OTHER INDUSTRIES
Bacon and associated products
Wiltshire's reputation as a producer of good
bacon was of long-standing as early as the 18th century, when pigs were normally cured on the farms. (fn. 1)
By the 19th century 'Wiltshire bacon' had come to
mean bacon cut and cured by a particular method:
the pig's carcass was singed after slaughter, the hair,
feet, head, offal, intestines, tail, and backbone were
removed, the two sides were separated and then
cured whole. The name of the county used in this
way was regarded as a guarantee of high quality, and
there were complaints that unscrupulous retailers
used the term 'Wiltshire bacon' to advertise bacon
produced neither in the county nor by this method. (fn. 2)
The history of how Wiltshire, despite the change to
factory production, maintained its reputation for
good bacon, and also gave its name to a special type
of cure, is almost entirely the history of one firm,
C. & T. Harris (Calne) Ltd. (fn. 3)
This firm grew out of two small retail shops at
Calne, one a pork butcher's shop and the other a
grocery shop and bakery. The butcher's shop was
opened in the late 18th century by a certain John
Harris, when he first came to Calne. When he died
in 1791 the business was carried on by his widow but
on a very small scale: she 'thought it a good week if
she had killed five or six pigs and sold clear out on a
Saturday night'. (fn. 4) It was her sons, John and Henry,
who built up the business. John opened a shop of his
own at the corner of the High Street in 1805–6.
Henry helped his mother until her death in 1809;
three years later he took over the grocery business
and bakery in Butcher's Row (later Church Street),
previously belonging to his father-in-law, Joseph
Perkins. (fn. 5) Each brother made a small quantity of
bacon at the back of the shop, and this part of their
trade became increasingly important. Before the
construction of the Great Western Railway, (fn. 6) large
droves of Irish pigs travelled from Bristol to London
by road. One of the regular resting-places was near
Calne, and these herds became the Harris brothers'
chief source of supply. Both businesses expanded
until brought to a standstill in 1847 by the shortage of Irish pigs following the failure of the potato
crop in the previous year. In order to overcome
this crisis George Harris, the youngest son of the
second John Harris, went to America to explore the
possibility of killing and curing pigs there and sending them home to be sold. For a year he travelled
about America visiting many bacon-curers, and sending home bacon, lard, cheese, and other provisions.
After a brief visit home in the summer of 1848, he
again returned to America and opened a baconcuring establishment in Schenectady (New York
State). The venture was not successful, however,
and the American branch was closed. (fn. 7)
Despite its apparent failure, George Harris's trip
to America was the most important turning-point in
the whole history of the firm, because while he was
there he observed the extensive use of ice for cooling
purposes. Attempts had been made at Calne to find
a way of curing bacon in hot weather instead of
curing it in the winter and keeping it hard salted for
summer use. These, however, had met with no success until George Harris suggested that they should
follow the American method of cooling. The first
ice-house was constructed at the High Street factory
in 1856; the ice was stored on iron floors in huge
chambers above the curing-rooms. After a great deal
of experiment, it was found that charcoal was the
best insulating material for use in the walls round
the ice-chamber. The ice was collected locally in
hard winters, and imported from Norway if not
available in England. The construction of this type
of ice-house gave the Harris family a lead over all
other English bacon curers not only in curing
throughout the year but also in developing a milder
cure, which eventually almost completely replaced
the old hard-salted cure. The volume of trade became so great that in 1863 the Harris family joined
with other local interests to finance a branch railway
line between Calne and Chippenham. (fn. 8) The ice-house
was patented by Thomas Harris in 1864; most of the
important bacon-curers throughout the country took
advantage of the chance to improve their output by
constructing such ice-houses under licence. (fn. 9) The
income from the patent together with their own expansion enabled the two Calne businesses to increase their rate of mechanization: at the High
Street premises a new ice-house, furnace, and pigsties were built in 1869; (fn. 10) and ten years later it was
said that at the Church Street factory the pigs were
moved almost entirely by machinery after they had
been killed. (fn. 11)
There were two parallel businesses throughout
most of the 19th century. When John Harris died in
1837, the High Street factory passed to his son,
Thomas, (fn. 12) who made his three eldest sons partners
in 1885, when the business became known as
Thomas Harris & Sons. Henry Harris died in 1861
and his nephew George took over the Church Street
business. John Harris's fifth son, Charles, joined his
brother George in 1863 and after George's death this
business became known as Charles Harris & Co. (fn. 13)
The two businesses developed along similar lines
and were roughly the same size: in 1879 Charles
Harris & Co. employed between 60 and 70 men and
sometimes handled over 1,000 pigs a week; (fn. 14) this
was approximately the same number as Thomas
Harris & Sons could handle. (fn. 15) There was always
close co-operation between the two firms and in July
1888 they were amalgamated as Charles & Thomas
Harris & Co. Ltd.
The period shortly before and after this amalgamation was marked by further mechanization, (fn. 16) by
the use of brine refrigeration in place of the ice-house
method, and by a planned campaign to persuade
farmers to breed the type of lean pig best suited to
bacon. (fn. 17) In 1887 pigs were received from 25 counties
in England and Wales, of which Wiltshire, Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset, and Devon were the most
important, and a large number of pigs were still received from Ireland. (fn. 18) By this time bacon was exported to many parts of the world including most
European countries, America, Australia, India,
China, the Cape of Good Hope, and New Zealand.
Some bacon was extra-cured and smoked for sending
to hot climates. (fn. 19) By the end of the century the Calne
factories also supplied the principal Transatlantic,
Pacific, and Far Eastern steamship lines. (fn. 20) There
was considerable competition by cheaper meat from
America and the colonies, but by concentration on
high-quality products the Harris Company survived
this. It was said in The British Journal of Commerce
that in January 1889 Calne was 'the chief seat of the
bacon-curing industry of England'. At the end of the
century it was claimed, possibly with some exaggeration, that Harris's produced more bacon than
any other four or five curers in England together.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 pigs were slaughtered each
week and over 200 workmen and 30 clerks were
employed. (fn. 21)
Bacon was by far the most important product of
the firm throughout the 19th century but even before the amalgamation sausages and lard were also
made on a large scale. It was said that on a single day
just before Christmas in 1878, 'Messrs. Harris made
a mile and a half in length of sausages'. (fn. 22) It seems
probable that pork pies were always made by Henry
Harris and by Joseph Perkins before him: in the
middle of the 19th century Henry Harris was still
described as a 'baker and bacon factor'. (fn. 23) The outstanding feature of the 20th-century history of the
Harris business has been the expansion of these subsidiary products or small goods, both in quantity and
in the number of varieties. Before the First World
War the main varieties were pork sausages and
sausage meat, pork-tomato sausages, pork pies, veal
and ham pies, veal, ham and egg pies, cooked luncheon sausage, Bath chaps, polonies, saveloys, and
galantine of ham and tongue in glasses. After the
war many more varieties of cooked sausages, pies,
cooked meats, meat and fish pastes, and specialities
in glasses and tins were developed.
Many extensions to the factory have been necessary to deal with the expanding trade in the period
since 1917 when Sir John Bodinnar became managing director. New sausage and small-goods factories
were built in 1919–21 and again in 1931 on the south
side of Church Street. The manufacture of bacon
remained on the north side of Church Street and in
1933–4 extensive alterations were made there: new
dry-cure and tank-cure cellars were installed, additional chillrooms and a hanging room were built and
new bacon-smoking stores were added. Most of this
work was undertaken during slump conditions, but
it had been justified before the outbreak of the Second
World War, and enabled the firm to supply the armed
forces with large quantities of tinned and fresh food
throughout the war. After the war yet further extensions and mechanization were carried out in the
bacon factory; the result was that between 1930 and
1956 the bacon-curing capacity was trebled. Tankcuring began in 1932 and by 1957 most of the bacon
was tank-cured; some of the original high-quality
dry-cure bacon, however, was still produced every
week. The growth of the sausages, small-goods,
and canning department was even greater, and
the capacity of the factories was increased at least
tenfold between the beginning of the 20th century
and 1956. A by-products factory was built near
the station in 1930, so that in addition to food
the firm makes fertilizers, feeding-stuffs, and soap
stock, and provides materials for medicinal products, curled hair for upholstery, and bristles for
brushes. (fn. 24)
The company acquired several factories outside
Wiltshire between 1901 and 1930: factories at Redruth (Cornw.), Totnes and Tiverton (Devon), and
Kidlington (Oxon.) were taken under direct control;
factories at Chippenham (see below, the Wiltshire
Bacon Co.), Ipswich, Needham Market (Suff.),
Highbridge (Som.), Dunmow (Essex), and Eastleigh
(Hants) were operated by subsidiary companies. The
acquisition of these businesses greatly increased the
amount of office work done at Calne. Warehouses
were also acquired in a number of important towns.
Since its earliest days the company has distributed
most of its own products direct to retailers; (fn. 25) a large
selling organization was developed and by 1939 most
of the selling was being done by full-time employees.
The growth since 1917 of the central office staff and
distributing organization for the whole group of factories and warehouses, as well as the growth of the
factory, is illustrated in Table 1.
The Harris family ceased to control the firm which
bears their name in 1920, and in 1922 some of the
shares were acquired by the Marsh family, the Midland bacon-curers. The Harris family's connexion
with the Wiltshire bacon industry, however, was not
broken for long, because in 1924 J. M. Harris and his
son, R. J. Harris (son and grandson of Thomas
Harris), acquired the control of Bowyer, Philpott &
Payne Ltd. at Trowbridge, and changed the name
of the company to Bowyers (Wiltshire Bacon) Ltd.
This firm, capable of curing 1,000 pigs a week in
1957, also grew out of a small retail shop.
Table 1
Growth in Personnel at Calne, 1917–57 (fn. 26)
|
Year | Factory | Office | Travellers and van salesmen | Warehouses | Total |
Factory | Office |
1917 | 550 | 90 | 11 | | | 651 |
1922 | 465 | 120 | 31 | 13 | 4 | 633 |
1927 | 880 | 150 | 62 | 17 | 4 | 1,113 |
1934 | 894 | 164 | 104 | 5 | 4 | 1,171 |
1939 | 1,008 | 189 | 126 | 5 | 5 | 1,333 |
1942 | 1,026 | 172 | 111 | 19 | 20 | 1,348 |
1947 | 792 | 168 | 98 | 25 | 30 | 1,113 |
1952 | 1,415 | 248 | 120 | 74 | 48 | 1,905 |
1957 | 1,389 | 310 | 234 | 115 | 68 | 2,116 |
Abraham Bowyer opened a grocery shop in Fore
Street, Trowbridge, in the early 19th century. (fn. 27) It is
said that he began curing bacon almost immediately
and that he was also a miller. (fn. 28) By 1880 the business,
then run by Abraham's son, Elijah, occupied the mill
at Innox as well as the Fore Street premises: the firm
were described as wholesale bacon-curers, cheese
factors, millers, and grocers. (fn. 29) A public company was
formed in 1891 under the name Bowyer, Philpott &
Co. Ltd. In 1898 the company became Bowyer,
Philpott & Payne Ltd. with the acquisition of the
business of John Payne, another small Fore Street
bacon-curer and sausage-maker. (fn. 30) The making of
sausages was an important activity of the original
company at this date. (fn. 31) By the beginning of the First
World War the company were probably curing about
400 pigs a week, but just before 1924 the number had
dropped to 60 or 80 pigs a week. (fn. 32)
When the firm changed hands in 1924 considerable reorganization took place: the old mill was reconstructed and new factory buildings were erected.
The manufacture of feeding-stuffs, which had been
carried out in the mill, was abandoned, and all effort
concentrated on the manufacture of bacon, lard,
sausages, pies, cooked meat, and tinned meats. The
retail shop in Fore Street once belonging to John
Payne was, however, maintained. Since 1924 the
business has expanded more or less continuously,
especially since the legislation of 1931–3 aimed at
stabilizing agricultural marketing. During the
Second World War meat and sausages were tinned
for the War Office. Throughout its history the firm
has produced high-quality dry-cured 'Wiltshire
bacon', but tank-cured bacon was also made by 1956.
The pigs have mainly come from Wiltshire and the
adjoining counties, and the products have been
sold in London, and throughout southern England,
Wales, and the Midlands. In 1953 the company purchased a large block of four-storey buildings, which
they converted for office purposes. In 1954 the whole
of the site was purchased, together with large buildings previously used by Kemp & Hewitt, woollen
manufacturers. (fn. 33) This site adjoins the main factory
of the company, and is being remodelled for the
special requirements of Bowyer's industry. This development was not complete by 1956 but even so
over 400 workpeople were employed by the company.
Most of the other bacon-curing firms working in
Wiltshire in 1956, together with many other firms
not surviving until that date, (fn. 34) were founded between 1877 and 1900. The majority were apparently
small family businesses, often combining baconcuring with a retail butcher's or grocer's shop.
J. H. Case Ltd. of Trowbridge still retained this
character in 1956, although it then controlled a small
chain of retail shops. The first shop was opened in
Mortimer Street in 1878; the bacon-curing has
always been done at the back of this shop, and distributed by wholesalers in Westbury, Bristol, and
South Wales. The worst crisis experienced by the
firm was at the height of the South Wales slump
from 1929 to 1932. Before the Second World War a
large mail-order trade was done with north Scotland,
the Western Isles, and the Shetland Isles. Sausages
and other 'small goods' have also been produced
throughout the firm's history but only for local
distribution. The business was not turned into a
company until 1938, and the maximum number of
pigs ever cured in a week was about 400; the usual
capacity in 1956 was 300 pigs a week, and eleven
men were employed on the bacon-curing side of the
business. (fn. 35) Two firms founded a year earlier, Adye
& Hinwood Ltd. of Malmesbury, and Frank Moody
Ltd. of Warminster, still occupied their original site
in 1956, when the firms had a capacity of 200 and
250 pigs a week respectively. (fn. 36)
The three firms surviving from the 1890's differ
from those founded earlier because they were all
established as limited companies. The avowed aim
of the Wiltshire Bacon Curing Co. Ltd., incorporated
in 1890, was to provide the Wiltshire farmers with
an alternative market for their pigs—'the Wiltshire
bacon trade being practically a monopoly'. (fn. 37) The
first chairman and managing director was Henry
Herbert Smith, the agent for the Marquess of Lansdowne, the Earl of Crewe, Lord Methuen, and other
local landowners. (fn. 38) A foundry and engineering works
in Foundry Lane was bought; it was adapted for
curing and in 1891 the manufacture of 'Royal Wilts.'
bacon began. Hams, lard, sausages, black puddings,
polonies, brawn, and cooked Bath chaps were also
made. In 1895 the company acquired the shares of
the Chippenham Cheese Factory Ltd. and this business was carried on alongside the manufacture of
bacon until 1919; this was a further development of
the practice, frequent in the late 19th century, for
the same man to be both a bacon factor and a cheese
factor. (fn. 39) In 1897 the company took over the Bradenham Ham Co. and since it was wound up in 1921
'Bradenham' hams, cured by a secret recipe, have
been manufactured by the Wiltshire Bacon Co.
In 1920 the shares of the Wiltshire Bacon Curing
Co. were acquired by the Harris business and since
1922 the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of C. & T. Harris (Calne) Ltd., the firm whose
position they had set out to challenge. The bacon producing capacity remained fairly constant at Chippenham from 1891 to 1934, when a tank-cure cellar was
constructed, thereby increasing capacity by 50 per
cent. During the Second World War the factory was
closed for bacon-curing under the Bacon-Curing
Concentration Scheme. When curing was resumed
in 1949 further extensions doubled the 1938 baconcuring capacity, and additional lines of 'small goods'
were introduced—meat pies and pasties, roast legs
of pork, savoury ducks, and pork-meat loaf. The
number of employees was 43 in 1914, 102 in 1939,
137 in 1950, and 290 in 1957. Throughout its history the company has distributed its products in
England, Scotland, and Wales. At first the pigs were
drawn from farms within a 50-mile radius of Chippenham, but this was gradually extended.
St. Margaret's Wiltshire Bacon Co. Ltd. began
production in 1895 at The Green, Stratton St.
Margaret (now Oxford Road, Swindon). A substantial proportion of its output was sold locally. In
1947 it was acquired by Brown & Knight Ltd. of
Lambeth, London, bacon-curers and food-distributors. In 1956 about 50 people were employed in
the factory. (fn. 40)
The Central Wiltshire Bacon Co. Ltd. at Bath Row,
Devizes, has retained its independence; it was formed
in 1899 and the only major crisis was during the
Second World War, when it was closed. The period
since it reopened in 1950 has been its most successful; in 1956 the capacity was about 350 pigs a week
and there were 30 employees. (fn. 41)
Almost all bacon-curing factories produce also
lard, sausages, and other associated products. The
only factory in Wiltshire devoted wholly to baconcuring is the branch factory at Chippenham of the
Bristol firm of Spear Bros. & Clark Ltd. This factory
was built by the Wiltshire Farmers' Co-operative
Association but had been closed for some years when
the factory was bought by Spear Bros. & Clark in
1916. In 1956 the number of pigs cured in the factory varied from 100 to 300 a week. (fn. 42)
The west and north-west of the county around
Chippenham has always had the greatest concentration of bacon-curing establishments. The only
factory of any size in the south of the county was
established at Downton in 1929 in the building which
was originally the workhouse and prison; it was incorporated as the South Wilts. Bacon Curing Co.
