B&Q was founded in March 1969 in Southampton, England, by Richard Block and David Quayle, following the purchase and fitting out of a former furniture warehouse in the Southampton suburb of Portswood. Originally called Block & Quayle, the duo soon shortened the brand to B&Q as stock delivery notes and invoices were already unofficially abbreviating the name. By each working over sixty hour, six day weeks, they were able to repay their bank overdraft within six months of opening, with turnover reaching £1million within the first five years of operating. Following the departure of co founder Block in 1976, the chain
Eric Quayle Eric Quayle Eric Stanley Quayle (1921–2001) was a noted British bibliophile, collector, historian and author. Over his lifetime he built up a substantial collection of books (16,000 volumes at the time of his death) and literary ephemera amongst which were materials by and about R. M. Ballantyne, the Victorian adventure story writer. Quayle's own work was mainly related to the themes of collecting books but he also produced a noted biography of Ballantyne (1967) and two books of folk tales: one of Cornish Tales ("The Magic Ointment") and one of Japanese Tales ("The Shining Princess"). These were both illustrated by