F B Sims was founded in 1892, specializing in wholesale and retail coal and coke sales. One of the retail branches was established in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire.
Derek Newton, the son of a former Derbyshire miner, left the family business of coal merchants (based in Guyhirn, Cambridgeshire) to work for F B Sims & Son in July 1957. In 1960, Derek purchased the Long Sutton retail business from F B Sims. Hence the name, Newton & Sims. ‘Sims’ is still retained in the company name today.
Derek’s eldest son, Richard, left school at the age of 15 to begin work with his father at the Station yard in Long Sutton. Here he joined Neil Fitch, delivering coal all around Long Sutton and the surrounding area. In 1988, Newton & Sims relocated to the Sutton Bridge yard, where they continued to trade until most recently.
The business continued to expand, due to local coal merchants retiring in the surrounding area. This meant that Newton & Sims were able to acquire their customer base. 1993 saw Derek’s youngest son, James, join the family business.
In 1997, Derek’s second eldest son, Robert, joined the business, meaning three sons were now employed. This enabled Derek to retire after a long and successful career, during which he had gained the respect of his customers and fellow coal merchants.
In 2005 further business was acquired and then in 2015, Newton & Sims purchased AF Hansard (a coal merchants operating from Pinchbeck). The latter company had already been trading for 86 years and was a well established family business. Newton & Sims relocated the business to Long Sutton after a year.
In the following years, Derek’s granddaughter, Claire, joined the family firm and became a key member of the business, ensuring the office ran smoothly.
Unfortunately, Richard retired due to ill health in early 2020. This paved the way for James and Robert to venture into a different occupation in 2021.
After a successful 60 years in the coal industry, Newton & Sims decided to sell the business to Evan Jenkins (an established coal merchant from Boston, Lincolnshire) in August 2021. Evan Jenkins already owns 3 other successful businesses, selling coal and firewood locally and Nationally.
The Jenkins family are also no strangers to the solid fuel industry. Whilst Evan’s great-grandfather (Jenkins) was mining coal in Wales at the turn of the century, his great-grandfather (Wooster) was supplying coal and firewood in Wealdstone, Harrow and the surrounding areas of Middlesex – trading as A. Wooster and Sons, Coal and Coke Merchants. This business continued trading until late 1995 spanning four generations of the family.
The fact of the matter is, that the Woosters are one of the oldest trading families in Wealdstone (North West London). Arthur Wooster was the founder member. One of 12 children, brought up in the final quarter of the 19th century in a modest Harrow Weald cottage.
As a lad he started work on the Metropolitan railway but by his mid-20s he was self-employed and the owner of a horse and cart. He was first established as a Harrow coal merchant and then diversified to become a landowner, farmer, dairyman and removal contractor.
Arthur married into an old Harrow family, the Garraways, and fathered his own large brood of six sons and three daughters. The business became known as Arthur Wooster and Sons.
With this family history, it was inevitable that Evan would set up a business trading in coal and wood. In 1995, Evan started supplying firewood using small pickup trucks, in and around the village of Wyberton near Boston in Lincolnshire.
During this time he was also employed in countryside management, working on local estates in the immediate area. As the firewood business, and also the demand for firewood grew, the business was moved to new premises at its current location in Wyberton.
As the years have gone on, his business has constantly expanded and he has gone on to establish a number of trading entities dealing in solid fuel. He continues to supply all fuels required by customers – and also to supply pre-packed fuel to retailers.
Evan Jenkins is delighted to join forces with Newton & Sims to continue serving their loyal customers. Joining Evan, from Newton & Sims, is Bruce Bullen who worked with the company since 2013. Customers will be pleased to know that Bruce will continue to deliver their fuel to them moving forward. With the change of directorship, Newton & Sims has become a limited company (Newton & Sims Coal Merchants Ltd) and moved premises.
The new site is located at: The Plantation, Rowdyke, Wyberton, Boston, Lincolnshire PE21 7AQ.
James, Robert and Richard ‘wish Evan and his team every success in the future’.
