This was a firm of builders and decorators whose premises were at 112 to 114 Wornington Road for about 60 years. It was founded by Henry Robert Wileman who lived from 1871 to 1940 and his two sons, Henry Robert (Bob) and Leonard Charles(Len) continued in the business with Bob looking after the administration and estimating and Len looking after the practical side. The firm remained in business until it was compulsorily purchased for the building of housing by Kensington Housing Trust at the beginning of the 70s.
There was a yard and an office entered through an archway between two houses and lying behind number 114 and the next few houses, finishing at the edge of the school grounds. The northern boundary was the Great Western Railway line from Paddington.
At the east end was a two-storey building. The ground floor housed the stock such as timber, plaster board, cement etc. and the upper storey had work areas for the carpenter and plumber as well as a store for small hardware such as screws, nails etc. The office was also on this level. An open wooden staircase lead to the upper floor, at the foot of which was rather basic toilet.
A garage went part of the way along the North wall. This contained the car which was shared by the two brothers but not often used. Further along were open stores for sand and ballast and then another 2 storey building, the ground floor of which had a large baize-covered table for cutting glass.
For some time the firm had two yellow painted lorries which were garaged in the open yard; it was quite a feat to be able to get the lorries in and out of the yard through the narrow arch with a narrow right angled turn into the yard. They also had some barrows with wooden wheels which the men used to transport building materials.
The brothers maintained the business throughout the war as Len was not fit enough to be called-up due to a knee problem but Bob received his call-up papers and plans had to be made to close the business. While this was happening, however, building work was made a reserved occupation so Bob served in the Home Guard instead and spent evenings on Wormwood Scrubs looking out for enemy aircraft. The firm spent the rest of the war doing bomb damage repairs and the business continued to prosper until it was compulsorily purchased.
A.J. 2009