Ltd. The directors of this company were local meat
traders or connected with local farming, and the
main object was to provide the retailers with pork
and bacon. It would have been impossible to choose a
worse time for entering the bacon industry and by
1934 the factory was scarcely functioning and most
of the capital had been lost. The directors wished to
participate in the Ministry of Agriculture BaconDevelopment Scheme. In order, therefore, to raise
more capital they approached I. Beer & Sons Ltd.
of London, a large wholesale company concerned
primarily with the distribution of bacon, and this
company took over the South Wilts. Bacon Curing
Co. The reformed company enlarged and modernized the premises: the interior of the old building
was completely rebuilt, and new buildings, added at
the rear between 1934 and 1939 and from 1948 to
1954, have dwarfed the original one. By 1935 the
factory had a capacity of 500 pigs a week. A small
cannery was established in 1938 for tinning gammons. During the Second World War the factory
made sausages and small goods as well as tinned
bacon for the armed forces. The extensions after the
war increased the capacity to 1,600 pigs a week and
by 1956 there were about 100 employees. Fertilizer,
bone meal, and glue are produced as by-products at
the factory. (fn. 43)
The success of the South Wilts. Bacon Curing Co.
at Downton illustrates the greater stability in the industry as a whole since the legislation of 1933. (fn. 44) The
pig cycle was almost certainly the cause of the failure
of many firms begun in the late 19th and early 20th
century. Companies as well as family businesses
appear in the directories and then disappear again
after a few years: for example, out of the 20 baconcurers listed in a 1907 directory, three companies—
the Avon-Vale Bacon Co. at Chippenham, the North
Wilts. Bacon Co. at Swindon, and John Walter &
Co. at Sedgehill, Maiden Bradley, Zeals, and Bourton—had disappeared by 1923. (fn. 45) By 1931 the number of curers was reduced to 12, but 10 of these were
still at work in 1956. All the smaller firms stopped
curing during the Second World War, but they were
allocated bacon for their customers, so that in 1949–
50 they were able to resume production. Despite the
efforts of the Fatstock Marketing Corporation pigs
have often been scarce since 1950, and in 1956 nearly
all the firms, large and small, were working far below
full capacity.
The rate of expansion of the large firms since 1934
has been much greater than that of the smaller firms,
and Harris's has remained by far the largest manufacturer of both bacon and its associated products.
The concentration of bacon-curing in the west of the
county was encouraged during the 18th and 19th
centuries because it was the main cheese-making
area, and, therefore, the farmers kept pigs to use
up the whey. It has been shown, however, that
Harris's first expansion was dependent not on local
pigs but on Irish pigs. The success of Harris's was
itself a potent influence in encouraging other firms,
wishing either to emulate or rival the older firm, to
set up their businesses in the west of the county. All
the curers at work in both 1935 and 1956 obtained
their pigs from a much wider area than the county;
thus, the role of Wiltshire farming in the growth of
the modern bacon-curing industry in Wiltshire must
not be exaggerated.
Dairy products
Dairy-farming has long been practised in Wiltshire. (fn. 46) Not only was butter produced on the scale
normal in a predominantly agricultural county, but
cheese was made in large quantities in the northwest. By the 19th century Wiltshire cheese had
attained some renown. (fn. 47) Dairy farming has remained
a vital part of Wiltshire agriculture. (fn. 48) The use of the
milk produced, however, has changed radically
since the last quarter of the 19th century.
London's demand for liquid milk began to increase rapidly after the cattle plague of 1868, and as
the capital was easily accessible by both road and
rail from Wiltshire, the county became an important
source of supply. The earliest wholesale depot
created primarily for the London market was opened
at Semley in 1871 (see below). Since the beginning
of the 20th century most of the liquid milk sent to
London from Wiltshire has been handled by Wilts.
United Dairies Ltd., who were one of the four largest
wholesaling companies in London by the outbreak
of the First World War (see below). In 1938–9, 51.5
per cent. of the milk from Wiltshire farms was sold
as liquid milk, most of it in London. By 1955–6
liquid milk formed 62.9 per cent., despite an increase
in total production for the year from 57,933 in
1938–9 to 69,101 thousand gallons. (fn. 49)
The second great change is that condensed milk
has replaced cheese as the main milk product. As
shown in Table 1, this replacement is now complete.
Table 1 (fn. 50)
Proportion of Milk Manufactured into Different
Milk Products (fn. 51)
|
Product | 1938–9 | 1955–6 |
Soft cheese | 1% | |
Hard-pressed cheese | 3% | |
Butter | 1% | |
Cream (fresh and sterilized) | 25% | 30% |
Condensed milk and chocolate crumb | 67% | 67% |
Milk powder | 3% | 3% |
The processed cheese made since 1925 at Aplin &
Barrett's Westbury factory is not taken into account
in Table 1, because it is made from Cheddar cheese
and not fresh milk (see below).
The change of product has been accompanied by
an equally far-reaching change in organization, for
Wiltshire participated at an early date in the movement which transferred the manufacture of milk products from the farm-house to the factory. There have
been two distinctive ways by which milk factories
have been established in Wiltshire: through foreign
initiative with the help of foreign capital, and by the
growth of small local concerns. The former way was
responsible for the establishment of the first largescale milk factory in Wiltshire, that of the AngloSwiss Condensed Milk Co. (now the Nestlé Co.
Ltd.) opened at Chippenham in 1873, but the second
way has the longer history.
In the towns dairymen and cheesefactors, who
were not themselves farmers, may have been making
butter and cheese as early as the end of the 18th
century, (fn. 52) although normally the cheesefactors and
cheesemongers were solely wholesale dealers or
agents for buyers unless they were also farmers. (fn. 53) In
1830 there were six cheesefactors at Marlborough
alone, (fn. 54) and in 1859 there were twenty cheesefactors
and five cheesemongers in the county. (fn. 55) After this
date the number of cheesefactors given in the directories declines, but that of tradesmen described as
'dairymen' increases, until in 1911 there were over
150 dairymen. (fn. 56) Many of them were also farmers and
it is not clear to what extent the others made their
own cheese or butter, and to what extent they merely
retailed milk and farm-made produce: the cheese
'factories' said to have been 'recently' established in
Wiltshire in 1868 may have been connected with one
or more of them, but no other details are available. (fn. 57)
Farm-made cheese certainly persisted on a large scale
throughout the 19th century: cheese markets were
held monthly at Chippenham, Devizes, and Salisbury, and weekly at Marlborough, as late as 1903;
and shortly before that date Joseph Neeld of Grittleton paid £5,000 to enlarge the cheese market at
Chippenham. (fn. 58) Many of the dairymen must have
operated on a very small scale, and the important development was the rise from out of their ranks of
businesses which were converted into limited companies. Eleven dairy companies made their appearance between c. 1880 and 1911; but by the later date
three of the earlier companies had ceased to operate,
and three of those surviving in 1911 have since vanished. (fn. 59) There may have been other attempts to
establish companies which failed too quickly to find
a place in the directories. (fn. 60) The most successful of
all these ventures was Wilts. United Dairies Ltd.
formed in 1896–7. (fn. 61) Thus, the firm which has most
radically affected the organization of wholesale milk
distribution and, to a lesser extent, of the manufacture of dairy products, not only in Wiltshire but
also throughout south-west England, was of purely
Wiltshire origin. Its history reflects the interaction
of the development of the London milk trade with
the growth of factories in Wiltshire, and repays a
detailed study.
As the name suggests it was an amalgamation, and
the history of its founders goes back another ten
years. In 1886 or 1887 the Anglo-Swiss Condensed
Milk Co. at Chippenham decided not to renew the
contracts of a number of farmers in Melksham. This
alarmed the farmers, who were afraid of losing the
market for their milk. They prevailed, therefore,
upon Charles Maggs of Melksham (fn. 62) to buy a separator and establish a collecting depot and butter
factory in a farm dairy in Semington Road, Melksham. The only condition which Charles Maggs imposed on the farmers was that they should buy back
75 per cent. of the separated milk at 1d. a gallon. The
arrangement worked so well that the business outgrew the farm dairy, and was moved to an old dyeworks in New Broughton Road about 1888. By the
next year the plant consisted of one Danish and two
Alfa-Laval separators, two Hathaway butter churns,
a steam-engine, and a boiler. The chief markets were
Gloucestershire, South Wales, and Cambridge,
where there was an arrangement to supply butter to
the colleges through Messrs. Arnold of Cambridge.
Liquid milk for London was already proving a
profitable sideline. (fn. 63)
One of the few other companies which attained
any size was the North Wilts. Dairy Co. Ltd. This
company was formed in 1889 by Reginald Butler
(later Sir Reginald) with an authorized capital of
£10,000. New premises were built in Pans Lane,
Devizes. Butter was the main product, but in December 1896 an agreement was made with a Frenchman,
F. O. Blanchot, whereby he was to come to Devizes to
initiate and supervise the manufacture of Bondon
and soft-curd cheese. (fn. 64) Some indication of the success of this firm is given by the fact that when it was
dissolved seven years later the shareholders received
the full value of their holding with a bonus of £1 on
each share. (fn. 65)
The amalgamation of the Melksham company and
the North Wilts. Dairy Co. as Wilts. United Dairies
Ltd. inaugurated the large-scale organization of
liquid milk and milk products in Wiltshire. (fn. 66) The
two main founder companies were joined by the
Frome Dairy Co., of which Charles Maggs was also
head, Joshua Hampton's Dairy at Devizes, (fn. 67) the
Little Cheverell Dairy Co., the Dauntsey Dairy Co.,
and the Cirencester Dairy Co. (fn. 68) Nothing is known of
the previous history of these smaller firms, but the
prime movers of the amalgamation were certainly
Charles Maggs and Reginald Butler. They became
joint managing directors and Charles Maggs was also
chairman of the board of directors. The extent of
his interest in the company was very great for by
December 1897 he had been allotted as vendors'
shares over a third of both the preference and the
ordinary shares issued by that date. (fn. 69) When he died
in 1898 the family connexion with the company was
maintained by his sons, C. W. and J. H. Maggs,
both directors from the beginning.
All the establishments of the founder companies
were maintained with the exception of the Little
Cheverell Dairy, where butter had been made, (fn. 70) but
probably on too small a scale to be worth continuing.
The head office was at the Pans Lane premises,
where butter and soft cheeses were made; there were
also factories or depots at Melksham, Calne, Trowbridge, Dauntsey, Frome (Som.), and Cirencester
(Glos.). (fn. 71) The Melksham butter factory was the
largest: in 1899 it handled approximately 2,000 galls.
of milk a day in winter and 5,000 galls. in summer.
In 1902 or 1903 butter-making was concentrated at
Devizes, and the Melksham factory turned to the production of sweetened condensed milk. At first one
small Sulzer pan, capable of making 336 galls. of
condensed milk in 3 hours, was installed. In the
summer processing started at 7 a.m. and continued until the early hours of the next morning.
Twenty employees, four times the number needed
for making butter in 1899, worked alternate days.
Capacity was doubled in 1906 by the addition of
another condensing pan, and in 1910 the first filling
machine was installed. Melksham also took over the
manufacture of cream when the Calne creamery was
closed in 1903. Finally, roller driers were installed in
1910 for making baby milk powder, and the production of a small quantity of tinned blancmange
began in the same year. (fn. 72)
One of the most important steps in the company's
history was the purchase of a wholesale milk business
at Paddington in 1901. Thereafter, the supply of
liquid milk to London formed an increasingly large
proportion of Wilts. United Dairies' trade. Much of
the milk came from Wiltshire farms but the collection
area also covered parts of Somerset and Gloucestershire, supplying the depots at Frome and Cirencester
respectively. Mr. J. H. Maggs moved to London as
managing director of the London business, and by
the end of the decade Wilts. United Dairies was one
of the four big wholesale firms controlling the supply
of milk to the capital. (fn. 73)
The articles of association had allowed great freedom for expansion if the company throve, and during
its first fifteen years many more firms were taken
over. By August 1912 Wilts. United Dairies ran
several wholesale depots in London for liquid milk
and one for 'fancy provisions'. Condensed milk was
made at Melksham and Bason Bridge (Som.); butter
and fancy cheeses were made at Devizes and Wells
(Som.). There were creameries or depots at Calne,
Trowbridge, Tisbury, Tidworth (serving the military garrison), Frome (Som.), Bridgwater (Som.),
Gillingham (Dors.), and Chef du Pont, near Cherbourg. (fn. 74) Thus, the activities of the firm had already
ranged far outside Wiltshire. The head office and
management, however, remained within the county,
being transferred from Devizes to Bythesea Road,
Trowbridge, in 1913. At the same time, a butter factory was built nearby to take over the business of the
Bridgwater Creameries. (fn. 75) From this time buttermaking virtually ceased at Devizes, which concentrated on the manufacture of Bondon, 'Little
Wilts.' (soft-curd cheese), and miniature Cheddar
cheeses.
There was an element of risk in the extension of
the liquid-milk trade because the demand in London
was fickle. (fn. 76) Moreover, the low prices for butter at
the beginning of the 20th century, due to cheap imported butter from New Zealand and Australia,
forced the company to change over to blending and
distributing butter, and curtailed their own butter
production. (fn. 77) Even when all surplus liquid milk
could be turned into butter or cheese, it was always
difficult to dispose of the skimmed milk or whey
profitably. (fn. 78) Thus, the manufacture of condensed,
and later dried, milk helped to stabilize Wilts. United
Dairies' trade, and enabled the company to expand
its turnover steadily as well as rapidly. Turnover rose
in value from less than £80,000 in 1897 to £500,000
in 1908–9, and well over £1,100,000 in 1914–15. (fn. 79)
The rise in profits did not keep pace with the increase
in turnover, but gross profits rose from £18,968 in
1897 to £88,688 in 1909–10, and £146,293 in 1913–
14. (fn. 80) This progress was not made without some friction with the farmers. In 1913 R. Butler, managing
director of Wilts. United Dairies, felt it necessary to
deny publicly that the company's balance sheet was
an example of how badly the English farmer was
treated by the middleman. He claimed that the
farmers' associations were responsible for low milk
prices through overloading the market. (fn. 81)
The First World War forced the dairy companies
to co-operate in order to release both horses and men.
Despite the anxiety of some of the farmers, (fn. 82) this
soon led to further amalgamations, and in 1915 Wilts.
United Dairies became one of the founder companies of United Dairies Ltd. (fn. 83) The directors of
Wilts. United Dairies arranged that this should
benefit not only their shareholders (fn. 84) but also some of
the staff. It was done by distributing a small number
of unallocated shares among the staff so that they obtained new United Dairies' shares free. (fn. 85) In using
this form of benevolence, if only on a small scale, the
directors were among the forerunners of experiments
in 'co-partnership'. (fn. 86)
United Dairies was first organized as a wholesale
business only. Although a large number of London
retailers were admitted to the company in 1917, in
Wiltshire the retail adjuncts to Wilts. United Dairies
were sold. In 1920, with the acquisition of the Salisbury, Semley, and Gillingham Dairies Co. Ltd. (see
below), United Dairies (Wholesale) Ltd. was created
to take over wholesale milk depots and cheese factories.
Wilts. United Dairies continued as a company
dealing with other milk products. The management
of both these companies remained at Trowbridge,
but as the management of the other wholesale milk
and milk products firms in the new amalgamation
had been transferred to Trowbridge in 1915, the
work was organized on a national, rather than a
local, basis. By 1956 59 creameries and depots in
England, Wales, and Scotland were managed from
Trowbridge; the office staff was 326 compared to 28
in 1913. The directors of Wilts. United Dairies also
became the leaders of United Dairies Ltd. Both Sir
Reginald Butler and then Mr. J. H. Maggs held the
post of chairman for a long period, and it is now
(1957) held by Mr. Leonard Maggs, the youngest
son of Charles Maggs.
While the history of United Dairies Ltd. and its
subsidiaries lies outside the field of county history,
the expansion of their individual factories in Wiltshire has local significance. Melksham is still the
most important. Speed and capacity have been increased by the acquisition of new machinery—in
1923 electrical generating plant, in 1930 a Llewellyn
& James filling-machine dealing with 120 tins a
minute, in 1931–2 new Scott pans each making 1,000
galls. of condensed milk an hour, and can-making
plant making 300 tins a minute. The buildings have
been enlarged and the present main factory was
erected in 1930–3. A river wall, which prevented
flooding not only in the factory but also very
largely in Melksham itself, was built in 1930.
