ONE of Old Town’s oldest businesses and Swindon’s only remaining coal merchant is to close its doors after 114 years.

Cousins Ken and John Wilmer, who co-own J Wilmer Coal Merchants in Signal Way, made the difficult decision to sell the family business after more than a century in Swindon.

The cousins’ great-grandfather, community stalwart and former secretary of the Old Coal Merchant’s society, John Percival Wilmer, first acquired the business in 1901 with Ken and John beginning work in the early 60s.

The firm will cease trading on April 30 with J Wilmer’s continuing under a different owner at a new base in Greenhill, Royal Wootton Bassett.

Ken, 68, who lives in Liden, said the business closure was inevitable even though it had maintained steady custom over the years.

“It had to happen, business was good but it wasn’t growing any more. With the introduction of natural gases to Swindon and electric cookers, demand was slowing. We have a list of loyal customers and we want to thank them for helping us.”

The duo began work as teenagers in 1962, assisting their fathers, also named John and Ken.

John, of Sandringham Road, said working in the coal yard was a way of life that has seen numerous changes over the years.

“We were coming to the yard as toddlers but when we were teenagers we started helping out a bit more. Once we got our driving licences I think we were a bit more useful and we went all over the county delivering. Life was simpler back then,” he said.

In 1962 a tonne of coal cost £19 in comparison to today’s price of £360.

When Ken and John first took the reins they were one of a saturated market of 15 coal suppliers in the town; 53 years later they are the only coal merchant remaining.

At its peak the business was delivering 1,500 tonnes of coal annually, which was brought in from Scotland, Wales and the Midlands.

Highlights of their half century at the merchants include supplying coal to Swindon Town FC when the pitch froze, and a memorable encounter with the King George V locomotive.

It is a bittersweet time for the two cousins as they reflect on more than half a century of serving the coal community in Swindon.

John said: “I’ll miss the interactions we have with customers, the chats, the friendships we’ve built over the years.

Ken jokingly added: “I’ll miss waking up and wishing for cold weather so people will buy coal.”

Both cousins plan to enjoy some much-needed downtime when they retire, with Ken looking forward to a Baltic cruise with his family and John doing some DIY. They will also celebrate the success of the firm at a family dinner with their children and grandchildren.

As to the secret of the successful partnership, John said that compromise and a good reputation is key.

“We’ve had our arguments, of course we have over the years but we’ll always sit down and talk about anything," he said.

"We’re in charge of different areas of the business, he’ll order the coal, I’ll do the VAT and we both get involved in delivery.

“We’ve never been cheap, or expensive; we’ve always been fair, we’ve always been honest, we plod along and get on with it.

“We’d like to say thank you for giving us this business. Never in our dreams did we think we’d still be here and it’s down to the people of Swindon that it’s happened.”