In 1961 Colin Jennings a family man had an idea and a determination to build a business in a thriving town in Cheshire (or Greater Manchester depending who you ask). He sold the family caravan and invested the lot into his independent DIY store on Chestergate, Stockport. With that Chestergate Wood Supplies was born, offering all your DIY needs and great personal service the business grew and grew soon needing a larger premises to sell from.
In 1979 the business moved to Portwood a great central Stockport location with the main Stockport motorway junction access being out the front door increased footfall and custom soon made this shop Stockport's Number 1 DIY store.
Years passed staff came and went many of which served the counter of Chestergate for decades of their lives which gave the shop the personal friendly touch that trade lads, regulars or one off customers loved about shopping with us.
Mike Jennings took the helm in the 90s as his dad Colin retired handing down his baby to his son allowing him to enjoy the shop as both the creator and customer. Often he would visit and i know myself as younger staff at the time would always panic over do i charge this man for what he wants or does he just own it all already 😂
Eventually times changed, shopping changed and the internet was born giving people the option to spend without leaving their homes and so the need for such a large store wasnt there anymore and so we moved. Taking the business into the future we needed an big online presence and so we downsized to a unit in Bredbury and became Gate Diy Supplies.
Selling on our own website, Ebay and Amazon we are proud to have kept the core values that was Chestergate Wood Supplies, we still sell the large collection of melamine that was our main seller in the shop and still offer Stockport's best cutting service. BUT now we also have added new products that we sell with a fast and free delivery service shipping all over the UK.
Now in 2025 Mike, Claire and me Tracey work hard on keeping this business alive, thriving and something that Colin Jennings would be ever so proud of 47 years after his idea became a reality.