By 1935 total capacity was 51,000 galls. of liquid
milk a day. The chief proprietary brand made was
'Diploma' condensed milk. The export trade began
in 1920 and by 1939, 320,000 cases a year were sent
to all parts of the world, a considerable proportion
of them to Malaya. Large amounts of cream were also
made before the Second World War, and in 1938
Melksham won a cup and a medal for cream at the
Dairy Show. Since the rationalization of milk collection in 1940, most of the Melksham supplies have
been collected in the vale of Pewsey. The scheme
gives priority to the demand for liquid milk; this has
handicapped the manufacture of milk products so
that the 1939 level of production of both condensed
milk and cream has not been completely regained
at Melksham. The milk intake there in 1956 was
approximately 40,000 galls. a day in summer and
30,000 galls. a day in winter, which is well below the
total capacity. Exports also lag behind the pre-war
figure: in 1955 220,000 cases of condensed milk were
exported. The staff in 1956 averaged 230. (fn. 87)
Butter-making was continued at Trowbridge until
1939, when the business was transferred to Chard
Junction (Som.). The production of cheeses, particularly soft-curd cheeses, at Devizes continued with
little change from before the First World War to
1941, when the factory was closed. (fn. 88)
In 1920 the Salisbury, Semley, and Gillingham
Dairies Co. Ltd. was brought into the amalgamation
under the control of United Dairies (Wholesale)
Ltd. This firm was first established at Semley in
about 1871; it is, therefore, the oldest milk firm in
Wiltshire of which records survive. Unlike Wilts.
United Dairies and its founder companies, it was
formed with direct reference to the London market.
Thomas Kirby, the founder, was previously a London milk vendor. He wanted to prevent the waste of
surplus milk in summer by manufacturing it into
butter and cheese. The business grew gradually, and
a second depot was opened at Gillingham (Dors.).
In 1880 about 1,500 galls. of milk were sold daily in
addition to the sale of butter and cheese. After this
progress was much more rapid and new depots were
opened at Salisbury, Tisbury, Temple Combe
(Som.), and Wincanton (Som.). Two London businesses were also acquired. (fn. 89) In 1890 it was formed
into a limited company, whose chief shareholder was
W. H. Gramshaw, a London stock-jobber. (fn. 90) The
company prospered at first but between 1896 and
1909 (when the surviving records end) they did little
more than maintain their position. By far the greatest
volume of the trade was in liquid milk; cheese was
the most important product, while butter formed a
very small proportion of the total trade. Pigs were
kept to use up the whey: the receipts for 1908 included £1,572 for the sale of pigs. (fn. 91) In 1920 the
head office was at Salisbury, and there were also
depots in Wiltshire at Semley and Tisbury. By that
date its activities were mainly confined to liquidmilk distribution. The Tisbury depot has since been
closed, but Semley and Salisbury are still used.
One of the depots taken over at the time of the
amalgamation in 1915 was that of the Dairy Supply
Co. at Wootton Bassett. This was opened about 1908
as a branch of the London firm. Its purpose was the
same as that of the Semley dairy established 40 years
earlier, to balance the milk supplies to London by
making surplus milk into cheese. It was a much
larger factory and was equipped to make 10,000 galls.
daily into cheese. As many as 450 pigs were kept on
the whey. In 1917 rollers for making dried milk were
added. This has since become the sole activity of the
factory, and with the increasing demand for dried
milk the factory has grown rapidly. It is also one of
the most important depots for dispatching milk to
London. In 1927 the first milk rail-tank to run in this
country left Wootton Bassett for London. Road
tankers are also used, and in 1956 four tankers holding 3,000 galls. of milk each were sent to London
daily. The staff had grown by then from about 20 to
140 in winter and 160 in summer; and the creamery
was capable of handling 40,000 to 50,000 galls. of
milk a day. (fn. 92)
While Wilts. United Dairies Ltd. was experimenting with the manufacture of different milk products,
and developing its wholesale milk trade with London, the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co.'s factory
at Chippenham continued without deviation the production of sweetened condensed milk. From the
beginning this factory was organized on a fairly large
scale: the average number of employees in the first
complete year of its existence was 53 men and 12
women. (fn. 93) Two years later the numbers were 67 men
and 27 women; they continued to rise until 1906, after
which there are no surviving records until 1937.
Table 2 shows this increase together with the maximum daily rates of pay. As a strike in January 1913,
originally for the right to organize a branch of the
Workers' Union, secured a minimum of £1 a week
for men and 12s. for women, many of the men must
have been earning much less than the 1906 maximum
rate. (fn. 94) A weekly wage of 12s. for women was good by
the standards of the time. A leader of the strike was
Florence Hancock, later Dame Florence, National
Woman Officer of the Transport and General
Workers' Union. Continual technical improvements
during this period led to a greater rate of expansion
of production than that indicated by the rise in the
number of employees alone.
Table 2 (fn. 95)
Numbers of Employees at Chippenham Milk Factory,
1874–1906
|
| 1874 | 1876 | 1886 | 1896 | 1906 |
Number of men | 53 | 67 | 72 | 70 | 84 |
Number of women | 12 | 27 | 59 | 86 | 79 |
| — | — | — | — | — |
Total employees | 65 | 94 | 131 | 156 | 163 |
Maximum daily rate
of men | 4s. | 4s. 6d. | 4s. 8d. | 6s. 6d. | 7s. 11d. |
Maximum daily rate
of women | 1s. | 1s. 2d. | 1s. 7d. | 1s. 7d. | 1s. 7d. |
The success of the Chippenham factory probably
encouraged the company to find another Wiltshire
site when they wished to open a fourth English factory in 1897. (fn. 96) Staverton was chosen because it possessed exactly the same advantages as Chippenham:
it was in the centre of the dairy-farming district,
there was a good river to provide the water essential
to a milk factory, and there was a suitable building
for sale. At both Chippenham and Staverton the
building taken over was originally a cloth-mill (fn. 97) —
such mills have often helped to attract modern
industries into Wiltshire. (fn. 98) The history of the Staverton factory is very similar to that of the Chippenham
factory, except that it was larger, and that unsweetened or evaporated 'Ideal' milk has always
been made there as well as sweetened condensed
milk.
The third of the present Nestlé factories in Wiltshire, that at Russell Road, Fisherton Anger, Salisbury, has a different origin and history since it was
already a milk factory when it was acquired by the
Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co. in
1914. It was founded in 1908 by the Hygienic Dairy
Society Ltd. At first it was probably typical of the
companies arising at this period: milk was received
from ten farmers and by the end of 1909 the daily
intake was about 1,000 gallons. Sterilized milk in
bottles was made for ships' stores, particularly for
the Union Castle Co.; some butter and cheese were
also produced. The staff rose from 15 men and 4
women in 1910 to 23 men and 20 women in 1912,
when the factory passed into the hands of Fussell &
Co. Ltd. This company added the manufacture of
condensed milk to that of butter and cheese, while
maintaining the bottling of sterilized milk. This
policy was continued by the Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss
Condensed Milk Co. after 1914, although Fussell &
Co. headings were used until 1927. (fn. 99)
Demand for tinned milk was high during the First
World War from both the services and civilians, but
in the early 1920's the international Nestlé organization as a whole experienced its only serious recession. This was combated by improved organization
both of sales and within each factory. (fn. 100) By 1926 the
company had completely recovered its position and
was again expanding. The impetus, however, for reformed organization within the old established factories continued for several more years. In Wiltshire,
the reorganization involved a complete change of
policy, for the company began to send supplies to the
London wholesale milk market. In September 1926
manufacture at Salisbury ceased, and the factory was
turned into a distribution centre for liquid milk. This
greatly reduced the numbers of employees, from 156
in August 1926 to 30 in December of the same year,
although the amount of milk handled was only
slightly less. In 1930 the total staff was still only 35,
although the quantity of milk handled had risen to
half as much again. (fn. 101) In 1934 manufacturing was
recommenced with the production of sweetened condensed milk, butter, and tinned sterilized cream, although about half the milk intake was still dispatched
to London.
Very small amounts of liquid milk were also dispatched from Chippenham and Staverton after 1926,
but the production of condensed milk for both the
home market and export remained the main activity
(see Table 3). At both factories programmes of reorganization and development were carried out in
1934–5. That at Staverton was the most sweeping as
the two top stories of the old mill were removed, and
the whole building was converted into offices, a canteen, and stores. A new processing block was built
and provided with modern stainless-steel vacuum
pans, automatic-filling and packing machines, and
tin-making equipment. At Chippenham the internal
structure of the building was modified, and both the
condensing plant and tin-making equipment were
modernized. A steam-engine, however, first mentioned as part of the fittings of the mill in 1830, (fn. 102)
continued in use until 1945.
Table 3 (fn. 103)
Quantities of Milk (fn. 104) Handled by the Nestlé Factories, and Numbers of Employees
|
| Chippenham | Staverton | Salisbury |
| 1937 | 1947 | 1956 | 1927 | 1937 | 1947 | 1956 | 1927 | 1937 | 1947 | 1956 |
Annual intake | 5,799 | 4,327 | 6,561 | 4,464 | 5,281 | 5,217 | 8,315 | 1,890 | 2,729 | 2,848 | 3,633 |
Dispatched as liquid
milk | 173 | 1,676 | 1,250 | | 378 | 2,351 | 1,281 | 1,890 | 1,058 | 2,574 | 275 |
Made into products | 5,606 | 2,651 | 5,311 | 4,464 | 4,903 | 2,866 | 7,034 | | 1,671 | 2,244 | 1,409 |
Number of employees | 213 | 170 | 166 | 227 | 255 | 227 | 264 | 30 | 85 | 150 | 125 |
The result of these improvements was the higher
production shown for 1937 in Table 3. (fn. 105) The higher
number of employees required at Staverton to handle
slightly less milk than at Chippenham may be explained by the diversity of products at Staverton:
unsweetened as well as sweetened condensed milk
was made, and from the early 1930's tinned sterilized
cream formed a third product. At Salisbury the
manufacture of homogenized baby foods was initiated
in 1938, and continued until the end of 1956,
when it was abandoned.
During the Second World War tinned milk was
again produced for both the services and civilians,
and all three Nestlé establishments in Wiltshire
assisted in the dispatch of liquid milk to London.
In addition, at Chippenham and Staverton the packing of 'iron rations' was undertaken on a large scale.
At Salisbury homogenized baby foods and a small
quantity of butter were made. The factory was also
engaged on the manufacture of dehydrated soups,
ordered by the Ministry of Food for use by the
fighting services in the Mediterranean. Two years
after the war ended over 50 per cent. of the milk
handled by the three factories was dispatched as
liquid milk, but by 1956 the proportion of milk used
for manufacturing was nearer the pre-war level, and
at Staverton more milk was manufactured than ever
before (see Table 3). The Royal Navy has remained
one of the principal customers for the 'Ideal' milk
made at Staverton. (fn. 106) The manufacture of butter at
Salisbury was abandoned when imports from abroad
became more plentiful, but the production of
sterilized tinned cream and sweetened skimmed
condensed milk continued.
Thus, although the Nestlé Company has experimented with other products, it has found conditions
in Wiltshire most suitable for the production of
tinned condensed milk.
Two other firms are engaged in the manufacture of
dairy products in Wiltshire, the Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd. and Aplin & Barrett Ltd. In each
case the headquarters of the firm are outside the
county, and the Wiltshire branch was not established
until the middle 1920's. The C.W.S. creamery at
Cricklade was established in 1927 with the aim of
balancing liquid-milk supplies by manufacturing
tinned evaporated milk. An old farm dairy was
adapted for this purpose, and in 1935–6 a new
building was erected nearby. (fn. 107) Since the rationalization of milk collection in 1940 the milk has been
collected from the C.W.S. farm (fn. 108) and the surrounding district, but before then it was collected
from many parts of Wiltshire and Somerset. Liquid
milk is dispatched to London and elsewhere, and
evaporated milk from the creamery is sold by
Co-operative retail shops throughout England,
Wales, and Scotland. In 1956 about half the milk
handled was dispatched as liquid milk and half was
manufactured into evaporated milk, although there
were the normal seasonal variations. The employees
in 1956 numbered about 139, but the number was
slightly greater during parts of the Second World
War, when the creamery was working to full capacity.
The Society also runs a small depot at Melksham but
no products are made there; a certain amount of
milk is pasteurized or heat treated for distribution
in local towns.
Aplin & Barrett's factory at Westbury differs substantially from all the other Wiltshire factories making milk products because liquid milk has been
neither dispatched nor used there. Even during the
short time when ice cream was manufactured, the
basic product was made at Frome and transported
to Westbury. The factory was established in 1925
because the company wished to expand their production of processed cheese. A site at The Ham,
Westbury, the nucleus of which was a group of
buildings erected by the Air Ministry during the
First World War, was taken over. Many improvements and additions have been made but the original
buildings were still used in 1956. (fn. 109) At first the factory operated on a small scale with 42 employees, but
by 1939 155 employees, most of them women, were
employed. (fn. 110)
The main product before the Second World War,
and the one for which Westbury has become well
known, was 'Chedlet' cheeses. This cheese is made
from processed Cheddar cheese. Before the war large
amounts of cheese for this purpose were imported
from Canada, although the greater part of the cheese
used came from the Aplin & Barrett factories at
Frome, Yeovil, and elsewhere. Since the war nearly
all of the cheese used has been made in England: in
1956 90 per cent. came from the other Aplin &
Barrett factories. Many technical advances in the
manufacture of processed cheese have been made at
Westbury; the most important of these was the
evolution of 'Nisaplin', a product which destroys
gas-forming bacteria in processed cheese. During
the war manufacture was suspended, although from
1942 or 1943 blocks of cheese for the ration were
packed in the factory. Aplin & Barrett Ltd. distribute
their own products, and during the war a vehicle
body-building and van service department was
opened in the precincts of the Westbury factory.
Production has gradually recovered since the end of
the war. 'Chedlets' have never been the sole product
and in 1956 'St. Ivel Favorites', 'Golden Meadow
Cheese Spread', 'St. Ivel Gorgonzola', various
cheese spreads with tomato, celery, and ham added,
and 'Cheddies', pieces of Cheddar cheese packed in
polythene bags, were also made. From 1948 to 1954 ice
cream was made, but in 1954 the ice-cream premises
were let to Meddocream Ltd., a Birmingham firm.
The activities at Westbury of the Yeovil firm of
Aplin & Barrett serve to illustrate the fact that northwest Wiltshire is not a self-contained dairy-manufacturing area, but part of a wider area including also
large parts of Somerset. It has been shown that within
this wider area Wiltshire is characterized by concentration on the supply of milk for London, and
the manufacture of tinned milk.
India rubber
The history of the Wiltshire India-rubber industry
is in the main the story of the rise and development
of two firms—George Spencer, Moulton & Co. of
Bradford-on-Avon and the Avon India Rubber Co.
of Melksham. (fn. 111) In January 1956 the Avon Co. bought
out the Spencer Moulton Co., but the latter retained
its separate identity (see below). The Bradford firm
dates back to 1848 when the Englishman Stephen
Moulton, (fn. 112) at that time an associate of a small group
of American rubber pioneers, returned to his homeland and converted the Kingston woollen mill, which
had been abandoned since 1842, to rubber manufacture. (fn. 113) The origins of the Melksham firm can be
traced to the derelict mill at Limpley Stoke where
rubber-working was begun in 1875. Other attempts
to introduce rubber manufacture in the disused
woollen mills of Wiltshire, such as the company
formed by Albert Wallington and William George
Weston at the Limpley Stoke Mill in 1896 (which
moved to Frome, Som., in 1902), the Sirdar Rubber
Co. at Greenland Mill, Bradford-on-Avon, between
1898 and 1915, and the Box Rubber Mills Co.
operating at Box in recent years, have not been of
any great economic weight or historical importance.
It is a matter of some conjecture why Stephen
Moulton decided to locate the industry in Wiltshire.
Whether his meeting with Captain Septimus
Palairet was the occasion of his taking over Kingston
mill, or whether he had already been attracted to
Bradford before he met and secured the aid of this
local benefactor is uncertain. (fn. 114) But apart from Palairet
there are other circumstances that might help to explain Moulton's decision. His experience in the
United States, as well as what he had seen of the
rubber industry in Manchester, had convinced him
that there were no serious drawbacks in converting a
textile mill to rubber manufacture. Kingston mill
dated from 1811; it was five stories high and solidly
built of West Country stone. It is still (1957) the core
of the Moulton factory. Moulton not only got the mill
at a favourable price (fn. 115) but included in the sale were a
smaller mill, a dyehouse, a counting house, 4 cottages, 8 acres of land, and Kingston House—'the
best built house for the quality of a gentleman in
Wiltshire' (fn. 116) —and a suitable abode for his family.
