Hewes Security Group has been operating for over 60 years. It all began in 1961 when I entered the security industry. By 1975, R Hewes Locks & Safes in South Woodham Ferrers was established. Fast forward to 2004, the business had expanded to include a fleet of 10 vehicles, and today it boasts a fleet of 21 vehicles. 

It all started after getting married and my wife and I looked at South Woodham Ferrers as a potential place to move to. We eventually found a property which was built by Gough Cooper, their yard is where Warwick Parade is today. Once we moved, I managed to get transferred from the alarm company I was working for in London to Southend. 

At this stage in my career, I was just an engineer. I quickly became a supervisor and then graduated to a surveyor. The area I covered stretched from the A12 and north, covering North Essex and Suffolk. 

When Warwick Parade was finished, I noticed a young couple looking at the end unit, which is now a dry cleaner. I approached them to ask if they were taking the unit, and they said they were planning to open a newsagent and sweet shop. This later became Mr Gees, and Douglas and I have been good friends ever since. I ended up selling him the alarm system that my company installed. 

As a young married man, I always sought ways to make ends meet, trying various methods that included window cleaning. This extra work was done after my normal hours. I realised I was also good at fitting mortice locks, so I began door-knocking to ask if anyone needed security work. Back then, homes were not very secure; windows were typically single-glazed with no security features at all. I started installing window and mortice locks, and I eventually became a master locksmith, ensuring all locks worked under one key. 

After a couple of years, I found myself so busy with the work I generated that I decided to go self-employed. I initially worked from home but later rented a railway arch in Chelmsford. It was during this time that my eldest son, Matthew, decided to join me, my brother-in-law also became my bookkeeper. 

We specialised in locks, safes, and alarm systems. At this point, we were not recognised by the governing body of the alarm industry, so we applied for accreditation. We became the first privately-owned alarm company in Essex to be approved by the NSI. 

As our workload grew, it became clear we needed larger premises, so I chose to move back to South Woodham, where we rented a unit on Cutlers Road. Subsequently, our industry required British Standard Approval, and once again, we were the first alarm company to achieve this accreditation. We invited the Mayor of Chelmsford to our office for a photo shoot to celebrate receiving our award. 

At this time, the business still consisted of just the three of us, with my wife and some friends and neighbours helping with administration tasks. We reached a point where we needed more staff, so I decided to hire a young lady to answer phones and handle typing duties. Being the only master locksmith in the Essex area meant we received numerous calls, not just for installations, but also to help people who had lost their keys or locked themselves out. As South Woodham grew, opportunities arose. 

At the time we had a fantastic market in South Woodham run by a great individual named Peter Batten. I decided to set up a stall to display our range of locks, safes, and key-cutting services. As business picked up, I brought on another young man to assist with the installation of intruder alarms and safes. We were once approached by William De Ferrers asking if we could take on a pupil for a two-week work experience. We did, and that young lad eventually joined our team after leaving school. 

We realised after some time the unit we rented became too small, and we needed a larger facility. An opportunity arose when a building for sale on Cutlers Road, came to our attention. We took the plunge and purchased it, allowing us to expand. 

As time passed, we found ourselves hiring more staff to cope with the increasing workload. One of our significant contracts was with Martins the newsagent, for whom we replaced locks in emergencies when staff left. I utilised my Master Locksmith membership nationally to handle those jobs. Thanks to my relationships with colleagues, we were invited to join a new group of privately-owned security companies, which helped us secure better pricing from our suppliers. 

(In the spirit of seeking more opportunities, I approached a customer about lock changes (Hamells, a company some may remember) and asked if they would let us manage their alarm systems across all stores. We secured a contract involving over 80 shops nationwide, from the West Country to the Lincolnshire area. This contract marked the first national agreement that the new group had obtained. Consequently, I was tasked with recruiting other alarm installers to join NASIC (National Association of Security Installation Companies). 

A few years ago, we decided to expand our offerings by becoming a fire alarm-approved company, which was a challenging process. Many colleagues who became fire approved often rebranded to include “fire” in their name, like Hewes Fire and Security. However, after being in the security industry for over 63 years, I felt that “Hewes Fire and Security” didn’t accurately encompass everything we did, so we rebranded ourselves to “Hewes Group,” which now includes Intruder, Fire, CCTV, Access, and Safes. 

Richard Hewes 

Hewes Group
25 Cutlers Rd, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford CM3 5WA 
Phone: 01245 808609 
https://hewessecurity.co.uk

(Top photo: A shop along from the post office near Willy De school where we held an exhibition of safes, locks and grilles before we started intruder systems.)