In 2004, JBA merged with the long-established consulting engineering practice of Grantham, Brundell and Farran.

Richard Boxall Grantham set up as a Consulting Engineer in London in 1844 and his son Richard Fuge Grantham took over as Senior Partner on the death of his father in 1891. Benjamin Shaw Brundell started in Doncaster practice in 1857 and on his death in 1897 his nephew H A Brundell became Senior Partner. C E Farran, who had joined H A Brundell in 1926, was the Senior Partner from 1928, and in 1935 acquired the London practice of R B Grantham and Son. After the Second World War his son T A D Farran rejoined the firm and the two practices were formally amalgamated under the title of Grantham, Brundell and Farran.

For its first 40 years the firm was heavily involved in the survey, design and construction of the UK railway network and contributed to such renowned structures as King's Cross Station. 'GBF' is best known to day for its work on land drainage, subsidence engineering and water level management. This started in 1864 with the appointment of Brundell as Engineer to the Dun Drainage Commissioners (at a salary of £84 a year!) and over the next 140 years the firm's engineers and surveyors and latterly ecologists have contributed to most of the major schemes in the UK.

The Offices of the firm have been situated in Doncaster since 1958 and the South Yorkshire presence continues to this day at JBAs offices in the centre of the town.

Arterial land drainage pumping stations are still the prime niche of specialist engineering expertise and since 1985, over 60 pumping stations have been completed with the Firm as Engineer to the contracts.

Jeremy Benn
Managing Director and Co-Founder