Moreover, the River Avon provided a source of
cheap power and an abundance of water for washing
and processing the rubber—vital factors in this industry; and the Somerset coalfields were but a few
miles away. As for communications, Bradford lay
close to the Bath road and the other roads linking the
West Country with London; and—at the outset—
as producers of consumer goods, it was to the
metropolitan market that both Moulton and his
American partners looked for their future customers. (fn. 117)
Through Trowbridge (two miles distant), Bath, and
Bristol (all important marketing outlets of the west
of England cloth trade) Moulton could reach London, the Midlands, and the north by rail, and the
construction of a railway line to Bradford was already
projected. (fn. 118) Good roads and growing rail facilities
were in Bradford's favour as the seat of a new industry, and a matter of yards from Kingston mill
itself was the wharf of the Kennet & Avon Canal
giving access to Bristol and the River Severn. Of
greater significance to Bradford was the fact that the
Kennet & Avon Canal was the highway along which
passed the produce of the Somerset coalfields. (fn. 119)
From the aspect of labour supply the situation in
Bradford was also favourable. Displaced woollen
workers were immediately available, (fn. 120) and the further decay of the staple woollen trade there provided
a reservoir of labour for future needs. In this respect,
making allowance for Moulton's intention to recruit
key workers from America, (fn. 121) and that outside the
pioneering rubber manufactories of London and
Manchester there were few experienced rubberworkers anyway, the Englishman's choice of location
in the West Country was sound; better than it might
appear at first sight when it is remembered that the
factory system was already established in Bradford. (fn. 122)
Finally, the town offered elbow room for a young
industry—a prerequisite stressed by his American
friends: there was not only room for expansion but
other empty woollen mills in the vicinity to facilitate
it. Moulton obtained possession of the adjacent
'Middle Mill' in Bradford in 1855 and the neighbouring Staverton woollen mill between 1851 and
1860. (fn. 123)
It would not detract from the drive and good
management shown by Stephen Moulton in founding the Wiltshire rubber industry to say that his task
of converting and equipping the Kingston mill was
made easier by the assistance he received from his
American colleagues. The first agreement of copartnership with the Americans was entered into in
1847 with William, Emory, and John Rider, rubbermanufacturers of New York, and James Thomas, a
chemist of the same city, to pursue and share the
results of certain investigations. This was followed in
May 1850 by a new agreement between Moulton and
the Rider brothers whereby for the next four years
they became partners and joint traders in the manufacture of india-rubber goods. (fn. 124) In fact the establishment of the Bradford manufactory casts an interesting light on what is perhaps a neglected aspect
of 19th-century history: Europe's indebtedness
to America as a source of industrial ideas and
technique. (fn. 125)
Moulton's own patent of 1847 (which was to provide an alternative to the Goodyear and Hancock
processes of vulcanization) (fn. 126) originated in the United
States. (fn. 127) To assist him in his negotiations in England
one of his American associates, William Rider, had
drawn up an 'Estimate of Cost of a Rubber Factory'. (fn. 128) This document, sent by one of his partners in
September 1847, lists the generally accepted plant
and fixtures of the earliest rubber manufactory of a
century ago—indeed in basic principles of operation
what many rubber plants have remained until the
present day. The manner in which the Englishman
adhered to it in equipping the Kingston mill sug
gests that there could not have been any great
divergence in the rubber-manufacturing processes of
the two nations. In addition, in the spring of 1848,
his American friends sent over a complete set of
drawings for this machinery with an experienced
engineer, a Mr. Frost, to superintend its purchase
and erection; (fn. 129) and later there followed an American
foreman, S. P. Abbot, and forewoman, Amelia
Fisher, to supervise its use. (fn. 130) The first orders for
equipment went out as soon as Moulton had permission to use the mill. Heavy calender machinery,
some of which was the first of its kind in this country,
was obtained from Bilston (Staffs.).
The difficulty which Moulton experienced in obtaining some of this equipment throws light on the
early problems of the rubber machinists. With the
grained rolls the foundrymen were tolerably successful, but the grinding of chilled cast hollow rolls for
the calender proved an 'expensive experience' and
'a very serious loss' to Thomas Perry of the Bilston
Foundry. (fn. 131) Other iron rolls, the cutting machine,
steam piping, gears, shafting, pulleys, frames, and
fixtures were bought from a Bristol firm of engineers. (fn. 132)
The assembling of the equipment was done in the
factory, and Moulton must have had some extremely
able millwrights to help him as there was no undue
delay in building the machinery once the parts had
been brought together in Bradford. (fn. 133)
When the rubber industry came to the West
Country in 1848 the basic problems of manufacture
in Britain had been surmounted by Hancock and the
other pioneers; suitable machinery had been devised,
and the momentous discovery of vulcanization had
been made by the American, Charles Goodyear, in
1839. It is to this discovery, accompanied as it was
by the spread of industrialization and the extension
of the European railway network in the second half
of the 19th century, that the great increase in the use
of rubber mechanical devices (fn. 134) must be attributed.
In contrast to the garment and footwear trade—the
original seeds of the industry in the West Country—
rubber mechanicals soon represented the bulk of the
output at Bradford and at a later date at Melksham
(see Table 1).
Of the many mechanical devices manufactured at
the Kingston mill (and subsequently by the Avon Co.
at Melksham) the most noticeable items were railway
bearings, buffer and draw-bar springs. The earliest
of these took the form of a number of simple rubber
disks separated by metal plates. From these beginnings followed an almost continuous development—
largely as a result of the efforts of George Spencer &
Co. of London who, since 1853, had devoted themselves to this specialized branch of the rubber
industry—until at the end of the century Wiltshire
railway springs were employed not only in Great
Britain but also in many other parts of the world.
Resilient and durable, cheaper and lighter than steel,
yet able to withstand heavy pressure, they played an
important part in the extension of modern transportation.
Whilst the railways were the largest customers for
rubber mechanicals, the growing demands of general
engineering are reflected in the other mechanical devices produced at the Kingston and Avon mills.
Power and conveyor belting, hose, and tubing, soon
found a wide market, and rubber devices whose value
it is hardly possible to overrate were valves, washers,
and packing for steam-engines.
Table 1
Analysis of Output of the Bradford Company,
1857–90 (fn. 135)
|
| 1857 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | £ |
Mechanicals | | | | | |
Hose and tubing | 1,646 | 5,746 | 1,371 | 466 | 2,126 |
Packing and
washers | 4,233 | 6,980 | 5,528 | 4,518 | 4,313 |
Springs and rings | 3,572 | 8,927 | 15,011 | 41,639 | 57,720 |
Belting | 697 | 1,870 | 106 | 93 | |
Rollers | | | 260 | 17 | |
Draught stopping | | | | 820 | 878 |
Diaphragms | | | | | 2,067 |
Clothing, &c. | | | | | |
Coats, capes, and
leggings. | 5,992 | 4,828 | 630 | 274 | |
Blankets and
aprons | 132 | | | | |
Medical | | | | | |
Beds and cushions | 154 | 126 | 83 | 23 | |
Others | | | | | |
Piece goods | 614 | 587 | 234 | 112 | |
Sundries | 696 | 458 | 1,138 | 430 | 379 |
Annual total | £17,739 | £29,522 | £24,361 | £67,483 | |
For almost a hundred years now these items have
been the chief staple of the Bradford mills; and when
the Moultons were joined in 1891 by George
Spencer & Co., upon whom the responsibility for
direction now devolved, this continuity of policy was
assured. The motor-car, aeroplane, and electrical industries have made new demands upon the Bradford
company, but essentially it has adhered to its traditional role: the specialist in rubber mechanicals.
Excursions have been made into solid and pneumatictire production (whose demands account for the
enormous increase in world consumption of raw
rubber in the 20th century), especially during the
First World War, but in the history of this firm they
were excursions and nothing more. In sticking to its
last the company has not only been assured of steady
progress and expansion—as witness its purchase in
1926 of the Church Street and Abbey mills, and the
recent erection of the Lamb factory and the fine new
Paddock factory for the production of small articles
—but it has also avoided major redeployment and
the ill fortune that befell others. (fn. 136) Conversely, and
the growth of the Avon Co. at Melksham in recent
decades best illustrates this point, it has been denied
the remarkable expansion of the tire manufacturers
(see Table 2).
The history of the Avon Co. of Melksham exemplifies the extraordinary growth of the India-rubber
industry in the present century. It began in 1875
when Giles and 'Willie' Holbrow, encouraged by the
prosperity of the Bradford company, converted the
disused cloth mill at Limpley Stoke from flour to
rubber-working. The Holbrows probably got the
mill cheaply, and standing on the banks of the River
Avon with the railway station of Limpley Stoke at its
door it had much to commend it. (fn. 137) No difficulty was
experienced in recruiting the original six or seven
rubber-workers from the vicinity of the mill, and the
one or two experienced men required were brought
in from outside; not from the nearby Kingston mill
at Bradford, but from the other two centres of the
industry in England at London and Manchester. (fn. 138)
Indeed, whatever influence Moulton's good fortune
had in encouraging the Holbrows to enter the trade,
they did so independently of the skill and experience
acquired in the neighbouring rubber manufactory;
and it says a lot for the loyalty of the Bradford
rubber-worker that this was so. (fn. 139)
Table 2
Expansion of Wilts. Rubber Companies (fn. 140)
|
| Employment | Nominal capital | |
| Date | No. | Date | Amount |
George Spencer,
Moulton & Co. | 1850 | 78 | | | |
| 1875 | 52 | | | |
| 1900 | 164 | 1891 | £23,313 | |
| 1950 | 793 | 1950 | £600,000 | |
Avon India Rubber Co. | 1889 | 20 | 1890 | £15,000 (fn. 141) | |
| 1899 | 120 | | | |
| 1909 | 500 | | | |
| 1919 | 1,300 | 1917 | £50,000
increased to
£275,000 | |
| 1929 | 1,500 | | | |
| 1939 | 2,500 | | | |
| 1953 | 3,500 (fn. 142) | 1933–53 | £600,000 (fn. 141) | |
In 1886 Giles Holbrow retired and the mill and
plant were let to Messrs. Browne & Margetson.
Browne, a retired colonist, supplied the capital for
the venture; Margetson, who was well aware of the
growing use of rubber mechanicals on the railways
having been connected with the Bristol Wagon Co.,
was responsible for general business direction; and
'Willie' Holbrow, who remained with the new firm
as manager, provided the technical skill.
The first three years of this combination proved
highly successful. (fn. 143) Like the Holbrows before them,
Browne and Margetson concentrated their efforts on
the production of railway springs: the railway and
wagon companies took the bulk of their output. So
rapidly was this market expanding, as the sales of the
Bradford company bear out, that by 1889 the Limpley Stoke mill was no longer large enough to handle
the growing volume of business, and the company
moved up the river to a disused woollen mill at
Melksham five miles away. (fn. 144) By the end of the year
(1889), in an attempt to introduce more capital into
the business, the partnership was converted into a
public company, The Avon India Rubber Co. Ltd.,
with a nominal capital of £50,000. (fn. 145) A prospectus of
the company dated December 1890 described the
property as consisting of 'two large mills, having a
superficial floor area of over 36,000 ft. with engine
house and boilers fitted'. (fn. 146) The principal items of
manufacture under the public company remained
what they had been since the seventies: the production of mechanical rubbers. The increase in
cycling in the eighties was reflected in the growing
number of solid tires produced. (fn. 147) With Dunlop's
rediscovery of the pneumatic tire in 1888, (fn. 148) however, as with Goodyear's discovery of vulcanization
in 1839, the india-rubber industry entered a new
phase, and the focal point of the Avon Co.'s activities
began to change from mechanicals to tire manufacture. It is this fact which helps to explain its
spectacular growth in the 20th century.
There is ample evidence in the company's minute
books of their determination to claim a share of the
new market. Yet only gradually was the shift made
from mechanical rubbers for the railways to road
transportation. In the nineties the tire trade was
almost exclusively for bicycle tires, and even with
the coming of motor-car tires in the early years of
the 20th century the main business was still in rubber mechanicals. In 1901, however, a new pneumatic
tire shop was erected, and in 1903 29 beaded edge
motor-tire moulds were installed in the mill. (fn. 149) In
1906 the first advertisement for Avon motor tires
appeared in the Autocar. Three years later the number of motor tires manufactured at Melksham exceeded those made under other firms' trade names.
Whilst mechanicals of all kinds remained one of the
principal manufactures, the Avon Co. had established itself as a leading British tire manufacturer,
and the greater part of its plant was devoted to this
task.
The problems besetting the Melksham company
in its first efforts to establish a reputation in the tire
world—as with Stephen Moulton and rubber
mechanicals in the fifties—were manifold. The basic
problems of rubber manufacture at least had been
surmounted by the nineties. The special problems
of tire manufacture were dealt with on the basis of
empiricism rather than laboratory control at this
date; and the answer to some of the problems could
not always be found within the confines of the
United Kingdom. (fn. 150) The greatest problem facing the
company in its early days was not so much technical
as financial. Costly experiments in tire development,
an eagerness to install new plant and equipment, and
the ability of the Bradford company and others to
offer keen competition in rubber mechanicals—all
these factors combined to place the Avon Co. in an
extremely precarious position. By 1895 the mill was
not paying its way, and the situation was deteriorating. (fn. 151) It was rescued from this predicament by the
financial support and business foresight—which was
extended to other industries besides rubber—of
G. P. Fuller, M.P., who became a director in 1895
and chairman of the board in 1898–a position he
held until his death in 1927. He was succeeded by
his son, Major R. F. Fuller, who was chairman until
1955, when he was succeeded by his son-in-law,
Mr. C. M. Floyd. (fn. 152)
The 20th-century story of the Avon Co. has been
one of almost continuous development and expansion, as the growing numbers of workers and the increase in the capital employed shows (see Table 2).
From the confines of the old woollen mill, first home
of the Avon Co. at Melksham in 1889, extensive
factories and workshops have been built over a considerable area. (fn. 153) As at Bradford, the emphasis in the
20th century has been on research and laboratory
control, which has meant considerable advances in
the life and performance of the goods produced. New
skill and new ideas have been brought to Melksham
from other centres of the industry, and new products
(such as sports goods) brought within the scope of
manufacture. And the changes have not only applied
to products and processes but to management as
well. (fn. 154)
The status of the business has changed more than
once from private to public ownership. In 1889,
as mentioned above, the Browne & Margetson
partnership was converted into a public company.
In 1908, taking advantage of the Companies Act of
that year, it became a private limited company,
which brought its control more closely into the hands
of those who were providing not only the bulk of the
capital but also the business direction, and checked
the demands of some outside shareholders for a
larger share of the profits in dividends, and a request
that the reserve funds should be capitalized. (fn. 155) Yet in
1933, when the capital needs of the business had outstripped its private resources, the status of the company became public once more; this time with a
nominal capital of £375,000.
The company maintained production during both
world wars. In the First World War it was controlled by the Ministry of Munitions, and made the
latest types of tires for military vehicles, aeroplanes,
field kitchens, and ambulances. Fuse-cap protectors,
suction hoses, and paravane diaphragms were also
made. During the Second World War thousands of
pneumatic tires and solid tank tires were supplied to
the land forces, and millions of parts were made for
the Admiralty and Royal Air Force. In addition,
over 20 million gas-masks were made for civilian and
forces use.
At an early point in the history of the Wiltshire
rubber industry the Americans had assisted in
establishing the manufactory at Bradford-on-Avon.
In 1930 American influence can be discerned again.
It came at a critical time in the life of the Avon Co.
for the greatest need at this stage of its career was to
remain abreast of the extremely complicated changes
affecting pneumatic-tire manufacture. (fn. 156) A liaison
with American rubber manufacturers was first
sought in 1928 in anticipation of the arrival in
England, between 1930 and 1932, of the major tiremakers of the world, which included American
interests. An agreement was reached in 1930 with
the Seiberling Co. of America for the sharing of
technical data, which remained in force in 1957.
The company's export trade began in 1923 and
from the end of the Second World War until 1956
sales had an unbroken rise. In 1955 a branch was
opened in Nairobi, Kenya, and associated organizations were opened in Sweden, Australia, and Ceylon.
A remoulding factory and a cycle-tire factory were
also set up in Kenya. (fn. 157) At home the capacity of the
company was expanded by the purchase of Melksham mill in 1954. By far the most important development, however, was the acquisition in 1956, by
outright purchase, of the George Spencer, Moulton
& Co. Ltd. Neither the name nor the tradition
of the latter company was altered; and a plan was
made to transfer the Avon Co.'s manufacture of
general rubber goods to Bradford, and to concentrate
upon tires at Melksham. Total employees, including
overseas branches, were over 5,000 after the
amalgamation, and the nominal issued capital was
£1,300,000.
Tanning
The production of leather and the manufacture of
leather goods were doubtless carried on in Wiltshire,
as throughout the rest of the country, from very early
times. (fn. 158) Tanner was, and still is, an especially common
surname in Wiltshire, (fn. 159) which may suggest that tanning was particularly common there in the early
Middle Ages. By the 14th century there was some
specialization beyond the usual division, enforced by
statute in 1390, (fn. 160) between tanners and shoemakers.
The offenders against the Statute of Labourers in
1349 included a tanner, a 'skynnere', a 'whyttawyere', pelterers, a shoemaker, and cobblers. (fn. 161)
Gloving also existed as a separate specialized craft
(see below, p. 236).
