Our Story
Humble Beginnings
It all started back in 1995 when Bob Whitehead, Manager and Owner of Fireplace Warehouse noticed an opportunity to sell fireplaces and fires. Little did he know he had put the wheels in motion to building one of the most successful fireplace shops in the North West of England. Back then however, all he had was a dilapidated single garage at home, and with his first earnings he built a double garage along side the old one which had enough space to display a small selection of fireplaces. His confidence and charisma paid off and after five years he made his first big break and opened a shop on Regent Road in the West End of Morecambe.
Cassie, the original Fireplace Warehouse garage showroom dog
Regent Road
As the business began to grow so did the showroom. Bob went from displaying a few fireplaces in his garage to showcasing 300 displays over 3 floors. His continuous drive to showcase traditional and modern designs kept the showroom busy with customers travelling far and wide to see what he had to offer. There were not just fireplaces available, gas and electric fires were as ever very popular but log burners had started to become mainstream and the showroom changed to accommodate this change in the market. It was not long after that the popularity of log burners continued to grow, and the business grew into a family affair.
Family Business
Bob’s youngest son, Chris, joined the Fireplace business in 2008 and began to help grow the business even further. This partnership allowed Bob to focus on the showroom whilst Chris focused on delivering the best installations possible. Keeping the fitting in-house allowed for a smoother process between sale and install and kept customers happy knowing that it was the same family team that was fitting their fireplace.
Everything was going incredibly well but the drive and passion to keep growing the business never stopped. After a decade in Morecambe, it was now time to move the business into the heart of Lancaster.
Owen Road, Lancaster
After moving the business to Lancaster in 2010 the business continued to grow. Chris’ cousin-in-law Joe, joined the fitting team in 2012, then in 2014 Chris’ brother Steve, also joined the family team. Between the three of them the installation side of the business continued to blossom, meanwhile Bob was able to focus fully on the showroom. Fireplaces over the years like anything else have continued to change and evolve and with more and more designs and materials being available than ever before the wealth of options in the showroom was never better.
2020… looking to the future!
It was then in 2020 that we as a family business had to, for the first time in over 20 years, close our doors because of Covid-19. As the country ground to a halt and went into lockdown there was nothing that Bob and his sons could do other then hope for the best.
After 2 weeks of being locked down and not knowing when we would next be able to open, it was decided that we had to come out of this pandemic fighting, and work began completely renovating the entire showroom.
The whole building was taken back to its shell, walls were removed, new pipework was fitted throughout and every display in the showroom was changed, It took the team six weeks of blood sweat and tears but the end result was 100% worth it!!
To be continued…
For now that is our story. We will continue to grow and develop, and try as hard as we possibly can to bring you the best possible products at the most competitive prices.
Why not head over to our gallery to see the before and after photos from all the renovation work that took place. We look forward to seeing you in our showroom soon!