Pearce.



Two notable film directors also have connections with Reading: Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet’s ex hails from here; his film directorial debut was American Beauty and he also directed Revolutionary Road which starred Kate as well as many other films and theatre plays.

Sir David Lean is an Old Leightonian having spent time at Leighton Park School in Reading.  He went on to direct some very famous films – Laurence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and the earlier Brief Encounter amongst them.

Other actors and actresses from Reading
Kenneth Branagh who spent his teenage years in Reading, is well known for his roles in and directing a number of Shakespeare plays on film but has also starred in or directed many other genres.  He has recently played Laurence Olivier in the film My Week with Marilyn for which he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe.  He was married to Emma Thompson and then had a long term relationship with Helen Bonham Carter who he directed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.



Lucy Benjamin known for her long-running role as Lisa Fowler in EastEnders also hails from Reading.  Her on and off screen lover during this time was Phil Mitchell/Steve McFadden.

Another EastEnders star, John Altman who played Nick Cotton also comes from Reading.

Actress Jacqueline Bisset is another Reading born actress; she is best known for her roles in films like Bullitt and The Deep and also for the TV series Nip and Tuck.  Bissset is godmother to Angelina Jolie.

A number of TV presenters have also come out of Reading:
·         Famous son of Reading, Chris Tarrant is well known for presenting Who Wants to be a Millionnaire and also as a Radio DJ

·         Jeremy Kyle who fronts his own show, The Jeremy Kyle Show where participants are invited to resolve relationship issues or their problems with drugs and alcohol live on air

·         Arthur Negus was famously known as a presenter on the Antiques Roadshow

·         Sally Taylor is a local news presenter on BBC South Today


Any issues you want to share?  Maybe you’re finding it difficult to get up and down those stairs?  Maybe you need to replace your current stairlift for a more up-to-date model.  Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can help.

We have a good range of all kinds of stairlifts, straight, curved, perch and reconditioned.  Curved stairlifts are always more expensive as they are tailor made to ‘fit’ you, but we have competitive prices for all types.

And if the cost is a problem you can look at our information on obtaining a grant or for a more instant influx of funds, 0% finance.  Don’t forget our £50 off voucher too – every little helps!

Reading Festival
This annual event in conjunction with Leeds Festival takes place on the August Bank Holiday weekend bringing music enthusiasts to the town to camp and enjoy the music.

Over the years the headline acts at Reading Festival (first festival was in 1961) reads like a who’s who of the pop music industry and includes Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.  Cobain famously played his last UK gig at the Festival in 1992 arriving on stage in a wheelchair.



Other headliners include Iggy Pop, Oasis, Pulp, Guns & Roses, Arctic Monkeys, The Prodigy, New Order, The Pogues, The Police and The Jam.

Reading’s history
Reading has been here for a long time.  There was some sort of settlement at Reading back in Roman times but the first official evidence is from the 8th century when Reading was known as Readingum.  This is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon tribe The Readings, which means Reada’s People.

By the time of the Doomsday Book, Reading is described as a Borough with 6 mills, 4 belonging to the King and 2 to Battle Abbey in Battle, East Sussex, because the land had been donated to Battle Abbey by William the Conqueror after his invasion of England.



Henry I is buried in the grounds of Reading Abbey which he founded.  The Abbey was hard hit by Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and only the remains still stand.

It is unusual that a town and borough the size of Reading doesn’t have city status.  The borough council has tried on two previous occasions, as part of the Millennium celebrations and as a mark to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.  Last year they put in a bid for this year for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – watch this space as no decision has been taken yet.

Who do we know?
·         Oscar Wilde imprisoned in Reading Jail for a two year period during which time he wrote De Profundis; after his imprisonment he lived exiled in France where he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol about his experiences



·         Jane Austen went to Reading Ladies Boarding School
·         More recently Ricky Gervais made a film called Cemetery Junction set in Reading in the 70’s.  Gervais comes from Reading
·         Property developer and TV presenter Sarah Beeney also comes from Reading
·         Journalist and TV presenter Charlie Brooker too
·         As does musician Mike Oldfield and Marianne Faithful lived here for a time in her childhood



We’re at the end of a quick-stop tour of Reading but it’s not too late to call Castle Comfort Stair Lifts on  01865 477 004  for more information and advice about the perfect stairlift for you.  We can assess what is right for you and your house and have it installed in an hour!  Or at the very most half a day.  Castle Comfort Stair Lifts have excellent after sales service too – you can call us 24/7 on  01865 477 004 .

Hope to hear from you soon!

Monday 23 January 2012

Stairlifts Trowbridge - Wiltshire Stairlifts




Click here to find new and reconditioned stairlifts in Trowbridge, Wiltshire 







If you are looking for the Castle Comfort Stairlifts legendary website






Castle Comfort Stairlifts offers top brand stairlifts, keen prices and fast installs for all those seeking stairlifts in Trowbridge, Wiltshire . And all work comes with our no-quibble guarantees and famous customer service satisfaction.

Give us a call today on 01179 059 177  If however, you are looking for fascinating facts about the area then feel free to read on.


Stairlifts Trowbridge – Stairlifts Wiltshire


Hello we’re still in Wiltshire on our Castle Comfort Stair Lifts’ blog tour!  Did you know that people born and bred in Wiltshire are known as Moonrakers?  The reason is down to legend:  smugglers managed to foil local excise men by hiding their stash of smuggled alcohol in a village pond.  To further conceal their contraband, they raked the pond causing ripples and told the official they were trying to rake in a large round cheese – in reality a reflection of the moon!  The officials assumed they were ‘simple’ – read stupid – or mad locals and left them to it.