Most towns and some villages had at least one
tanner or skinner (i.e. a craftsman dealing with hides
or skins retaining their hair or fur), but it is not easy
to assess from the available evidence whether the
leather crafts were pursued with equal vigour
throughout the county or whether they were more
concentrated in particular districts. There was a
tannery at Malmesbury in the early 13th century. (fn. 162)
At Chippenham a Richard le Tanner witnessed a
charter in 1326. (fn. 163) There are also references to tanners
working at Devizes in 1371, (fn. 164) and at Wilton in 1383. (fn. 165)
A skinner named John Oryot lived at Swindon in
1354, (fn. 166) and there is good evidence for a tanning industry at Trowbridge in the 14th century. (fn. 167) At Tisbury and Heytesbury one tanner and one skinner
were at work in 1379. (fn. 168) At the same date two tanners
were living at Wylye. (fn. 169) The list of offenders against
the Statute of Labourers has a restricted use from
this point of view because it is given by hundreds; it
does, however, increase the number of places at
which tanners are known to have worked because it
mentions a tanner in Highworth and Cricklade hundred. (fn. 170) A skinner, sufficiently prosperous to have a
servant, lived somewhere in Downton hundred in
1355. (fn. 171)
For Marlborough and Bradford the list of poll-tax
payers for 1379 provides more detailed evidence. (fn. 172)
The proportion of the taxed population who were
tanners was roughly equal in the two towns, but the
tanners at Marlborough were more prosperous.
Indeed, John Johnson, the Mayor of Marlborough,
was a tanner; he was assessed at 6s. 8d. There were
six other tanners assessed at 1s., and only three at
6d., the lowest rate for a craftsman. (fn. 173) At Bradford
only one tanner paid 1s., three paid 6d., and one paid
4d., the usual rate for a labourer or tiller of the soil.
In addition, there was a skinner assessed at 6d. (fn. 174) It is,
perhaps, significant that the better-known Wiltshire
families named Tanner all came from the Marlborough-Great Bedwyn district: they emerged in
the 16th century but at that time there is no record
that any of them were connected with the leather
industry. (fn. 175)
The poll-tax returns of 1379 for Salisbury do not
give trades, (fn. 176) but the rapid expansion of the town in
the 14th century certainly included a growth of the
leather crafts, for by the early 15th century they were
sufficiently organized to be divided into different
guilds. In 1440 the tanners and skinners each had a
separate guild, while the curriers were joined in a
guild with the shoemakers. (fn. 177) Saddlers were joined
with cutlers and pewterers; and the Dubbers Guild
included bookbinders, parchment-makers, and glovers. (fn. 178) The position of the leather trades can be
gauged by the fact that when Edward IV's demand
for troops was met by the guilds in 1474–5, the tanners, shoemakers, and sadlers guilds were each responsible for providing one man. Some guilds could
not send even one man, and the only guilds to send
more than one man were the mercers, brewers,
tailors, and carpenters, who sent respectively 9, 4,
3, and 2 men. (fn. 179) By the early 17th century the tanners
were individually the wealthiest of the leather craftsmen: they gave from £2 to 10s. each towards the cost
of Salisbury's charter of incorporation in 1612, while
the shoemakers, curriers, and cobblers gave from £1
to 5s. each. (fn. 180)
There are indications that tanners were prosperous in other towns; for example, a tanner was one
of the burgesses at Calne in 1683. (fn. 181) At Devizes, the
leather sellers were one of the three craft guilds existing in 1565, and reorganized in 1614. (fn. 182) Records survive of the work of leather searchers or sealers at
Chippenham, (fn. 183) Marlborough, (fn. 184) Lacock, (fn. 185) Calne, (fn. 186)
and Bradford, (fn. 187) as well as at Salisbury. The most
interesting of these shows that in 1515 a tanner was
indicted at Marlborough for tanning 100 sheepskins
'against the form of divers statutes'. (fn. 188) Such a large
number of skins suggests that in the early 16th century, as in the late 14th century, tanning was a prosperous craft at Marlborough. As sheepskins are
specifically mentioned in this indictment, this prosperity may have been a by-product of the development of woollen manufacture, and the breeding of
sheep on the Marlborough downs. (fn. 189) In two cases
leather dressing and fellmongering were carried out
by the same man in Marlborough at the end of the
18th century. (fn. 190) The connexion between the woollen
trade and the development of tanning may have been
equally close in other towns. The oldest established
tanning firm still working in Wiltshire, J. & T.
Beavan Ltd. of Holt, combined tanning with fellmongering and woolstapling throughout the 19th
century and until 1937. (fn. 191)
There is no evidence of any great change in the
amount of tanning carried out in Wiltshire from the
15th to the late-18th century, although there was
probably a gradual decline as leather was slowly replaced by other materials. In addition to the places
already mentioned tanners are known to have been
working at Amesbury in 1426, (fn. 192) and at Westbury,
Westbury Leigh, Mere, Trowbridge, Ashton
Keynes, and Longbridge Deverill in the second half
of the 16th century. (fn. 193) In 1715 a leather cutter lived
in Sutton Mandeville, suggesting that tanning may
have been carried out in the neighbourhood. (fn. 194) There
was a tanner working at Downton in 1736, (fn. 195) and in
the 18th century there were two tan-yards at Cricklade, one on either side of the river. (fn. 196) The number
of tanners and curriers given in the early directories
is small but the compilers probably confined themselves to the larger businesses in the more important
towns. (fn. 197) There is no need to doubt, however, the
directories' evidence that Salisbury was the most important centre for tanning at the end of the 18th
century. (fn. 198) Later, in 1841, Salisbury had 20 tanners
and curriers out of a total for the county of 158. (fn. 199)
In the 19th century there was certainly a great
decline in the number of independent craftsmen who
were tanners or curriers but, as shown in Table 1,
the number of men employed in tanning and currying more than doubled between 1841 and 1911.
Even allowing for the inaccuracies of the early
Census Reports, this increase is a large one. There
may have been a large decline in the number of craftsmen before 1841, but in the absence of records it
is impossible to determine this.
Table 1 (fn. 200)
Number of People Employed in Tanning and Currying,
1841–1951
A great change took place in the organization of
tanning during the second half of the 19th century:
the number of workshops declined but the surviving
ones became small factories, which usually combined
tanning and currying. Twelve tanners and 33 curriers in Wiltshire were listed in a directory of 1855,
but in 1895 seven tanners only are mentioned. (fn. 206) The
reliability of the latter figure is strengthened by the
factory inspectors' returns of the same date, which
show that Wiltshire had seven tanneries employing
263 workpeople. (fn. 207) The greatest number of workpeople employed in tanning in Wiltshire was recorded in 1911, but the number was not many less
in 1951 (see Table 1). In 1931, however, Wiltshire
shared in the national slump in leather production.
The fact that the production of leather was not
only maintained but increased in Wiltshire between
1841 and the First World War, at a time when
tanning was becoming increasingly confined to particular centres such as Northampton, is not easily explained. The four most important firms existing in
1951 were making completely different types of
leather: J. & T. Beavan at Holt were making crust
basils, crust-oil leather, doeskins, chamois leather,
clothing leather, and gloving leathers; Case & Sons
Ltd. at Westbury Leigh were making glazed and
suede kid and full chrome white buckskin; the
Downton Tanning Co. Ltd. were making sole leather
from ox hides; and Colonia (Sarum) Ltd. were tanning reptile skins and dressing sheepskins for shoes.
Most of the raw material used by all these firms was
imported, so Wiltshire's ease of communications has
been an advantage to these firms. Since the introduction of crust-oil and chrome tanning, the availability of oak bark has lost all importance. The firm
of J. & T. A. Smith at Lacock and Chippenham continued to specialize in high quality oak-tanned leather after the invention of the new processes, but it
was closed in 1928. (fn. 208) Apart from a good supply of
running water and a body of skilled craftsmen, Wiltshire has no other particular advantages for tanning.
Thus, the persistence of the industry in Wiltshire is
partly due to the success and initiative of individual
firms, most of which are family businesses.
The firm of J. & T. Beavan at Holt was controlled
by the fifth generation of the family in 1956. Claims
have been made that the origin of this firm goes back
to the 17th century, (fn. 209) but, although there are earlier
records of the family, the first record of the business
is an account book beginning in 1783. (fn. 210) Moreover,
it is said, that the firm was founded by Thomas
Beavan, father of the James and Thomas Beavan
who gave their name to it, and James Beavan was
working during the first 30 or 40 years of the 19th
century. He was described as a 'fellmonger', (fn. 211) but
some tanning and manufacture of finished articles
were probably carried out from the beginning: the
sale of doeskin breeches was recorded in 1783. (fn. 212) In
the last quarter of the 19th century tanning and the
manufacture of leather leggings and gloves became
the most important part of the business. (fn. 213) During
this period, also, the main building fronting on the
road was erected. Crust-oil tanning was introduced
early in the second half of the century, but a large
amount of oak-bark tanning was still carried out in
1896. (fn. 214) By 1920, however, oak-bark tanning had been
completely superseded. The firm became a limited
company in 1919. It expanded after both World Wars,
and the use of imported pelts, mainly from New
Zealand, began between the wars. There have been
many crises, but they have been due to the fluctuations
of world markets, rather than to local conditions.
After the Second World War the company began to
build up an export trade in tanned leather as well as in
gloves; and in 1956, despite the closing down of the
glove department, 135 workpeople were employed.
Case & Sons began work at Boyers mills, Westbury
Leigh, in 1900. (fn. 215) The business was started by
Charles Case some years earlier at Frome (Som.). At
first heavy leather and calf uppers were made, but
continental competition was too strong in this type
of leather. The firm, therefore, became one of the
pioneers in England of chrome tanning kid leather.
This specialized type of leather for shoe uppers has
been the main product of the firm during the whole
of its history in Wiltshire. The raw goatskins were
imported from India, Pakistan, East Africa, and West
Africa. Production increased steadily before the First
World War and extensions to the factory were carried out in 1912. In the slump after the war, however,
the factory was closed for several months. It was
started again in 1922, when the firm became a limited
company with an authorized capital of £100,000. (fn. 216)
Walter Case, the son of Charles Case, had died in
1917. As his brother George had never been active
in the firm, the manager, William Bailey, became a
working partner, and in 1922 he became managing
director. A firm of Leicester shoe manufacturers,
Leavesley & North Ltd. (now in the Freeman,
Hardy & Willis group), joined the board with
approximately a third interest. Leicester and Northampton have always been the main markets for the
tanned leather, although exports to the United States
and Canada have been an important part of the firm's
trade since the Ottawa Agreement. A smaller proportion of the leather has been marketed in South
Africa, New Zealand, and many European countries.
The highest production was reached in 1936, when
an average of 3,000 dozen goatskins were tanned
each week and there were 200 employees. During
the Second World War the number of staff was reduced but, except for one month in 1940, the factory
remained at work. After 1945 great improvements
were made in the technique of finishing kid leather
and production increased until 1951, when the slump
caused by the Korean War (fn. 217) affected the firm. High
prices for Indian raw goatskins, caused by Russia's
entering the market, also curtailed production in
1955–6, when an average of 1,000 dozen skins were
tanned each week, and 110 people were employed.
Full chrome white buckskin and a small amount of
light calf leathers were introduced in 1945, but kid
has remained the main product. The firm, therefore,
is very sensitive to fluctuations in world prices and
demand.
The predecessor of Colonia (Sarum) Ltd. was also
a long established family business, Ware Bros. Ltd.
Its first factory was the Invicta Leather Works in
Endless Street, Salisbury. The frontage of this building is still (1957) standing and bears an inscription
that the factory was established in 1824. It is said to
have been founded by a Mr. Woodlands and taken
over by Edward Ware about 1862. (fn. 218) Only three or
four men worked there at that date, but by the end
of the century over a hundred workpeople were employed. It became a company in 1893. In 1897 the
factory made 'all classes of English and foreign
tanned leather', leather for the boot and shoe trade
and for the use of saddlers, leather leggings, and
machine bands. Grindery and mercery were an important part of the business. The factory in Endless
Street was burnt down in 1901, and a new factory at
Paynes Hill was opened the next year. When Mr.
H. G. Ware, son of Edward Ware, wished to retire
in 1935–6, the company was taken over by a group
of Germans, who specialized in tanning reptile skins.
It changed hands again in 1939, but reptile skins remained the main part of the business. The factory
was closed during the Second World War, but production started again soon after it ended. In 1956
raw reptile skins were imported from regions on the
equator, and goat and sheepskins were imported
already tanned from India. The reptile skins were
tanned for the shoe and 'fancy trade'; about 80
workers were employed (fn. 219) and most of the business
was for export.
The company at Downton has a very short history
and differs from the other companies because it has
not grown out of a family business. In 1919–20 a
company known as the Southern Tanning Co. Ltd.
was formed and the main part of the factory at
Downton was built. This company failed in the 1930
slump and was taken over by the Downton Tanning
Co. Ltd. Sole leather for British shoe manufacturers
and repairers has always been the main product. In
1956 it was made from ox-hides bought mainly at
hide auctions in England, although some were imported from South America. (fn. 220) The firm has, therefore, fewer international connexions than the older
tanning firms in Wiltshire.
Tanning and leather dressing was also carried out
in 1956 at Marlborough by Windrove & Edge Ltd.,
who dealt mainly in sheepskins. Two firms whose
chief activity became gloving, Chas. Ockwell & Co.
Ltd. at Cricklade, and A. L. Jefferies at Hawkeridge, Westbury, also did some tanning in the 19th
and early 20th centuries, but their history belongs
below in the history of gloving. The connexion between tanning and gloving was very close in the 19th
century, as in the case of J. & T. Beavan, but gloving
in Wiltshire is something more than a branch of the
tanning and leather-dressing industry, and is best
considered separately.
Gloving
Gloving developed early in Wiltshire, perhaps
because the parallel growth of the woollen industry
and tanning made available a good supply of leather. (fn. 221)
Sheepskin was the principal leather used, although
kid, deerskin, (fn. 222) and horseskin gloves were also made.
Gloving was essentially a domestic craft, employing
mainly women; unlike weaving or spinning, it is still
based upon the outworker system. One reason why
gloving has continued to flourish in Wiltshire is that
full- or part-time female workers, used to working
in their homes, have been obtainable in quite large
numbers since the decline of the cloth trade, (fn. 223) both
in the Wiltshire cloth towns and villages and over the
county boundary in Somerset. The decline of farmmade cheese in the late 19th century (fn. 224) also reduced the
amount of work available to women in west Wiltshire, and created, therefore, another source of outworkers for the gloving industry.
The historical development of gloving is difficult
to trace; the known references suggest that it was
fairly widely distributed throughout the county, and
there were probably glovers in all the main towns.
The earliest reference found occurs in the 13th century, when the burgesses of Malmesbury forbade
non-resident makers of horseskin gloves to sell their
wares within the town. (fn. 225) The same source mentions
also an 'Alice le Glovaire' and an 'Agnes la Glovaire',
names which probably indicate occupations. (fn. 226) Glovers
were sufficiently numerous at Wilton in the 13th
century for a street to be called 'Glovers Street', but
the name disappeared during the following century.
At Devizes, Thomas Skynner was described as a
glover when he was indicted for an offence committed in 1425. (fn. 227) Gloving was established at Salisbury at a fairly early date, because there had been
time for glovers to become organized into a guild by
1440, the date of the earliest surviving list of guilds;
the glovers were then members of the Dubbers
(bookbinders) Guild, which also included parchment-makers. (fn. 228) In the reign of Elizabeth I, the glovers
separated from the bookbinders to form a separate
guild; the parchment-makers accompanied them,
and they were joined by the collar-makers. These
three crafts were still associated in 1613, when the
Glovers' Company was incorporated, and in 1675,
when fresh orders were granted to the company.
For the 16th and 17th centuries the number of
references increases and make more evident how
widespread gloving became, although no evidence
has been found to indicate that in medieval times,
or until very modern times, gloves have been made
for other than a fairly local market. John Tovye of
Mere, glover, was a contributor to the subsidy of
1576. (fn. 229) Between 1580 and 1590 the names of glovers
from Chippenham, Little Somerford, Pewsey, and
Cricklade appear in the minutes of the Quarter
Sessions. (fn. 230) There are references to glovers and
dressers of glove leather at Castle Combe in 1590
and 1635. (fn. 231) At Marlborough a selection of apprenticeship indentures dating from 1662 to 1694 shows that
glovers were then working in the town. (fn. 232) There were
glovers at Warminster in Aubrey's time and gloving
continued there in the 18th century. (fn. 233) Aubrey also
implied that Tisbury was a town where glovers
worked. (fn. 234) A directory of 1791 mentioned glovers at
Cricklade, Chippenham, Devizes, and Downton. (fn. 235)
Swindon also was a gloving centre at this date. (fn. 236)
The first occupation returns, those for 1841,
showed 33 men and 27 women glovers in Wiltshire. (fn. 237)
The number of women is certainly far too small; it
is probable that many women who sewed gloves in
their homes were not entered as glovers. The men
were probably all cutters, who could each supply
work for several women. In 1861, 24 men and 252
women glovers were returned; (fn. 238) at this date Cricklade and the surrounding district appears to have
been the main centre (see Table 1).
