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Jewson is one of the largest chains of British general builders' merchants, selling to small and medium building contractors. The chain comprises around six hundred branches located all across Great Britain. Jewson, as part of the Meyer group, was acquired by the French conglomerate Saint-Gobain in April 2000.
George Jewson bought a business in Earith in 1836 to trade goods in the Huntingdonshire Fens of East Anglia. His son John Wilson Jewson (b. 1817) had 13 children: the eldest, George, at the time working with a timber merchant in Norwich, suggested expansion there.
John Jewson bought a house in Colegate in Norwich in 1868, and he moved there where he developed a successful timber, coal and builders' merchant business. The family played a role in civic service in Norwich and Norfolk.
In October 2001, Worldwide Business Information and Market Reports stated that "Having undergone a period of major consolidation, the builders' merchants market is now dominated by Jewson Ltd (owned by Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Ltd), Wolseley and Travis Perkins... These top three companies each have total sales of over £1bn."
