Leeds dad to continue his family's 200-year link with Kirkstall Forge

Mr Butler's great-great-great-grandfather Thomas Butler and his brother John took over running the forge in 1779 and the Butler family bought it from the Cardigan Estate in 1893.

The forge - which dates back to the 12th century - was owned and run by the Butler family until 1974 when it was sold.

It continued to be used as a forge and manufactured vehicle axles until 1995, when it was bought by Commercial Estates Group (CEG).

CEG are transforming the old forge site in a £400m project with 1,050 new homes, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 100,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and community space planned.

The first office building - Number One Kirkstall Forge - has now been fully let.

And for one new tenant, starting work at Kirkstall Forge will be an especially proud moment.

Father-of-two Tom Butler, 51, and business partner Gary Holland co-own Schofield Insurance Brokers, which has let almost 3,000 sq ft of office space at Kirkstall Forge.

Tom Butler said he vividly remembers regular childhood visits to the forge to see his late father Edmund Marshall Butler at work.

Tom Butler's grandfather Basil Harding Butler, who lived at Abbey House opposite Kirkstall Abbey, was also heavily involved in Kirkstall Forge.

Mr Butler said: "Personally, it’s a proud moment to be involved in a successful business at Kirkstall Forge and to follow in the footsteps of the Butler family, which has always held this nationally important site close to its heart."

"I have been round the factory many times with my father.

"I'm going back to somewhere I remember from when I was a child, where my father worked.

"It is a brand new development. There's nothing left of the factory that was, but the area is special to me. The entrance and access is still the same."

Mr Butler said Schofield Insurance Brokers, currently based in Yeadon, employs 34 people and is expanding as it needs more space.

The cafe and restaurant at Number One Kirkstall Forge has been named 'Butlers' and meeting rooms have been named after members of the Butler family.

Paul Richardson, investment manager at CEG, said: "We have always been proud of the long history of Kirkstall Forge and to welcome the Butlers back here is brilliant for us all on a very personal level.

"Schofield Insurance Brokers will be joining a range of leading organisations, including Bupa, Zenith and Mercedes-Benz Vans UK...and it is testament to its offer, location, unrivalled technology, onsite amenities and superb transport links that the building has been so quickly fully let."