John Barrow, owner and chairman of Farmington Natural Stone has resumed responsibility for day-to-day management of the company following the retirement of Martin Robins, who has been managing director for the past 10 years.

Martin Robins courted publicity, throwing Farmington into the limelight in 1994 in a row with Bath Stone Group over what constituted Bath stone. Robins said Farmington stone, quarried in the Cotswolds, was indistinguishable from Bath stone and started calling it Bath stone. The debate sparked local television, radio and press coverage, as well as being reported in the national press.

The following year he refused to back down after using the Stone Federation logo in an advertisement, even though his membership had lapsed three years earlier. He tangled with the Federation and Trading Standards officers and, again, made maximum use of the publicity potential the row gave him.

Later exploits included rows with planners who rejected Farmington stone for new build because they said it did not match existing stone in certain Cotswold tons and villages.

And when Farmington had established their stone fireplaces in the fireplace market, he brought the company into conflict with the makers of man-made fireplaces that were given names like \'Cotswold Stone\', again gaining national press coverage for his campaign against what he saw as the \'theft\' of natural stone\'s names.

John Barrow says: "Martin had always planned to retire at about this time and to become involved in charity work. He has done a superb job in developing the company\'s business activities and he leaves behind a very buoyant company with full order books for its natural building stone as well as being the UK market leader in the supply of natural stone fireplaces."