Our History

The history of the West family in timber started in the 19th century, tangible felling records date back to 1865. Walter Luke West had his own business, more than likely working with his father, James West, who in the 1851 census was described as a ‘Wood Reve’ (which translates as a custodian of the woods). Based around the West Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey borders, the family would buy a `parcel’ of timber, comprising a number of trees, often still standing in the woodland. The timber would be felled and cut into beam, posts or plank where they fell. This would be achieved by digging a pit and hand sawing, to be hauled out of the woods by horse and trailer. 

In the early part of the 20th Century, the family moved to permanent premises in the commercial railway yard in Midhurst. Steam engines provided early power for the bandsaws, and hand wound cranes moved logs around the yard. After the closure of Midhurst railway station in the 1960s, the company were able to purchase one of the commercial rail yards. This enabled expansion and new sawmilling equipment to be installed.

In the mid-1970s, the company purchased a sawmill at Selham on an acre of land. The business in Midhurst was expanding and the company required more land, so the obvious solution was to expand the Selham site. Negotiations were held with Lord Cowdray to purchase an additional 11 acres of land to build a new sawmill and storage buildings. Having gained planning permission, a sawmill and production facility was built and the business moved to Selham in 1986. The expansion enabled us to install drying kilns & drying sheds of over 50,000 sq feet.

Fencing has always been an important element of our business and in 2005 we purchased a fencing company in Surrey called PRO Fencing. The company already had plans to move to a better facility in Farnham, which we continued, we also retained the trading name of PRO Fencing, and we have been trading from the Farnham site ever since. This side of the business is also strong, with contracts with many of the major UK house builders.

Although bespoke work has always been key to our business, the timber industry has changed dramatically over the years. To meet current and emerging needs we continue to invest in new machinery to allow us to lead the way in sawmilling, moulding and machining.

2018 saw one of the biggest investments and changes in the available technology to us when we installed a new 5-Axis CNC, an Edgebander and a Heated Press - all from the Austrian company, Felder. The CNC is a high-tech router that allows us to mould on multiple axis. The Edgebander is designed for quick adhesion of solid lippings for doors, and the Heated Press allows us to glue veneers to flat surfaces. In 2022, a Weinig Flexirip was installed, cutting waney edged boards or square edged boards of up to 210mm thick and up to 7.2 metres in length, resulting in improved accuracy and faster turnaround for our cut to size work.

WL West Timber continues to be a family business, with third and fourth generations working in the company. Although the current business is significantly different to the one Walter Luke West created; our company ethic of building strong relationships with our customers and helping you to find a solution to your timber needs has stood the test of time. We’re proud of our expert team who provide a bespoke and professional service to our clients.