Table 1
Gloving Centres, 1861
|
Registration district | No. of men | No. of women (fn. 239) | Total |
Cricklade | 7 | 83 | 90 |
Tisbury | | 38 | 38 |
Westbury | 2 | 17 | 19 |
Mere | | 13 | 13 |
Bradford | 3 | 7 | 10 |
Amesbury | 2 | 7 | 9 |
Devizes | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Malmesbury | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Marlborough | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Salisbury | 2 | | 2 |
Other districts | 1 | 4 | 5 |
The number of glovers had dropped to 15 men
and 180 women by 1881, (fn. 240) but by the end of the century there had been a considerable increase. A still
greater increase took place before the First World
War (see Table 2).
Table 2
Number of Glovers in Wiltshire in the 20th Century (fn. 241)
|
| 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 |
Male | 57 | 223 | 106 | 215 |
Female | 218 | 456 | 333 | 492 |
Total | 275 | 679 | 439 | 707 |
Gloving has continued to expand in the 20th century: this has arisen both from the development of
firms established in the 19th century or earlier and
from the setting up of new firms. As with tanning,
the oldest firm with surviving records is J. & T.
Beavan Ltd. at Holt. (fn. 242) In 1868 (fn. 243) the firm bought the
Great House, formerly the Spa Hotel, (fn. 244) and established a glove department there. The cutters worked
in the Great House but a lot of the sewing was done
by outworkers living in Holt, Atworth, Melksham,
Somerset, and as far afield as the Cotswold region. (fn. 245)
A price list of 1887–8 advertised leather gloves of all
kinds: several types of harvest gloves, lined gloves,
driving gloves, and housemaids' gloves are listed as
well as leather leggings and white aprons. (fn. 246) In the
years before the First World War the manufacture
of 'dress' gloves was developed. (fn. 247) After a break
during the war, gloving was restarted in 1919, and
a large export trade was developed. In the Second
World War, Beavan's produced the glove chosen by
the Air Ministry as the standard for all aircrews; the
production of this glove and similar types occupied
the firm throughout the war. In 1951, however, it
was decided to cease the production of gloves and
concentrate on leather. Just before the department
was closed it was making 300 dozen pairs of gloves
a week.
The invention of the 'Boulton Cut Thumb' by
William Boulton towards the end of the 19th century was never patented, but it has made the name
of Boulton Bros. Ltd. of Westbury Leigh well
known to glove manufacturers all over the world.
The firm was founded before 1871 by William Boulton, who was described as a 'master glover' at that
date. (fn. 248) His sons were trading as Boulton Bros. in
1889. (fn. 249) The firm was incorporated in 1901 with an
authorized capital of £15,000; (fn. 250) at this date the factory was at the west end of Westbury Leigh next to
Dilton Marsh, and there was a department for
athletic goods in Marestow Street. In 1901 a grist
mill at the Westbury end of Westbury Leigh was
bought and a new factory was built beside it. W. H.
and R. E. Boulton became joint managing directors,
continuing actively in the business for many years.
The firm has always specialized in high quality
gloves, and between 1901 and 1918 as many as 75–
80 per cent. of the gloves were exported, mainly to
America. The First World War, followed by the
tariff on imported gloves imposed by America in
1918, ended this trade and gave rise to the most
serious crisis the firm has known. A further blow
was the deterioration of the value of stock caused by
the slump in wool prices in 1921. These difficulties
affected other firms as well as Boulton Bros. and explain the drop in the number of people employed as
glovers in 1921 (see Table 2).
Between the wars Boulton Bros. concentrated on
supplying the home market, and exported only 5–10
per cent. of their output. Progress was good and in
1935 a new building was erected to house the sales
department. Shortly before this, in 1932, a new company was begun in Westbury by Mr. V. C. Boulton,
son of R. E. Boulton. In 1956 there were four
subsidiary companies—Boulton Bros. (Glovers)
Ltd., Boulton Bros. (Leighbridge) Ltd., V. C.
Boulton Ltd. and John H. Walter Ltd. (in Somerset).
In addition to the main factories there was a small
workshop at Devizes for sewing. Most of the leather
was dressed and finished at Westbury Leigh. Vivian
C. Boulton was managing director of the group in
1956. Some of the leather used by Boulton Bros. was
always bought in England, often from J. & T.
Beavan, but most of it has been imported from South
Africa ('Cape' sheepskins), Abyssinia, India, South
America (hogskin), Arabia (fine suedes), and New
Zealand ('doeskin' from lambs). (fn. 251) In 1956 200
different types of glove were made, including many
varieties of men's and women's 'dress' gloves, gloves
for riding, shooting, golf, &c., and a few fabric gloves.
After the end of the Second World War an attempt
was made to develop a larger export trade, and by
1956 between 25 and 30 per cent. of the gloves were
exported, the largest market being Canada. (fn. 252) The
number of employees has always tended to vary with
the seasons, but in 1952 an average of 120 men and
women were employed in the factory, and there
were about 300 women outworkers. Originally the
outworkers did hand-sewing, but by 1956 only 15–
20 per cent. of the gloves were hand-sewn and many
of the outworkers did machine-sewing. Outwork for
the glove factories was never well paid: in 1909 it
was impossible for a woman to support herself by
this means alone. (fn. 253) There has been no shortage,
however, of women willing to do this work: in 1956
Boulton Bros. were employing more outworkers
than ever before. (fn. 254) There were 213 outworkers sewing gloves (fn. 255) and probably nearly 100 making knitted
gloves. (fn. 256) Westbury and Dilton Marsh supplied respectively 33 and 34 of the 213 women who sewed
gloves, but nearly half of the total came from outside
the county (see Table 3).
Table 3
Boulton Bros. Distribution of Outworkers, 1956
|
County | Outworkers |
Wilts | 122 |
Somerset | 54 |
Oxford | 19 |
Dorset | 5 |
Hants | 3 |
Glos. | 2 |
London | 2 |
Bristol | 1 |
Berks. | 1 |
Devon | 1 |
Kent | 1 |
Middx. | 1 |
Yorks. | 1 |
Most of the outworkers in the glove trade are
women. From 1928 onwards, however, outwork cutting became established to a limited extent. In Westbury there were several units operating in premises
temporarily equipped as glove-cutting shops. These
were branches of factories at Oxford, Worcester,
Yeovil, and Corsham. In general these branches did
not survive the fluctuations which took place in the
industry. (fn. 257)
Fine-quality gloves were also the speciality of
A. L. Jefferies and his brother W. L. Jefferies when
they set up business together in 1883 in Fore Street,
Westbury. (fn. 258) Both brothers were apprenticed to the
cloth trade and began making gloves as a hobby; the
change to full-time production was immediately successful. In 1889 tanning and leather dressing were
added, and in 1908 a disused water-mill at Hawkeridge, Westbury, was taken over for this side of the
business. In the glove department a large export
trade was developed and, like Boulton Bros., the
firm was able to export about 75 per cent. of their
gloves just before the First World War. During the
war trench mittens were made on a large scale, but
after it ended, ordinary gloves again became the
main product. In 1920 the firm became a limited
company with A. L. Jefferies as the first chairman
and managing director followed, after his death a
year later, by W. L. Jefferies.
Despite the difficulties of the period, the business
expanded rapidly during the early 1920's. In 1923 a
small workshop was opened in Warminster, and a
year later a factory was erected there in Station
Road. By 1929 the firm was employing all the available workers, including outworkers, in Warminster,
so branches were opened at Frome, and slightly later,
at Midsomer Norton, and Radstock—all in Somerset—and at Southampton. When demand was high,
production reached about 2,000 dozen gloves a week
and over 1,000 people were employed in 1933; but
these figures include the Somerset and Southampton
factories as well as the Wiltshire ones. A substantial
proportion of the gloves made at this date were purchased by the Worcester and London firm of Dent,
Allcroft & Co. Ltd., and in 1936 they took over the
company. (fn. 259) Mr. A. G. Jefferies, son of W. L.
Jefferies remained with the new company, but his
younger brother, Mr. M. G. Jefferies, formed a new
company, George Jefferies Ltd., and opened a factory at Gillingham (Dors.). Later branches were
opened at Warminster and Westbury. Dent, Allcroft
& Co. concentrated on high quality gloves in the
Wiltshire factories they acquired, and this policy was
also found effective by George Jefferies Ltd. A
special golf glove was designed in 1951 and an export
trade in this line quickly grew, although the 'dress'
gloves were mainly sold in Great Britain. About half
the gloves were sewn, mainly by machine, by outworkers.
The last of the old gloving firms in Wiltshire, Chas.
Ockwell & Co. Ltd., produced different types of
gloves: in the 19th century harvest gloves were made
on a large scale and in the 20th century heavy industrial gloves and some cotton gloves have been
made; and, throughout the firm's history, fleecelined gloves, dressed originally with salt and alum,
have been made. It is said that in the middle of the
19th century Richard Ockwell acquired the business
of his uncle, J. Maslin, who worked at Ramsbury.
Ockwell may have moved to Cricklade immediately.
He was certainly working in Cricklade by 1867, when
an early ledger book shows that gloves, gaiters, and
leggings were made in addition to the main business
of tanning. (fn. 260) In 1870 the firm took over the old
Wesleyan Chapel; there were several other moves,
mainly along the High Street, in the 19th century,
and in 1933 the firm again moved into a public building, the old town hall. After Charles Ockwell, son of
Richard Ockwell, died in 1912, the business slowly
declined despite the increased demand during the
First World War for industrial gloves and heavy
gloves for the armed forces: 25 per cent. of the firm's
output has been sold to the Admiralty ever since this
period. The firm was revived after the war by the
son-in-law of Charles Ockwell, W. J. Little, and his
son, Mr. M. J. Little. Great difficulties were experienced in the late 1920's: large quantities of surplus army stores were dumped in Great Britain by
the United States, and in the early 1950's competition from Hong Kong restricted the sale of
cotton gloves. The demand for industrial gloves, however, steadily increased. Unlike Boulton Bros. the
number of outworkers at Cricklade has declined since
the end of the Second World War, and the radius
from which they were drawn was always much
smaller: most of them came from Cricklade and
Ashton Keynes and neary all the rest were drawn
from within five or six miles of Cricklade. In 1956
there were 60 people working in the factory and only
25 outworkers. (fn. 261)
Another firm of similar type was founded during
the First World War by A. A. Ockwell, grandson of
Charles Ockwell, but in 1951 it was moved from
Cricklade to Bournemouth. The other three firms
not founded until the 20th century all make men's
and women's 'dress' gloves. The Neston Glove Co.
Ltd. started work in 1906, and 50 years later was
employing about 60 people at the factory and 60
outworkers. (fn. 262) In 1923 Holman, Byfield & Co. Ltd.
began work at Warminster. (fn. 263) In 1931 it was one of
the few firms in the country which made its own
glove knives, and there were about 200 employees. (fn. 264)
In 1956, however, only 20 factory workers and 45
outworkers were employed. The most recent firm of
all is the Westbury Glove Co. Ltd. founded in 1927,
and employing about 130 workers in 1956. (fn. 265) The
chairman of the company is Mr. Herbert Alley; at
the age of 85 he is still (1957) actively engaged in the
industry into which he entered 68 years previously.
It is significant that the most recent firm was begun in Westbury, because this town had become by
then the leading centre for gloving in Wiltshire.
Apart from Chas. Ockwell & Co. and A. A. Ockwell
at Cricklade, who made different types of gloves, all
the gloving firms working in the 20th century were
in the extreme west of the county, next to the
Somerset boundary. Yeovil and Bath were accounted
the principal seats of the gloving industry in the west
of England as early as 1883, (fn. 266) and this was still
thought to be true in 1931. (fn. 267) None of the Wiltshire
firms, some of which have remained family businesses, was established by Somerset men or firms,
but the conditions which prevailed in Somerset,
which was both an old stronghold of the cloth trade
and a dairy-farming area, also influenced the
modern growth of gloving in Wiltshire.
Tobacco and clay pipes
There is a tradition that Sir Walter Raleigh first lit
his pipe at South Wraxall Manor House in Wiltshire,
the home of the Long family. (fn. 268) Aubrey, who himself
always took a pipe of tobacco after dinner 'as a
digestive', wrote that in his part of north Wiltshire
Sir Walter Long was responsible for introducing the
fashion of smoking. (fn. 269) Raleigh frequently visited
Wraxall Manor—where a room is still referred to as
the 'Raleigh Room'—and the story may not be entirely without foundation.
Smoking certainly reached Bristol about 1593,
that is, within eight years of its introduction into
England, (fn. 270) and almost immediately spread to the
neighbouring counties. A number of clay pipes of
the very earliest type have been unearthed in Wiltshire. (fn. 271)
The swift development of the smoking habit in
spite of restrictions, and the high duty imposed upon
tobacco, led to systematic smuggling, and the planting of tobacco in England. Indeed, having discovered
that the plant could be grown in the southern counties, some English farmers found tobacco a more
profitable crop than corn, but its cultivation was prohibited by Acts of 1660, 1663, and 1671. (fn. 272) In March
1675/6 the Earl of Danby directed an inquiry into
tobacco growing in Wiltshire and ordered the enforcement of these Acts. (fn. 273) This was effectively done
and at the July Quarter Sessions at Warminster the
Grand Jury found 'that there is no tobacco now
planted or growing within the county'. (fn. 274)
Tobacco planting may have been stamped out but
the tobacco trade increased. It would be impossible
to estimate the number of individuals associated
with the industry in its early stages—even legitimately—as the sale of tobacco and snuff was not
confined to the tobacconist alone. Many trade tokens
bore designs incorporating tobacco pipes, and
Boyne (fn. 275) mentions John Fry (an innkeeper apparently)
at Devizes (1664), Jacob Selbee at Bradford (1665),
John Foreman at Calne (not dated), John Smith at
Marlborough (1665), Henry Restall (1656 and 1664)
and William Webb (1669) at Swindon, and William
Smith at Trowbridge (not dated). John Farmer of
Purton (1668) chose to show instead a pictured roll
of tobacco on his tokens.
A number of writers have mentioned a tobacco
factory said to have been at Amesbury and reputed
the largest in the country, but there is no evidence
to suggest that tobacco was ever produced there. The
fame of Amesbury rested not on the manufacture of
tobacco, but of clay tobacco pipes (see below). One
of the oldest established snuff factories in the country, however, was the business of E. & W. Anstie,
Ltd. of Devizes. (fn. 276) The founder, Richard Anstie, who
was a Devizes townsman in 1696, (fn. 277) leased a shop in
1698 at the corner of New Street on the site of the
present (1956) offices in the Market Place, where he
traded as a grocer. It is possible that an earlier member of the family had traded in snuff in or near
Bromham. (fn. 278)
Although no trustworthy date can be assigned to
the actual production of snuff at Devizes, it is known
that a windmill, supplemented by a donkey, provided the necessary power for grinding in the early
days. With the expansion of trade, other mills were
either acquired or leased for snuff-grinding at Poulshot, Calstone (Calne), and Whistley (Potterne).
A pair of French stones was transferred from
Whistley to the present factory some 180 years ago,
and are still (1956) in use there. Whistley mill itself
is shown on a snuff label issued by, and bearing the
name of, B. W. Anstie (d. 1824). (fn. 279) Before demolition
in 1956 Whistley mill was somewhat larger than it
appears in the illustration, an extension having been
made at some time to enclose the water-wheel. Snuff
was transferred from these subsidiary mills to
Devizes by pack mule, the final product being distributed to traders in sheeps' and calves' bladders.
Some indication of the quantities of snuff produced
at these mills is given in Table 1.
Both Calstone and Poulshot were grist mills using
orthodox milling plant; but the machinery at
Whistley was of the edge-stone type, i.e. the rollers
were set vertically. Mullers were massive wooden
bowls cut from the solid, around the inside of
which a heavy steel pestle was made to roll; this
method produced a much smoother texture to the
snuff after the coarse preliminary grinding.
John Anstie, who succeeded his father, was for
some time in partnership with William Leach,
another Devizes snuff-maker, and use was made of
the windmills set up on the ruins of the castle.
The mills were described by John Strachey in
about 1720 as a 'late project for grinding rape', (fn. 280) but
the exact date of their erection is unknown, (fn. 281) and
they were probably never used for that purpose.
They were seen by Stukeley in 1723, (fn. 282) and included
by Edward Dore on his map of Devizes in 1759.
There is on this map a marginal comment, 'the
tobacco trade has grown of late'. The mills later
passed into the possession of William Ludlow, who
also used them for snuff-grinding in c. 1782. Ludlow
later moved to Bristol where he continued as a
tobacconist and snuff-maker at Redcliffe Street.
