About Us

Yorkshire born and bred

Based in the beautiful market town of Stokesley, North Yorkshire, Millbry Hill is part of the Armstrong Richardson group – believed to be one of the oldest independent family-run Agricultural and Equestrian businesses in the country.  

It’s a company that’s fiercely proud of its heritage and of the history it shares with its customers.

Business owners, the Jones’ family, have retained the company’s original historic premises and they take great pride in knowing that many of their customers are third and fourth generation.

The company began life in 1925 when Yorkshire grocer Robert Armstrong and local auctioneer Appleton ‘App’ Richardson took over William Hodgson’s seed business.

Initially, the company’s primary function was supplying animal feed to local farmers.

The feed was brought into Stokesley by rail and taken by horse and cart to the company’s warehouse - an impressive 18th Century mill which in recent years has been transformed into one of the largest equestrian stores in the North of England.

In just a few short years Armstrong Richardson became a household name in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

The relationship the company enjoyed with its customers was strengthened during World War Two when Robert Armstrong and App Richardson worked tirelessly to keep supplies flowing even during the most difficult days.

Over the years the company continued to grow.

In the 1970s, under the leadership of managing director Brian Jones, the company began to increase its range to include equestrian supplies, country clothing and pet products.

The range was so successful that when Armstrong Richardson celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1975, the company’s retail shop on Stokesley High Street was a regular destination for thousands of North Yorkshire pet owners.

Thanks to a fleet of 10-tonne trucks the company also continued to supply its huge army of agricultural customers across North Yorkshire, South Durham and Teesside.

It’s a relationship which has lasted throughout the decades!

Appleton 'App' Richardson
The Old Armstrong Richardson Shop

The company’s commitment to the community was further evident in 1981 when Stokesley Town Bridge – a vital access route - was in need of serious repair.

Armstrong Richardson stepped into the breach and helped finance the rebuilding of the bridge, resulting in unrestricted access for local residents and a lifeline for the local farming community.

During the 1990s Armstrong Richardson experienced colossal growth and company chairman, Brian Jones' three sons Mark, Nigel and Craig took over the day-to-day running of the business. They remain as company directors to this day with Serena Jones, Nigel’s daughter, now leading Millbry Hill as Retail Director.

In the years that followed the retail, agricultural and wholesale trade divisions of the business began to rapidly outgrow the old mill building.

This resulted in the head office and trade division relocating in 2007 to a purpose built office and warehouse on Stokesley Business Park - now also home to the firm’s rapidly expanding internet team.

The 50,000sq ft warehouse holds more than 12,000 products and in 2009 the retail division was rebranded to Millbry Hill – an amalgamation of the company’s three retail stores at the time, The Mill at Stokesley, Broken Brae at Richmond and Selly Hill at Whitby.

A fourth store was later opened in Whitehaven, Cumbria, in 2019 we opened our fifth store in Sutton-on-the Forest, located outside of York and in 2023 we opened our most recent store in Thirsk.

In addition, our website now enables us to supply our pet products, equestrian supplies and country clothing, not just to the North East and Cumbria, but to customers throughout the UK and around the world.