'We've made ladders for everything - from submarines to Strictly'

Tucked away in Sheffield's old industrial heart is the W H Hulley workshop. Dating back to 1877, it is the oldest business in the UK still making wooden ladders, and one of only two specialists.

The early Hulleys were coffin-makers before realising there was more money in supplying the ladders that would help people climb down into the graves.

In 2022, former ladder salesman Derek Gray took over the workshop, ending 145 years and six generations of family ownership.

He knew it was a gamble, but remains determined to keep the heritage craft alive. His clients range from submarine operators to the set designers for TV shows such as Bridgerton and Strictly Come Dancing.

"I didn't know whether we were going to succeed in these difficult times."

The firm began to gain national renown in the early 20th Century and it grew after winning a Ministry of Defence contract to supply wooden ladders to the armed forces.

Fifty-four years ago, the business relocated to Kelham Island, then still a manufacturing district, and nowadays better known for its trendy bars and restaurants.

Ladder-making is classed an an "endangered" profession by the Heritage Crafts charity, meaning fewer younger workers are acquiring the traditional skills.

Yet W H Hulley staff are meeting more orders than ever and serving a more diverse range of customers.

Gray adds: "We recently did 25 bunk bed ladders for a submarine.

"We've made ladders for oil rigs, we've done props for Moulin Rouge, Bridgerton, a Take That music video, Strictly Come Dancing, and we've just been commissioned to make a ladder for the new Beatles film."

A bespoke ladder takes around 25 working days to complete and orders come in from all over the world. A number visible in the workshop are destined for Iceland.

"There are 16 rungs on these, and we get through about 1,200 a month in total. I'm very proud about being from Sheffield and I'm a Yorkshireman through and through, so I try to buy as many components as I can from Sheffield."

Gray doesn't work alone. Mario Colagiovanni, 62, is a key figure alongside him.

With more than 30 years at the business, he "knows everything worth knowing" about ladders, according to Gray.

"If you'd have asked me 10 years ago, I would have said it's probably not got much time left," Colagiovanni said.

"But it just seems to have had a resurgence. I don't know whether that's because everybody else has packed in or because we're doing something correctly."

Colagiovanni and Gray share the workload with Michael Denton, 32, who joined in his early 20s.

"It's been here 150 years, it would be nice to see it here for another 150," Denton says.

The future of the business is something that weighs on Gray's mind.

"What makes me nervous is what will happen when I decide that I want to finish work. Where's it going to go from there? I would love for it to just continue and continue.

"If you just want to make a load of money, it's not the business. It's about the passion you give it. That's why it's been here all these years."

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