Leach's partnership with John Anstie was subsequently dissolved, but in 1740 an agreement was
made whereby John Anstie was to supply Leach with
1 ton of snuff yearly, if required. The snuff was to be
of the same quality as made for his own general use.
Perhaps the most momentous years in the history
of the Anstie business were the 1830's. The changes
brought about by the Industrial Revolution made
the brothers Paul and Benjamin Anstie realize it was
useless spending further money on the renovation of
water-mills, which were rapidly becoming obsolete.
A 10 h.p. Boulton & Watt steam-engine was purchased for £700 and installed by Hadens' of Trowbridge. (fn. 283) The premises were enlarged and equipped
with new plant, much of it designed by Paul Anstie,
who is said to have devised the first successful
tobacco-cutting machine.
The tobacco industry throughout the country,
however, was experiencing great difficulties owing
to persistent smuggling and adulterations, and the
Treasury had frequently been petitioned to reduce
the duty with a view to rendering the activities of
smugglers unprofitable. With the help of T. H. S.
Estcourt, the local Member of Parliament, such
a petition was laid before the Chancellor of the
Exchequer in 1837 by the tobacco and snuff manufacturers of Devizes, headed by Benjamin Anstie,
then mayor of the town.
One of the earliest tobaccos coming as a branded
article from the Anstie Co. was a fine shag bearing
the head of a black boy, by which it was, and still is,
popularly known. It retailed at 3½d. an ounce in
1870. Although fine-cut shag tobaccos have always
formed a major part of the firm's output, large quantities of roll and twist were spun at one time. 'Rose
Bud' hand-made cigarettes were produced soon after
the Crimean War when returning soldiers brought
home with them a new method of smoking. Machinemade cigarettes eventually followed, the earliest
brand being marketed in 1907 under the name 'On
Furlough'. They were succeeded by 'Day Dreams',
the forerunner of the present 'Anstie's Gold Flake'.
A novelty in the form of a leaf-covered cigarette
incorporating the qualities of both cigar and cigarette
was also introduced. This type of cigarette originated
in Switzerland and a number of experts from Eggimann Hediger et Fils, of Biel, were brought over
from that country to teach the necessary technique
for such a delicate manufacturing operation.
In 1925 the snuff and tobacco manufacturing
business, established since 1788, of I. Rutter & Co.
of Mitcham (Surr.) was acquired, and the 'Mitcham'
brands began to be produced at Devizes. In 1944
Mr. Louis Anstie and George Edmond Anstie
wished to retire, and having no successor to carry on
the business they approached the Imperial Tobacco
Co., who agreed to purchase the business and by
whom it is now run. Thus ended the family's control,
which had lasted for six generations (see Table 2).
Table 1
Pounds of Snuff Produced, 1797–1808 (fn. 284)
|
Mill | Type | 1797 | 1798 | 1799 | 1800 | 1801 | 1802 | 1803 | 1804 | 1805 | 1806 | 1807 | 1808 |
Calstone Mill | Scotch | | 32,355 | 25,494 | 34,293 | 27,408 | 28,432 | 29,129 | 27,119 | | | | |
Poulshot Mill
(9 mullers) | Scotch | | | | | | | | | | 24,036 | 24,995 | 25,500 |
Whistley Mill
(14 mullers
and one pair
of stones) | Scotch | 33,310 | 33,366 | 30,650 | 28,909 | 30,863 | 28,747 | 28,242 | 35,458 | 35,452 | 32,179 | 30,832 | 29,724 |
| Rappee | 7,716 | 7,630 | 7,538 | 6,043 | 4,951 | 6,953 | 6,937 | 7,351 | 7,668 | 6,486 | 6,344 | 7,509 |
Turning to other parts of the county, there are
indications that with the decline of the cloth trade,
a small mill at Bradford-on-Avon was used for the
production of snuff. Indeed, the town is often
alluded to by Wiltshiremen as 'Snuffy Bradford', a
nickname said to date back to a mishap with a barrel
of snuff towards the end of the 18th century. (fn. 285)
Table 2
The Six Generations of the Anstie Family in the Snuff
and Tobacco Business
The Anstie family
When tobacco growing was again permitted in
England in 1910, (fn. 286) Mr. G. J. Brandon of Church
Crookham (Hants) began its cultivation. He was
joined by Mr. F. Snook, proprietor of H. Stevens &
Co. of Salisbury (see below), who took practically the
whole of his output. (fn. 287) Very satisfactory crops were
later produced around Whaddon (Alderbury), the
Teffonts, and Dinton. In 1923 a deputation to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer was organized, led by
Mr. Brandon and Mr. Snook, to ask for encouragement in the form of lower duty. (fn. 288) A committee of
inquiry, however, considered competing overseas
products would always have the advantage of more
suitable climates and cheaper labour, and it was felt
there were other forms of agriculture to which help
could more profitably be given. (fn. 289) Nevertheless,
home-grown tobacco continued to be produced, and
sales rose slowly but steadily. When, in 1946, Mr.
Snook sold the business of H. Stevens & Co. to
a private limited company (see below), the new
company installed up-to-date curing barns and
machinery. During the years of food shortage
after the Second World War, however, restricted
planting only was carried on.
The early history and growth of the business
which became H. Stevens & Co. is obscure, but
available evidence points to 1780 as the date of its
establishment. A Mr. Raikes, a Quaker, removed
his business from the Canal to a shop in Silver Street,
the present (1956) retail premises of the company.
How long he had been previously associated with the
tobacco trade is not known, but the Silver Street
business was conducted in his name until 1826 when
it was taken over by John Stratton. During his 23
years' proprietorship Stratton seems to have made
considerable improvements, and to have widened
the market for his products. He, in turn, sold the
business in 1849 to James Brown, popularly known
as 'Baccy Brown'. Stratton appears later to have had
a similar business in Exeter Street, Salisbury.
Although tobacco leaf was always stored at Silver
Street, the actual cutting of tobacco and grinding of
snuff did not begin there until 1865, all operations
under the previous owners having been carried out
at the Old Town mill situated on a cutting from
the River Avon, near St. Thomas's Church. The
building was originally a grist mill powered by an
undershot water-wheel. Tobacco manufacture was
confined to the upper portion of the premises, whilst
flour continued to be ground at floor-level as in the
past. An examination of accounts in the company's
possession shows that shag and Birdseye tobaccos,
roll and Bogie, plain and scented Scotch snuffs, were
all produced during Brown's time. In a letter to his
clients dated November 1850 he justified an increase
of 2d. a pound on the manufactured article because
of a continued increase in the price of leaf tobacco.
Some orders still extant called for snuff in 1 cwt.
casks, large quantities by today's standards. (fn. 290)
In 1865 Brown sold the business to Henry Stevens,
who erected machinery and plant at the Silver Street
shop and dispensed with the factory at the mill. He
was succeeded by his son, who further improved
manufacturing methods, and installed an electriclighting plant in the new factory. In 1899 the business was taken over by Messrs F. J. & E. E. Snook,
who decided to carry on under the name H. Stevens
& Co. In 1946 the business was sold to a private
company and became known as H. Stevens & Co.
(Tobaccos) Ltd. Since the Second World War extensive improvements have been made and a new
modern factory erected at High Post, Great Durnford, on the Salisbury—Amesbury road, where large
quantities of cigarettes are produced for both home
and overseas markets. Among the many brands
of tobaccos and cigarettes marketed in 1956 were
'Sarum' Virginia (on the packet of which there is a
view of Salisbury Cathedral), 'New Forest', 'Blue
Boy', 'Golden Shag', and 'White Label'.
In the early days of the Second World War, International Tobacco (Overseas) Ltd., which had its
factory in Shoreditch, London, decided for security
reasons to move part of their manufacturing plant
to Westbury. Production started at Westbury in
October 1940; but as the premises were found inadequate to cope with the increasing volume of
trade, plans were made for a permanent factory to be
erected in that town. It was completed in 1946 and
several additions have since been made to the original
building. In 1956 about 200 workpeople were employed.
By far the largest tobacco factory in the county in
1956 was the Colbourne Street, Swindon, branch of
W. D. & H. O. Wills, Ltd., employing some 700
workers. The Swindon branch was completed in
1915; but as the War Office temporarily took over
the premises two years later, normal activities were
not resumed until April 1919. This branch has
specialized in the production of the Wills' brands of
cigarettes.
The activities of H.M. Customs and Excise are
connected with the industry. There were no bonded
warehouses for tobacco in the county in 1956.
During the Second World War, however, when
enormous quantities of leaf were destroyed by enemy
action in the docks of London, Bristol, and Liverpool, a bonded warehouse was opened in Devizes.
Long Stores—a large building forming part of the
premises of E. & W. Anstie, Ltd.—was used for this
purpose. Since the end of the war supplies of leaf
have generally been drawn by the manufacturers
direct from the bonded warehouses at Bristol and
London, or through a clearing agent. In 1956 customs officers were stationed at Devizes, Salisbury,
Trowbridge, and Swindon; and there were nearly
3,000 licensed tobacco dealers in the county as well
as six manufacturers.
Before the rise of the tobacco and snuff industry
in Wiltshire, the county was renowned for the manufacture of clay pipes. In 1662 Fuller wrote: 'The
best for shape and colour . . . are made at Amesbury
in this county. They may be called chimneys portable
in pockets, the one end being the hearth and the
other the tunnel thereof . . . . These clay pipes are
burnt in a furnace for some fifteen hours—before
that time they are found little altered from the condition wherein they were first put in. It seems all that
time the fire is working itself to a height and doth its
work very soon when obtained to perfection.' (fn. 291)
It is not known when clay pipes were first made at
Amesbury; both Fuller and Aubrey (fn. 292) thought that
the first tobacco pipes were made of silver, but this
has been questioned. (fn. 293) Aubrey also said that the
common people made use of 'a walnut shell and a
straw'. While these types of pipe may have been
used, the discovery of many early clay pipes in Wiltshire proves that clay pipes were also used from an
early date.
In the 17th century writers seem to have agreed
that pipes made by the Gauntlet family were the best
of all. These pipes bore a mark on the heel consisting
of a right hand, or gauntlet, a mark derived from the
makers' name. They were made at Amesbury, but
according to Aubrey the clay was brought from
Chitterne, ten miles to the west. Gauntlet pipes
seem to have retained their supremacy from the
time when Ben Jonson praised them (fn. 294) to at least
the end of the 17th century. Further evidence of the
esteem in which Gauntlet pipes were held comes
from Fuller's description of a pipe-maker sued for
pirating the mark. (fn. 295) The defendant escaped because
he had shown a left-hand gauntlet, which he maintained would constitute a difference in heraldry.
The mark was adopted also by a Broseley (Salop.)
pipe-maker, probably Samuel Decon, who used it
with his own initials. (fn. 296)
Gauntlet pipes in the Salisbury, South Wilts., and Blackmore Museum. The pipes and the mark on
no. 4 are actual size, the other marks are 2/1
By the end of the 17th century, if not before, the
Gauntlets were not the only pipe-makers in Amesbury. Pipes, all of orthodox pattern, have been found
from the workshop there of a Gabriel Bailey. It is
even possible that the Gauntlets sold their business
to him, because a fairly large pipe in Salisbury
Museum has a circular heel mark bearing the words
'Amesbury Pipes' surrounding a right hand gauntlet
between the initials G.B. with the date 1698 underneath. Even if 'G.B.' was Gabriel Bailey, however,
he may have been a competitor of the Gauntlets,
not their successor. Very little is known about the
Gauntlet family, but it seems that many of them lived
at Netherhampton: there are monuments in Netherhampton church dating from 1672 until 1713 bearing
the name Gauntlet. A John Gauntlet, gentleman,
held the tithe barn of Netherhampton in 1631. (fn. 297)
A member of the family may have built Netherhampton House later in the century: the design on the
wrought iron gates is said to be a lump of pipe-clay
on an iron spike and, as such, the Gauntlet crest. (fn. 298)
A William Gauntlet of Netherhampton held from
the Earl of Hertford in 1675 a messuage, tenement,
and the Swan Inn in Amesbury, together with the
bailiwick of all the markets and fairs in Amesbury,
including St. John's fair. (fn. 299) This well may have
been the William Gauntlet of Netherhampton
who Aubrey says was born at Amesbury. (fn. 300) His
strong connexions with Amesbury make it most
likely that he was one of the Gauntlets making clay
pipes.
Of the large number of clay pipes found in the
county from time to time, most can by their shape
and form—even if a distinguishing mark is absent—
be assigned to the 17th century. Apart from those
bearing the Gauntlet sign, there are many pipes
made by Bristol manufacturers. Undoubtedly many
of the unmarked clays were actually produced in the
county; but it is impossible to assign to them a
maker's name.
Pipes bearing the name of Edward Higgens have
come to light and this name appears on a Salisbury
marriage licence of 1698. (fn. 301) A pipe marked 'W.
Higgen, Sarum', is also known and this maker may
have been connected with the same family. Pipes
with the name Richard Greenland on the flattened
spur are not uncommon, and a pipe-maker of this
name was a member of the Devizes Merchants'
Guild in 1688. (fn. 302) A number of other early Wiltshire
pipe-makers are known (see Table 3). (fn. 303)
In 1923 several hundred early 17th-century
tobacco pipes were unearthed in the Market Place,
Warminster. They may represent a trader's dead
stock as the legislation of 1643 and the Civil War (fn. 304)
probably caused a glut. Some of these pipes bore the
Gauntlet trade mark. (fn. 305)
A collection was made in 1937 of bowls and stems
of clay pipes found in Marlborough; (fn. 306) most of them
came from gardens on the north-west side of Back
Lane, and garden ground on the north-east side of
Cold Harbour Lane, similar pipes being found at both
places. Many were unmarked but undoubtedly of early
date, and it is possible that they were of local origin.
Amesbury clay was still used about 1840, but
whether it was used for pipes is not known. (fn. 307) Ten
years later two tobacco-pipe-makers, William John
Morgan and James Skeines, both of Salt Lane, Salisbury, appear in a directory. (fn. 308) They were still listed
in 1855, but in 1859 the name Mrs. Morgan had
taken the place of William John. (fn. 309) Little is known of
them and none of the pipes in the collection at the
Salisbury, South Wilts., and Blackmore Museum in
1956 can be definitely attributed to them. (fn. 310)
Table 3
Wiltshire Pipe-makers other than the Gauntlet Family
|
Name | Probale place of manufacture (fn. 311) | Date |
Joseph Arns | | |
Gabriel Bailey | | c. 1698 |
Edward Beast | | |
John Buckland | Marlborough
or Devizes | |
John Clifford or Cleford | Marlborough | |
William Fery | Marlborough | c. 1700 |
Edmund Fox | Amesbury | 1600–50 |
John Greenland | Marlborough | c. 1700 |
Richard Greenland | Marlborough | c. 1650 |
William Harden | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
John Harris (fn. 312) | Trowbridge | c. 1757 |
William Higgins | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
Thomas Mason | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
Edward Mells | Marlborough | |
John Merrifield | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
Mrs. Mills, widow | Marlborough | |
William Mitchell (fn. 313) | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
William Pearce | | c. 1700 |
John Sanger | Salisbury | 1700–20 |
John Sayer | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
John Smith | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
Thomas Smith | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
Thomas Smithfield | Salisbury | c. 1700 |
Thomas Widdows (fn. 312) | Salisbury | c. 1718 |
Paper-making
The comparatively rapid increase in the number of
paper-mills at work in Wiltshire in the 18th and
early 19th centuries paralleled similar developments
in many parts of England. (fn. 314) Most of the Wiltshire
mills, which were quite small, closed down in the
19th century, probably owing to the operation of
factors such as the competition of better-placed or
better-equipped mills and changes in the nature and
sources of raw materials. The number of people
employed in the manufacture of paper in Wiltshire
was never large, the highest figures recorded in the
Census; Occupation Tables being those for 1901,
when there were 45 men and 34 women in the industry.
The Wiltshire paper-mills were mostly in the
north-west of the county, especially along the By
Brook, and the south-east, within ten miles of
Salisbury. A primary requirement of paper-makers
—a good supply of water powerful enough to drive
the mill and clear enough to be used in the papermaking process—was satisfied here, but the industry
was probably also attracted to these areas by the
proximity of Bristol and Bath, and Salisbury respectively, both as sources of raw materials and as
markets. In some cases, paper-makers seem to have
taken over mills formerly used by cloth-makers or
corn-millers. For example, the 'Veverne' mill owned
by a clothier in the 16th century (fn. 315) was probably on
or near the site of the corn-mill which became the
Weavern paper-mill (see below, p. 246). In 1744 (fn. 316) a
clothier is recorded at Widdenham mill in Colerne
which was probably on the site of the later papermill.
There is little concentrated information about the
paper-making industry in England up to the 19th
century, but between 1816 and 1852 the Commissioners of Customs and Excise issued lists of
paper-mills in the form of General Letters and
Orders. (fn. 317) These usually recorded the Excise Numbers allotted to the paper-mills, the names of the
paper-makers and mills, and the Collection of Excise
in which the mills were situated. The paper-mills
which worked in north-west Wiltshire during this
period were in the Bath Collection of Excise; that at
Calstone was in the Marlborough, and the Bulford,
Bemerton, and Downton mills were in the Salisbury
Collection.
