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Our History
The
company was founded by Michael Mart, who, 36-years-ago,
left the noise and pollution of the city where he served
his engineering apprentice, to enjoy a quieter life
in the village of Long Bennington, near Grantham, with
his wife Margaret.
With just £5 in his back pocket borrowed from
his father, Michael set out in business as Artistic
Iron Products, making wrought iron gates, horse boxes,
trailers and carrying out agricultural repairs.
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When
the couple's two daughters, Sue and Wendy, were quite
small, the couple decided to buy a Shetland Pony. It
was a decision which would change the direction of the
business forever.
Sue, who now manages the company, laughs as she remembers
the misery her first pet caused.
She said: "That Shetland pony turned out to be
evil. I couldn't ride him at all. Mum and Dad were concerned
he should be given some exercise and so Dad built him
a carriage, and thats how the carriage business started".
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The
Marts bought another Shetland pony and began to compete
at Horse Driving Trials at a time when the Duke of Edinburgh
was drawing up the rules for such events.
Sue added: "In those days, people were competing
in traditional high carriages, side by side, and were
very vulnerable to tipping over. The old-fashioned carriages
were designed for leisure driving on roads, but when
competing they needed speed and off-road durability".
"So Dad, with his engineering background and carriage
building knowledge started to design carriages for that
purpose".
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Michael was the first to design the back step, which
meant that a groom could stand on the back of a carriage
so aiding stability. He also pioneered the aluminium
wheel which is much lighter and stronger than the traditional
wooden one.
Later he developed a powder coating method for painting
metal, in which a layer of powder is sprayed on the
metal and then baked in an oven to give a durable finish.
Michael's specially designed carriages soon caught the
eye of the Duke of Edinburgh and in 1979 he was given
the honour of a Royal Warrant to provide carriages to
the duke, which he still holds today.
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The business went from strength to strength and now
has a team of 15 staff producing up to 150 carriages
a year based on 30 designs. Past customers include
British Royalty, the Sultan of Brunei, Disney
World Florida, as
well as people across the British Isles, America and
Argentina.
Sue is certainly one to endorse her father's range,
for she uses a Bennington XL four-wheeler when competing
in Horse Driving Trials in the open single pony class.
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However, three years ago, Artistic Iron Products diversified
into making metal furniture, as there was a slight decline
in carriage making caused by a lot of cheap imports
coming onto the market from abroad.
For more information please choose the Bennington Furniture
option from the main menu.
Words adapted from an article by Sarah Winstanley.
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