Fairclough was born in 1853 in Adlington, Lancashire.^[1] He apprenticed locally and duly qualified as a stonemason.^[1] He set up in business on his own in 1883, initially carving funeral monuments.^[1] He subsequently brought his son, Leonard Miller Fairclough, into the business which was renamed Leonard Fairclough & Son.^[1] They gradually moved into general contracting building their first bridge in 1905.^[1]

Leonard Fairclough Senior was Chairman of the business until he died in 1927.^[1]