John Brown hardwareCall 01275 853368
The John Brown Hardware shopfront at 90 High Street, Nailsea, with tools, garden goods and flowers displayed outside

An independent family shop

John Brown
Hardware

Serving Nailsea since 1957

Plan your visitSee what we sell
John Brown and his daughter Maggie Fordham standing in front of the shop's wall of clocks
John and his daughter Maggie in front of the clock wall.

An Aladdin's cave on the High Street

Nine departments under one roof, and a much wider range to order through our suppliers.

  • 01Ironmongery
  • 02Paint & Decorating
  • 03Plumbing
  • 04Tools
  • 05Gardening
  • 06Small Electricals
  • 07Cookware & Kitchen
  • 08Baking & Cake Decorating
  • 09Homewares
See what we sell

Ask at the counter

Bring the old part

Bring the old fitting, a measurement or a photograph. The team will help identify what the job needs.

Ask for advice

Describe the job and we will help you work out what you need, and what you don't.

Order it in

The shop can draw on a much wider range than it can hold on the shelves. Ask about a particular product, size or fitting.

Also in the shop

Key cutting, Calor Gas, local delivery, watch batteries and jewellery repairs.

“Nothing ever too much trouble”

“You can always have a warm welcome and great service”

Customer comments from the shop's previous website.

Joe Fordham in the stockroom
Joe Fordham joined the shop in 1975 and runs it day to day.

Before 1957

Built by John and his father

John Brown and his father Charles, a Tickenham builder, built the row of shops on Nailsea High Street. John later bought the end premises, and on 17 September 1957 he and Alice opened John Brown Hardware there.

“If I could help people I did, and if they couldn't pay upfront, I said 'come back next week'”John Brown, quoted by BBC News, 2025
Read our story
Black and white photograph of the newly built row of shops on Nailsea High Street
The row John and Charles built.
John Brown at the wheel of the shop van
John in the shop van, early 1960s.