Bursgreen was originally set up in about 1931 by a Mr. Burroughs and a Mr. Green (hence "Bursgreen"). In 1932 Lodge Holme Mill was taken over by the engineering firm of Burrows and Green and during World War Two tracer bullets were made there. A special machine to make the bullets had to be constructed at the factory first. Seventy women were employed on munitions work.

Bursgreen operated with the stated intention of manufacturing newer, lighter woodworking machinery designs based on the lightweight machines then appearing in the USA. The principle was to build a fabricated base with cast-iron tops or "thin skin" cast iron framed machine that could be built more or less "on-demand" as opposed to the traditional cast and machine a batch then common to the industry. To that end Bursgreen were certainly successful. By 1947 Burroughs Green had become part of John Sagar & Sons (Halifax, England - established 1875) one if the largest woodworking manufacturing companies in this country - and were selling through a new company, Sagar (Developments) Ltd.

By 1954 Sagar and Bursgreen were trading as Sagar Bursgreen Ltd. and the two factories had been “hived-off” as Bursgreen (Durham) Ltd., Fence Houses Houhton-le-Spring, Co Durham. and Bursgreen (Colne) Ltd., Lodge Holme Trawden, Nr Colne, Lancs.

Later the firm became Sagar Bursgreen, and was eventually taken over by Wadkin in 1956 and became Wadkin Bursgreen. The firm and works at Lodge Holme closed down in 1993 when all work was transferred to Wadkin’s Leicester branch.