Castle Comfort Stair Lifts won’t think you’re simple if you ask questions about their product, and would rather you didn’t make assumptions, but let us explain!

Take a look at our founder Keith’s short video which will probably tell you all or most of what you need to know.  Check out which stairlifts we do and our comparisons of their qualities and prices and if you still have unanswered questions please give us a call on  01179 059 177 .

Trowbridge
Today we’ve come to Trowbridge, the County Town where Wiltshire County Council have their headquarters.  The land where Trowbridge sits was farmed as long ago as 3,000 years, there is evidence that there was a settlement called Trubridge there at the time of the Doomsday Book when it was recorded that 100 residents lived here.  They’ve come on a bit since then with a population of more than 28,000 making Trowbridge the third largest town in the county after Swindon and Salisbury.


It was in the 13th century that Trowbridge began to grow by developing the woollen textile industry in the town.  It flourished and grew becoming more industrialised by the 17th century and reaching its peak in the 18th century.  By the mid 18th century Trowbridge had 2000 wool-producing factories comparable to towns in the north like Rochdale.  It became known as the ‘Manchester of the West’.  New ways of spinning saw the industry here begin to decline in the 19th century though.

Only a few Mills remain; Trowbridge Museum which is integrated into a shopping centre now occupies Salter’s Mill which didn’t close until 1982; the County Court sits in what was Clark’s Mill and the Handle House where teasels were dried and stored to raise the nap of the cloth is still there.



Another of Trowbridge’s claims to fame is that it is where the bedding industry developed and thrived initially using cast-off wool from the mills.  Airsprung Furniture now Airsprung Group PLC were started here in the 19th century and are still based in the town.

Another industry connection is Bowyers; Abraham Bowyer started producing sausages at the beginning of the 19th century and built up a thriving business.  It was eventually bought out by Northern Foods and is now known as Pork Farms Bowyers.  You can still buy Bowyers sausages and pork pies today.

Brewing company Ushers of Trowbridge opened in the town in 1824 and continued to brew until closure in 2000 though there were several amalgamations and name changes along the way.

Are you declining like the industries in Trowbridge?  We’re sure you aren’t or at least with a little help from Castle Comfort Stair Lifts you certainly won’t feel that way.

So if you’re looking for a stairlift look no further.  We can supply and install a stairlift for you at a fair price, in no time at all.  In fact it takes our installation team usually about an hour to have you up and running or at most half a day.  Giving you back the freedom to access your entire home.

Check out our fair prices for all makes of stairlift including reconditioned models; if you feel you need some help with this we can point you in the direction of grants which are available or 0% finance options.  Just give us a call on 01179 059 177

Nearby towns
Bradford-on-Avon just 4 miles from Trowbridge is popular with tourists as it is full of historic buildings.  Although Bradford-on-Avon has been there since Roman times, it also grew as a result of the woollen textile industry in the 17th century and still has several buildings dating from that period.



The town grew up around a ford which crossed the River Avon; in Norman times a stone bridge was built over the ford and still stands today.  On the bridge is a small domed building which was built as a chapel (now Grade I listed) but later used as a lock-up for misbehaving locals.

Another historic building of note is St Laurence’s Church which is Saxon (700) with some restoration in the 10th century but has had no later alterations making it pretty unique.



Westbury White Horse
Just outside Westbury (6 miles from Trowbridge), an old hill-fort town like Salisbury you will find the Westbury White Horse originally carved into the chalk downs.  Legend has it that the horse was carved in a slightly different form to celebrate King Alfred’s victory at the Battle of Edington back in the 9th century.





Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham People
·         Sir Isaac Pitman who invented Pitman shorthand, a strong resource for offices for more than a century was born in Trowbridge.  There are plaques to commemorate him scattered around Trowbridge and one pub has taken his name



·         Famous people actually from Trowbridge are thin on the ground but there are plenty of famous faces from neighbouring towns!

·         Will Carling former England Rugby captain was born in nearby Bradford-on-Avon, whilst other rugby players Phil de Glanville and Jon Sleightholme lived in the area

·         Another ‘son of Bradford-on-Avon’ was Henry Shrapnell who invested the Shrapnell Shell

·         TV presenter Hugh Scully also hails from this part of the world

·         England football coach and former player Rob Newman and retired footballer Andy Pearce both came from Bradford-on-Avon

·         Writer and journalist Daniel Defoe visited Bradford-on-Avon in the 18th century; he was surprised that it was considered normal that there were wealthy men in Trowbridge worth millions in today’s money all made from the textile industry

·         Melksham (6 miles from Trowbridge) is home to Andy Park aka Mr Christmas.  He has celebrated Christmas EVERY DAY since July 1993 except the officially recognised Christmas Day of 25th December.  He claims to have eaten almost 4,500 roast turkeys and 87,600 mince pies and 4,380 bottles of sherry since he started continually celebrating – figures from 2006.  In a local radio interview last year he says he is still celebrating Christmas every day.  In 2001 his doctor warned him that his diet wasn’t good for him – he had reached 19 stone!  A true Wiltshire Moonraker perhaps?


Remember Castle Comfort Stair Lifts can accommodate weights even 19 stone – many up to 25 stone.  We have a range of straight, curved or perch stairlifts; remember that curved stairlifts are more expensive because they are made to measure so that they ‘fit’ you perfectly.  But you won’t find better prices because we are the national agents for all UK stairlift manufacturers which also means we will give you unbiased advice.

Just pick up the phone and give us a call ( 01179 059 177 ) and let’s get you mobile again.