Born in 1900, Francis G C Jackson, a Civil Engineer by trade, founded the company in 1928 from offices in Harrow.

In the early 1930’s the extension of the Metropolitan and Piccadilly Underground lines from Central London made available thousands of acres of building land. Francis Jackson and his partners realised the potential for building low cost housing within half an hour of Central London and were soon selling an astonishing 60 houses a week. Prices ranged from £465 and mortgages were arranged through the Abbey Road Building Society (now Abbey National) with a deposit of £35 and repayments of just 57.5p a week!

Francis Jackson also pioneered revolutionary marketing of new homes, including travelling to France to advertise on commercial radio, which did not exist in Britain at that time. He also provided prospective purchasers with chauffeur driven cars from local tube stations to view the new sites.

The outbreak of the Second World War stopped speculative house building and Francis Jackson Ltd were seconded to aid the war effort, principally building airfields including Silverstone (now the Motor Racing Circuit). After 1945 the emphasis was placed on rebuilding damaged properties such as schools and hospitals and the company became more involved in contracting with only a small house building division.

In 1962, Francis Jackson’s son Robert (the present Chairman) joined the company having previously worked as a Civil Engineer. He believed then, as now, that the future was in house building and formed Francis Jackson Homes. He began buying land outside the London Green Belt and by the end of the 1960’s the company was only building houses and most of the sites were in and around Northamptonshire.

In 1978 the company relocated to its present base in Olney and continues today to be a family owned company building high quality homes in selected locations. More than seventy years have passed since Francis Jackson’s vision became a reality, but the founding principles remain unchanged. The company continues to provide homes of individual character, in sought after locations, using innovative marketing and involving purchasers by offering choice and flexibility.