We are delighted to announce that we are opening an office in Hull – here, we delve into the McClarrons family history in Hull, touch on our growth plans and introduce you to McClarrons Hull, new offices.
Next week, on Wednesday 20th April, we will be opening our brand-new office at Hesslewood Office Park on Ferriby Road. As McClarrons continues to expand and our ambitions to grow and provide our insurance services and proposition further afield continue, we have taken the decision to open an office in Hessle. This will not only help us to service our existing Business, Rural, Care and Private Clients in and around the Hull area, but also allow us to offer our specialist insurance advice and decades of expertise to prospective clients operating in these sectors.
McClarron history in Hull
The McClarron family name is already intrinsically linked with the city, with our Executive Chairman, Sean McClarron’s, own family ties to Hull.
Sean’s Great Uncle and Aunt, Roy and Rita McClarron, doted on their nephew (Sean’s father) – also called Roy – this close relationship led to years of Sean and his father taking regular trips to Hull to visit them. Great Uncle Roy and Rita ran a Fruit Merchant business at 3 Wellington Street; they ran this business shortly after World War II and into the 70’s and you can see pictures of the Wellington Street business, Rita and Roy attending the Fruit Merchants’ Banquet and Roy at the fruit market, below – there’s even a picture of a purchase slip for the McClarron business that’s been saved all these years on. Since then, Hull has seen a huge renovation of the whole Fruit Market area, which now consists of an array of unique independent businesses.
Aside from business, Roy and Rita shared a love of horses and greyhounds and were heavily involved with Craven Park greyhound racing stadium – now better known as Sewell Group Craven Park Stadium, home of the Hull Kingston Rovers R.F.C.
Long after Great Uncle Roy’s death in the 1970’s, Sean and his family continued to visit Aunty Rita in Hull regularly, as well as going to Hull Fair and cheering on the ‘Hull Lada Vikings’ speedway team at Craven Park, who were top of the UK league in their day – the team operated primarily from The Boulevard Stadium and Craven Park in the 70’s (all the way through to 2005!).
Sean’s Grandma, Grace McClarron (nee Burroughs), was also from Hull, where she lived with her husband, Charlie. Grace’s father, PC Burroughs, was a policeman in Hull and below you can see a page from The Hull Police Chronicle, in which his resignation and time in the force and beyond was documented. Sean’s Great-Grandfather joined the Royal Marine Artillery in 1876 at just 15; he later joined the 1st Life Guards in 1878, where he served for 12 years. He took part in the Egyptian campaign in 1882, in the night charge of Kassassin, receiving the medal with clasp for Tel-el-Kebir and the Khedive’s star medal (pictured below). PC Burroughs was also with the Heavy Camel Corps in the expedition for the relief of Gordon in 1884 where he received 2 more clasps – Abu-Klea and The Nile. He left the lifeguards in 1890, joining the force in 1892 – in total, PC Burroughs racked up a total of nearly 41 years’ continuous service to our military and police forces.
Throughout his childhood in Hull, Sean’s father – Roy – could often be found exercising greyhounds and playing with his cousins in and around Springhead Park, Haltemprice Priory and Swine Bank. Due to the bombing suffered at the docks in the Second World War, as a young boy, Roy was evacuated to Little Weighton, approximately 15 miles out of the city. Roy very much enjoyed his time there and this, Sean believes, played a large part in instigating Roy’s passion and love of the countryside, which in his later life, led to the formation of McClarrons insurance brokers – initially founded as a farm-focused business.
Sean McClarron commented: “I’m very excited about a McClarron family business returning to Hull, it’s a very exciting time for us all, as well as me personally, as we bring the company that my father and I founded, to the city. When sourcing an office space in Hull, we wanted to make sure it would be an attractive environment for our team to work in – taking into consideration the office itself, its surroundings and amenities, staff wellbeing and its accessibility – I believe we have achieved this and look forward to seeing the business continue to grow and thrive long into the future.”
Our new office in Hull
We believe that our new office on Hesslewood Office Park provides a desirable working environment with plenty of outdoor green space for lunchtime walks, a gym for those who like to get a workout in before work and a locally-supplied deli for lunches and Friday treats – not to mention the resident peacocks…
We have worked closely with Brooklands Property Holdings to renovate the office space, allowing us to provide a bright, stylish and open working environment. The office also has its own private kitchen with modern facilities and a balcony overlooking the green, allowing the team to make the most of their lunchtime break. Whilst we do offer hybrid-working options, we are conscious that time spent in the office is still important and an open, collaborative working environment is key. We also understand that not everyone is served best by working at home – we hope that these offices will enable our Hull-based team to thrive and look forward to welcoming new recruits in the area to also benefit from this space as we look to expand here.
If you are interested in a career at McClarrons, learn about our current vacancies here.
Garry Davies, Managing Director, commented: “We are thrilled to be opening an office in Hull – as I have said before, as an independent broker, we are committed to retaining, developing and building on our family-run foundations to best serve our clients into the future; I believe that with the addition of our new office in Hessle, we are in a strong position to be able to not only grow as a business but to develop and learn through the new relationships we build in this forward-thinking city. I am also very much looking forward to growing the McClarrons team with driven and motivated individuals who can help us progress and drive the business forward.”
As of Wednesday 20th April 2022, we will be open for clients, partners and the public to visit – we very much look forward to welcoming you. You will find us on the first floor at Parkgate House on Hesslewood Office Park, Ferriby Road. Alternatively, you can contact our team on 01482 424711.
