The Clarke family have long lived in West Oxfordshire. In 1824 Thomas Clarke became an apprentice tinman in Burford. Thomas’s son, John, started a Builders Merchants in Witney, followed by his son Harry, during World War II the yard was used as an army depot. Harry’s son, Cyril, revived the business after the war - today the managing directors are Cyril’s sons, John and Graeme Clarke, John started working for his father in January 1954 and Graeme in December 1959. Forty percent of the workforce are members of the family.

Today, C J Clarke is an established and highly respected family run timber merchants doing well in an increasingly competitive climate and whilst our roots lay in the past - our eye is very much on the future. We continue to invest in people and technology to improve our service and the experience for our customers.
We cherish traditional values - values that mean we listen, we care and we want to help - yet we embrace the needs and expectations of modern living and offer quality at an affordable price.

We made a decision to ensure that our sources and supplies of raw and prepared timber would be licenced, traceable and environmentally accountable so that for generations to come our families and our business will be able to enjoy supplying timber whilst helping to manage and perhaps even improve the environment.