Maxfield's Executive Travel still a family affair at 100-years-old

Peter Maxfield holding Minnie, Sharon and their son Benjamin. | Iconic Media

placeholder image — Peter Maxfield holding Minnie, Sharon and their son Benjamin. | Iconic Media

We took a trip to Aughton to meet Peter, Sharon and Benjamin Maxfield, a family who has kept the wheels turning on their family firm for the past century.

Maxfield’s Executive Travel’s fleet are instantly recognisable.

Driving up and down the M1, you’re likely to see that century-old firm’s somewhere on your trip. Indeed, Maxfield’s has been a family institution going back to 1926.

It was established as J.A. Maxfield's and Son back in 1926 and now company director and grandson of the founder, Peter Maxfield's lifts the bonnet on the family history, from its humble beginnings to future plans.

“Grandad started it, James Ashworth,” says Peter. “Our original name was J.A. Maxfield's and Son. Later on, it changed over to Maxfield's Executive. That’s how it started.

“Back in the day, grandad used to take miners from this area [Aughton] through to Thurcroft pit.”

Thurcroft Colliery was a coal mine situated in the village of Thurcroft, near Rotherham in the early 20th century. After almost 90-years, it was closed in 1991.

“He had a lorry with benches in it. It was a coal lorry, but they’d cleared the coal out and used it to take miners to work,”said Peter.

“Through word of mouth, people started to ask why don’t they do a trip on a Sunday? So grandad started taking little Sunday schools out on the back of the lorry.

“It was just local places. Bakewell, Matlock. In those days, it was a proper treat for kids to get out of the village. With the passage of time, grandad got a couple of the coal lorries and decided to buy a charabanc.”

French for "carriage with benches", a charabanc as it’s more colloquially known was an open-topped motor vehicle with seating, usually used for sight-seeing and day trips. Cue the shortened term we all know, ‘coach’.

“From the 1930s through to the 1940s, he went on to get two coaches and did away with the coal lorries. My dad, Norman, started in the mid-1940s and they ran a couple of coaches for schools and private hire each week,” said Peter.

“They carried on until the late ‘60s. I joined the company in the mid-’70s. We decided that we’d take a gamble and take a step up into the executive coach market”

It was this step into the executive coach excursions sector that saw the family business grow into one that provides affordable, high quality tours and excursions across the UK.

Maxfield's Executive Travel was originally established as J.A. Maxfield's and Son back in 1926, before later changing its name. | Provided

This year marks 100-years since the company was founded and to celebrate Maxfield's Executive Travel will be hosting a special balloted event in July.

Speaking about the centenary celebrations, company director, Benjamin Maxfield's (and son of Peter and Sharon Maxfield) said: “It is going to be a really special occasion, bringing together many of our loyal passengers, long-standing partners, and members of the local community who have supported us over the years.”

Speaking of customer loyalty, Peter and Sharon shared a few words about what it has meant to them, particularly during the testing times presented by the global COVID pandemic that put great strain on the livelihoods of so many.

“We have such an extremely loyal customer base,” they said. “When things started to pick up they came back in their droves.”

“We can’t thank our customers enough. When we had to cancel tours, people were telling us to keep the money.” Peter’s voice cracks as he recalls that moment in time. “It was quite overwhelming.”

It’s not just the graciousness received that means so much to the Maxfields. They do what they can to pay such kindness forward.

Maxfield's Travel raised over £4,000 for Weston Park Hospital and Rotherham Hospital, while one of their beloved employees was battling cancer.

Ben Maxfield even ran the Manchester 10K to raise funds for Sheffield Children’s Hospital, raising over £1,000.

“Last year, we lost my dog Pepper. We did a day-trip in her memory to raise money for Thornberry Animal Sanctuary. We raised £2,000”

And it’s not just the customer base who deserve praise, according to Peter.

“I think that we’re very grateful that we have perhaps the best staff we’ve had for the last 40-years.

“Our driving staff, the office staff and our maintenance staff they’re great. Just no bother.”

That’s a thought that Ben echos, saying: “Steve, our transport manager, he’s crackers but he’s amazing. So thorough, he’s marvellous.

“Downstairs, Angela is our front of house. Customers love her, we love her. Like Steve they’re not members of the team… they’re family.

“We eat lunch, we break bread together five days a week. It’s lovely.”

The company employs nine drivers and it has a 12-coaches to use for a variety of different purposes and excursions.

When it comes to the business side of things, Maxfield's retains a very loyal and consistent customer base that’s continuing to grow.

Sharon even knows the number off the top of her head: “It was 11,500 last year, and this year we’re offering over 360 day trips across the country,” she said.

“We try to provide something different,” says Ben. “People want something unusual that piques their interest.”

Ben joined the family business back in 2014 as a Senior Travel Consultant, he has since become company director, alongside his parents.

“My mum came in and said, ‘why don’t you come and work for Maxfield's?’ I said ‘sure’, at first I felt like a fish out of water.

“I went from selling £4,000 Gucci dresses at Harvey Nichols to sending people to Skegness,” Ben joked.

“It’s a big switch, working with your mum and dad. They’re your biggest critics. But… I can say it hand on heart that it’s the best job in the world.”

Maxfield's Executive Travel is based in Aughton, near Rotherham in South Yorkshire.

You can take a look at the excursions and tours being offered here: https://www.maxfieldstravel.co.uk/ or you can give them a call on: 0114 287 2622