About Mister Micawbers Cottage Doors

Making cupboard doors by hand in Cheshire since the 1980s

Before you spend several hundred pounds with a small workshop you found online, you are entitled to know exactly who you are dealing with. So here is who we are.

Mister Micawbers Cottage Doors is a traditional door-making workshop based at Grindley Cottage, Church Lane, Crewe, in the Cheshire countryside. We have been making solid pine cupboard doors, wardrobe doors and drawer fronts by hand since the 1980s; four decades of the same trade, from the same corner of Cheshire. Every door that leaves the workshop is made to order, to the millimetre, from Grade A pine.

 

Our story

Mister Micawbers began in the 1980s with a furniture restorer from Prenton on the Wirral. He made Victorian-style doors for the furniture he restored, and demand for those doors soon outgrew the restoration work itself. When he retired 18 years ago, Malcolm took over the business and moved the workshop to Grindley Cottage in Crewe, where every door has been made since.

The doors are still made the same way: real timber, proper joints, and one pair of hands responsible for each order from cutting list to final sanding.

And the name? People often ask. Wilkins Micawber is the eternally hopeful gentleman from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. The name comes from the workshop's beginnings making Victorian-style doors for restored furniture, and it grew with the business from there. It is an unusual name for a door maker, but nobody forgets it, and after forty years we would not change it.

Who makes your doors

Your doors are made in our workshop by Malcolm, who has run Mister Micawbers for 18 years. Nothing is outsourced and nothing is imported in flat packs; when you ring us, you speak to the person who will actually make your doors. That matters when you are matching an existing kitchen, because the person taking your dimensions understands exactly what the person cutting the timber needs to know. Here, they are the same person.

Exterior of the Mister Micawbers Cottage Doors workshop at Grindley Cottage, Crewe, a cream painted brick building with a white garage door surrounded by trees

Four decades at a glance

Mister Micawbers is founded by a furniture restorer from Prenton on the Wirral, making Victorian-style doors for restored furniture.

Malcolm takes over the business as the founder retires, and the workshop moves to Grindley Cottage, Crewe.

Admitted to the Guild of Master Craftsmen.

Still handmade, still Cheshire, still one door at a time.

The workshop at Grindley Cottage

We work from Grindley Cottage on Church Lane, Crewe, and have done for 18 years. In the timber store you will find Grade A pine from managed, renewable forests, stored and acclimatised before it is cut. On the benches, the same joinery techniques the business started with in the 1980s: glued scribe and profile joints on the frames, solid timber panels, everything sanded by hand before it leaves.

We are a workshop rather than a showroom, and proudly so; sawdust, timber racks and doors at every stage of making, rather than polished displays.

The Guild of Master Craftsmen

We have been members of the Guild of Master Craftsmen, the UK's principal association of skilled tradespeople, since March 2017. Membership is not bought with a logo fee; applicants are vetted and must demonstrate a track record of skill, integrity and quality of work before being admitted, and members are expected to maintain those standards. You can verify our listing on the Guild's Find a Craftsman directory.

Why we work in solid pine

We could make doors faster and cheaper in MDF. We don't, because a solid pine door can be stained or painted any colour, repaired and refinished over decades, and comes from a renewable source. It is the honest material for cottage and farmhouse cabinetry, and it is why customers with solid pine kitchens from the 80s and 90s come to us when the big retailers can no longer match their doors. Read more on why solid pine, and compare our five door styles.

Frequently asked questions

Who actually makes the doors?

Malcolm at our own workshop at Grindley Cottage in Crewe. We do not outsource manufacturing or resell imported doors; every order is made here by hand.

The business dates from the 1980s, and the current owner has run it for 18 years. Four decades of making solid pine cupboard doors, wardrobe doors and drawer fronts in Cheshire.

Grindley Cottage, Church Lane, Crewe, Cheshire, CW3 9AX. We are a working workshop rather than a showroom.

Usually around 10 working days from confirmed order, though we will confirm the current lead time when you order.

Yes, we have been members of the Guild of Master Craftsmen since March 2017. The Guild vets applicants on skill, integrity and quality of work before admitting them, and our listing can be verified on the Guild's Find a Craftsman directory. We are also rated 5 stars by our customers on Google.

Measure up and call us on 01270 829 179 or 07979 854 600, or send us your dimensions for a free quotation. If you are not sure where to start, our How to Order guide walks you through measuring and choosing a style.

Ready to talk doors?

Measure up and call us on 01270 829 179 or 07979 854 600, or send us your dimensions for a free quotation below. If you are not sure where to start, our How to Order guide walks you through measuring and choosing a style.