Charles Roberts & Company

As an ambitious twenty-four year old joiner from the most humble of beginnings Charles Roberts established a small workshop in Ings Road, Wakefield to manufacture railway wagons. Over the years his business grew, moving less than twenty years later to much larger premises at Horbury. The new factory became a major employer in the area, producing railway wagons and coaches as well as lorry and bus bodies. After his death the company continued producing rail vehicles for Great Britain and export markets on a massive scale, together with making a huge contribution to the war effort in two world wars. This is the story of Charles Roberts, the man, his factories, and their output and those who followed in his footsteps making a huge impact on the town of Horbury, the county of Yorkshire and the thousands of men and women who worked there through the years over nearly a century and a half.