R Rutherford and Sons

R Rutherford & Sons, or "Rutherfords" as it has become known locally, started as a motor garage business in the 1930's in The Square, Stamford Bridge. This business was owned by Robert Rutherford, a Scotsman from Fife who had returned from a spell in the USA living in Pennsylvania and working on the Pennsylvania Railroad - he also worked maintaining machinery on a golf course in Virginia. His sons did not want to carry on the garage business as they (by chance) had discovered the usefulness of electricity. The garage business used to deal with local farmers and Robert Rutherford charged radio accumulators for them as part of his service at the garage. The farmers didn't have mains electricity and soon the Rutherford sons were busy wiring farm houses, selling and repairing electrical appliances for the farmers. After the Second World War, the Sons decided to start an electrical business, separate from the garage business as Robert was soon due to retire from his garage.

In 1948 the electrical business started in The Square in Stamford Bridge - just exactly where the HSBC bank now stands. When the landlord sold the property to the bank, the Rutherford Sons moved up the Main Street to another property that had been a tailor's shop, then the village's second electrical shop. The owners of the shop had decided that there was no further business to be done in electrical wiring, so vacated the shop just in time for the Rutherfords to move in. Here the business has been ever since, through the birth of automatic washers, colour television, video recorders, satellite reception and DVD. The property still looks very similar from the outside, but has changed many times inside. The shop can expand no more and a few years ago, we outgrew the old shop completely. We had to build a second property to act as our store and workshop - luckily this is not far from the main shop.

The business, still technically called R Rutherford and Sons, is still selling up-to-date technology in digital reception equipment, DVD-RAM recorders and plasma/LCD televisions. Rutherfords no longer play any part in electrical contracting, but the appliance side of the business has dramatically expanded. The main, long standing agencies are Panasonic/Technics and Bosch, we have more recently added Sebo cleaners to our range. We also sell appliances by Hotpoint, Creda, Cannon, Belling, and many other famous household names.

The longest standing agency we hold is Panasonic. Rutherfords is East Yorkshire's oldest Panasonic dealer and we have sold Panasonic since the original opening of the Welsh Panasonic television factory in the early 1970s. Our workshop specialises in servicing Panasonic domestic products and our service is the best and most expert in the York area. Recently, Panasonic appointed Rutherfords as a member of their elite Panasonic Digital Network. The network repairs (previously only repairable by the manufacturer) Plasma TV, LCD TV and DVD-RAM recorders - we think that this is a huge statement of our expertise in the repair field on Panasonic equipment.

The company (a partnership) is now owned and run by the THIRD generation of the Rutherford family. We are totally committed to giving our customers good value, expertise of installation and an excellent backup on the products we sell. We are only enthusiastic about selling the quality that has always been the hallmark of the Rutherford business. We believe that the way to obtain repeat business is to sell good, well supported products at a fair price and back them up with good after-sales service. Our long-standing membership of the trade organisation R.E.T.R.A. (Radio, Electrical and Television Retailer's Association) is your guarantee of the quality of our advice and service. We are fully insured to give you peace of mind when dealing with our company.

As the digital future is at our doorstep, we have taken charge of our own aerial and satellite installations. We are considered to be experts in the field of digital television reception. A good quality installation ensures reliable digital reception and we maintain the quality of our service in that direction. Now HD (High Definition) reception is available in the shape of Freesat. We will be in a position to install our own satellite dishes in order to take the service forward for you, our customers.

We look forward to serving you in the future!

.Back to top

Shop Opening Hours

Monday - Friday 8:30 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:30

Saturday 8:30 to 12:30 (December additionally 14:00 to 17:00)

Other times can be arranged by appointment

.Back to top

Last Revised: 01/04/2008