The paper-mills
Probably the first paper-mill to be established in
Wiltshire was at Bemerton (actually the mill is in the
parish of West Harnham) and there are several early
references to it; (fn. 318) it was working from either 1554 or
1569 until well into the 19th century. In 1726 George
Thompson, paper-maker, took out a fire insurance
policy (fn. 319) in respect of his household goods and stock
in his dwelling house and paper-mills all under one
roof in West Harnham. Later, the following were
apprenticed (fn. 320) to paper-makers at West Harnham:
James Thorn (1751) to George Thompson; and
John Tull (1761), James Randall (1765), John Strugnal (1770), William Thompson (1773), and John
Loader (1777) to James Wilkinson. A tablet in
Bemerton church commemorates a child James
Wilkinson at the paper-mill in 1779, and the name of
James Wilkinson, of Bemerton paper-mills, appears
in a notice in 1793. (fn. 321) The names of five paper-makers
—Thomas Ketchen, Robert Wells, William Collens,
James Randel, John Tull—are recorded in the
Bemerton Registers of Marriages and Banns between
1763 and 1777. Excise Letters of 8 October 1816, (fn. 322)
and 28 November 1832, (fn. 323) list Mill No. 344 at Bemerton. The name of the paper-maker concerned, James
Forward, appears in the Wiltshire Poll Book in
1819, and in the Bemerton Rate Book up to 1845.
The last known reference to this paper-mill is in a
directory of 1860, (fn. 324) under the name of J. W. Towards
(probably a mis-spelling of Forward), but as it is
not mentioned in a list of paper-mills in 1851 (fn. 325) it had
probably ceased work before then.
There is a tradition that there was a paper-mill
in St. Ann's Street, Salisbury. This was possibly the
mill at which Ambrose Curtis, of Salisbury, papermaker, worked about 1686. (fn. 326) A paper-mill east of the
cathedral is shown on an 18th-century plan of
Salisbury. (fn. 327)
The possibility that a paper-mill existed at or near
Nunton is suggested by the recorded marriage of
Henry Bacon of Nunton, paper-maker, in 1666. (fn. 328)
The earliest reference to the paper industry at
Downton is the marriage of William Snelgar, of
Downton, paper-maker, in 1740. (fn. 329) Samuel Snelgar
of Downton, paper-maker, took apprentices named
John Berryman (in 1755), (fn. 330) Joseph Snelgar and John
Davis (in 1766), and John Snelgar (in 1768). (fn. 331) He
insured the paper-mill in 1756. (fn. 332) It seems likely that
at least one paper-mill in Dorset was started by
paper-makers from Downton, as by the 1750's
Samuel Snelgar and Anthony Berryman, papermakers of Downton, had leased Carey paper-mill
near Wareham. (fn. 333) About 1791 (fn. 334) Downton had 'a good
paper-mill' where Joseph Jellyman was the papermaker. He had insured the mill in 1781. (fn. 335) The mill
building still stands in the centre of the town. The
manufacture apparently ceased for a time in the
1840's (fn. 336) and 1850's, (fn. 337) but in 1855 (fn. 338) the name of W.
Stradling, paper-manufacturer at Downton, is recorded, suggesting that the mill was not long out of
action. For many years up to the closure after the
First World War, this mill was equipped with two
vats, producing hand-made writing and account-book
papers. In 1885 and 1890 (fn. 339) it was operated by Messrs.
Wiggins, Teape, Carter, & Barlow, who were followed by Mark Palmer & Son, the last paper-makers
to work it. Another mill at Downton, probably an
adjacent building but a separate mill, was apparently
used by the Jellyman family from about 1830 to 1860
for the manufacture of paste-board.
The paper-mill at Bulford was insured by
Wingfield Hillman and Thomas Noyce, papermakers, in 1765. (fn. 340) In 1784 Mary Mould, papermaker, insured her goods, utensils, and stock. (fn. 341) The
mill worked for nearly a century from 1786, (fn. 342) when
the paper-maker was Thomas Mould. Members of
this family seem to have migrated to Dorset, (fn. 343) where
Carey mill was let to Joseph Mould, paper-maker of
Bulford, in 1810, and Wimborne paper-mill was also
worked by him in 1816. From 1786 to 1790 Isaac
Brodribb was the master paper-maker at Bulford.
In 1786 he insured his utensils and the stock in his
paper-mill. (fn. 344) In 1790, when he was bankrupt, he was
described as a paper-maker, late of Durrington. (fn. 345)
In 1791 Lawrence Greatrake, paper-maker, insured the utensils and stock in the paper-mill and in
a warehouse at Andover (Hants). (fn. 346) In 1793 he was
described as a paper-maker of Bulford. (fn. 347) Excise
Letters show that Bulford mill (No. 345) passed
through many hands in the 19th century. In 1866 (fn. 348)
A. Southby was recorded as the paper-maker, producing blottings, filterings, and small hands. The
mill was dismantled about 1880. (fn. 349)
The paper-mill at Calstone was probably that
advertised in 1791 (fn. 350) as a valuable new overshot
paper-mill near Calne. It was said to be esteemed
for workmanship and strength, and one of the most
complete in the kingdom. Among its advantages
were that it was on a constant and one of the best
streams of water for writing paper in England, that
rags were collected in large quantities nearby, and
that it was the first mill on the stream. The Excise
Letter of 1816 records it as Mill No. 230, worked by
John Huband. The last known reference to it is in
1876 (fn. 351) when it was owned by William John Dowding
& Sons, and was equipped with one machine 48
inches wide, making small hands and caps. A
Directory of 1860 (fn. 352) lists Daniel Huband at Mill No.
200 at Calne, but no other reference to this mill has
been found.
Most of the other Wiltshire paper-mills were
placed on or near the By Brook, west of Chippenham. Aubrey (fn. 353) states that in 1635 a paper-mill was
built at Long Dean (Yatton Keynell) by a Mr. Wyld,
to supply Bristol with brown paper. In 1746 (fn. 354) this
'well accustomed' paper-mill, then occupied by
Roger Lewis, was advertised to be let or sold. It was
insured in 1753 and 1763 (fn. 355) by John Lewis, described
in the first policy as a paper-maker of Long Dean
and in the second as a victualler of Wootton Bassett.
In 1808 (fn. 356) the partnership of Richard and Charles
Barrow, paper-makers of Long Dean, was dissolved,
and in 1809 (fn. 357) Richard Barrow was declared a bankrupt, a fate which also befell his successor, D.
Husband, in 1814. (fn. 358) Excise Letters of 1816–47 refer
to this mill as No. 16. The products during this
period were paper, pasteboard, and millboard. The
last known reference to a paper-maker here is in
1860, (fn. 359) when John Sellick was stated to be manufacturing browns, royal hands, and cartridges.
The dissolution of the partnership of Sarah and
William Hill, paper-manufacturers of Widdenham
mill in Colerne, is recorded in 1813. (fn. 360) William Hill
was declared a bankrupt in 1814. (fn. 361) This mill was
much lower down the valley. It bore the Excise
Number 19 and was apparently in operation until
1866 (fn. 362) when it was worked by W. Perrin, making
brown, blue, and sugar papers.
Charles Ward of Doncombe is named in a list
of paper-makers compiled about 1793 (fn. 363) and in the
Wiltshire Poll Book, 1819. He was probably at
Doncombe mill in Colerne, which is listed in the
Excise Letter of 1816 as No. 17, occupied by Messrs.
Cottle & Ward. The first of these partners was
presumably the J. Cottell, paper-maker of North
Wraxall, whose bankruptcy is recorded in 1817, (fn. 364)
and the second Charles Ward of Doncombe papermills, who died in 1825. (fn. 365) It passed through the
hands of at least four other paper-makers, producing
variously paper, pasteboard, and millboard before
it fell silent about 1847.
Weavern mill, which seems to have lain north of
Widdenham mill on the Colerne and Biddestone
parish boundary, was advertised for sale in 1793,
when it was described as an excellent two-vat
paper-mill, occupied by John Butler. (fn. 366) In 1794 this
paper-mill was equipped with two engines. (fn. 367) It
appears in the first Excise Letter in 1816 as No. 13,
occupied by Henry Garner, who about that time also
had an interest in Widdenham mill. The Excise
Records show that Weavern mill had ceased work
by 1834.
In the Excise Letter of 1816, Chaps mill, in
Slaughterford, is listed as No. 14, occupied by
Henry Garner the younger. It is the only paper-mill
now (1956) working in Wiltshire and it still bears this
number. A Directory of 1859 (fn. 368) lists J. W. Dowding,
paper-manufacturer at Slaughterford; this family
still owns the mill. In 1860 (fn. 369) it was producing blue
and white royal hands. For many years it has been
equipped with one machine (now 70 in. in width)
making grocery papers, royal hands, bag papers,
square-bottom, rose and satchel sugar bags, imitation
Kraft bags, mill wrappers, fruit papers, jacquards,
middles, pastel and cover papers, backing papers,
browns, and straw paper. (fn. 370)
At least one other paper-mill worked at Slaughterford. William Duckett paper-maker of the parish of
Slaughterford was bankrupt in 1792. (fn. 371) He appears
to have been followed by James Bryant, to whom
George Emery and Charles Curtis were apprenticed
in 1802 and 1803 respectively. (fn. 372) According to the
Excise Letter of 1816, Mill No. 15 there was occupied
by Thomas Bevan, but the mill bearing this number
had ceased work by the 1830's. Mill No. 631,
Slaughterford, is recorded in an Excise Letter of
1827, (fn. 373) and was occupied by four different papermakers in turn up to 1849. The industry at Slaughterford seems to have experienced a check in the
1840's, as both Chaps mill and Mill No. 631 are
recorded in Excise Letters as 'left off'. The 1851
Census Report noted that the cessation of work at two
paper-mills had caused a decrease of population at
Slaughterford.
Other mills in this area were advertised as being
attractive to paper-makers during the period of the
geographical expansion of the industry. In 1784 (fn. 374)
Ford grist mills, in the parish of North Wraxall, were
said to be calculated for adding a paper- or fullingmill under the same roof, having been built for
that purpose. There were fine crystal springs of
water rising nearby, fit for making the finest white
paper.
A reference has been found to supplies of cartridge
paper from Trowbridge to the parliamentary garrison at Chalfield in 1645, (fn. 375) but no evidence of a
paper-mill there has been discovered.
A notice in 1738 (fn. 376) states that William Coles,
paper-maker, kept a warehouse in Devizes where
any person could be served with 'all sorts of paper,
coarse or fine, as cheap and as good, as by any maker
whatsoever'. The location of William Coles's mill
is not known, but paper-makers named Coles were
at Wookey Hole in Somerset for many years; the
earliest relevant reference is to James Coles, papermaker there, who insured his paper-mill in 1758. (fn. 377)
Stone-quarrying
Many of the beds of oolitic limestone which yield
Bath Stone lie in north-west Wiltshire. (fn. 378) Box Hill is
the centre of the quarrying area and provides the best
stone. Portland beds occur in the western end of the
Vale of Pewsey, on Swindon Hill, and in the Vale of
Wardour, where they have chiefly been quarried at
Chilmark and Teffont Evias. They are there associated with Purbeck beds, which are also found on
Swindon Hill. (fn. 379)
The surviving remains of buildings and querns
show that the Romans made use of all these stones.
As they worked the outcrops of the beds it is impossible to locate their quarries with certainty, but it is
probable that much of the stone used at Wanborough
(Durocornovium) was taken from Old Swindon
Hill, where coins and other finds have been discovered close to the modern Okus quarries. (fn. 380) Roman
interments, coins, and potsherds have been found
at Teffont Evias quarry, (fn. 381) which suggests that it may
also have been open in Roman times. The villa at
Box was almost certainly built of stone from Box
Hill, but it is not possible to tell whether stone from
this hill was used in any of the surviving Roman
buildings in Bath: it seems probable, but exact geological comparison cannot be carried out as the beds
have long been exhausted, and it is impossible otherwise to distinguish between the stone from Coombe
Down, just over the border into Somerset, and that
from Box. (fn. 382)
It was Box Hill Stone (technically known as
Box Ground Stone) which was obtained at Hazelbury quarry, described by Aubrey as 'the most
eminent for freestone in the western parts before the
discovery of the Portland quarry, which was but
about anno 1600'. (fn. 383) An old tradition attributes the
founding of this quarry to St. Aldhelm: it is said that
St. Aldhelm was riding over the ground at Hazelbury when he threw down his glove and ordered his
companions to dig where it fell, saying that they
would find great treasure there. (fn. 384) St. Aldhelm may
indeed have been associated with the quarry as the
one surviving building for which he is said to have
been responsible, (fn. 385) the small church of St. Laurence
at Bradford-on-Avon, is built of Box Ground Stone,
probably from Hazelbury. (fn. 386) Although the arcaded
ornament and present window structure of this
church are stylistically later than St. Aldhelm's
time, it has been shown that below the string course
the original late-7th-century church probably remains substantially intact. (fn. 387)
Hazelbury quarry was chiefly important in the
Middle Ages as a source of material for monastic
buildings, including Stanley Abbey, Bradenstoke
Priory, Lacock Abbey, and Monkton Farleigh
Priory. (fn. 388) By the middle of the 12th century Hazelbury manor was held by the Croke family, but grants
show that the quarry area was divided up between
this family and the neighbouring lords of Box, Rudloe, Shockerwick, 'Fogham', and Henley. Four
generations at least of the Croke family made grants
of quarries to the religious houses between c. 1189
and 1306. (fn. 389) The Bigot family of Box granted land
with quarries to Bradenstoke Priory and Stanley
Abbey in the middle of the 13th century, (fn. 390) a time
when the quarries seem to have been extended. A
record is also preserved of an exchange of quarries
between Stanley Abbey and Lacock Abbey in 1241. (fn. 391)
Both Bradenstoke Priory and Lacock Abbey retained
at least some of their holdings in the quarries until
the Dissolution. (fn. 392)
Stone from the Hazelbury quarries was also used
for secular purposes: in 1254 the Sheriff of Wiltshire was ordered to carry six cartloads of Hazelbury
stone to Freemantle (Hants) to finish the king's
works there. (fn. 393) In the 15th and 16th centuries the
quarry furnished stone for two of the great houses
built then: Great Chalfield Manor House and Longleat House. Thomas Tropenell of Great Chalfield
acquired property in the quarry in 1465, (fn. 394) and Sir
John Thynne of Longleat did so in 1573. (fn. 395) The
Thynne family still held their quarry plot in the
reign of Charles I, (fn. 396) and, indeed, until it was sold to
Job Pictor in 1868 (see below).
By far the most important medieval quarry in the
south of the county was the one at Chilmark, which
furnished stone for many of the Norman churches
both in south Wiltshire and north Dorset—for
example, the churches of Stapleford and Coombe
Bissett. (fn. 397) The Normans also used this stone in the
cathedral at Old Salisbury. (fn. 398) New Salisbury Cathedral, on which building began in 1220 and continued
for nearly a century, (fn. 399) is the most notable example
of the later use of the stone. Wilton Abbey may have
been built of it, for the abbey held the manor of
Chilmark. (fn. 400) Together with many of the other possessions of the abbey, the manor passed into the hands
of the Pembroke family. At the time of the 1562
survey, quarry rights were reserved from the lease
of the demesne farm. (fn. 401) There is no mention of a
lease of the quarries in this survey, but in 1613 all
the quarries were leased to a certain Thomas Sweet
and his sons at a rent of 9s. a year or three reasonable
cart-loads of good, quarry-stapled stone. (fn. 402) This
seems a very low rent, but in the middle of the 17th
century, when a large quantity of stone was needed
for the rebuilding of Wilton House as designed
by Inigo Jones, Bath Stone was used. Nevertheless, Aubrey refers to 'a very great quarry' at
Chilmark. (fn. 403)
A quarry of freestone in the neighbouring parish
of Teffont Evias is described by Aubrey as 'not long
since discovered'. (fn. 404) Early-15th-century account rolls,
however, mention four or five quarries there, one of
which was leased at a rent of 26s. 8d., and another at
10s. (fn. 405) The quarries at Teffont Evias and Chilmark
were very near each other: the quarries marked as
Chilmark quarry and Teffont quarry respectively on
Andrews and Dury's map of 1773 are on opposite
sides of the same ridge. It seems probable that some
of the 'Chilmark stone' used in the Middle Ages
came in fact from Teffont Evias.
Many lesser quarries were worked throughout the
Middle Ages and into the 17th century: Leland
mentioned a quarry near Bradford-on-Avon, (fn. 406) the
clerk of works to Sir John Thynne talked about quarries at Shalbourne and Easton, (fn. 407) and Aubrey mentioned quarries at Compton Bassett, Yatton Keynell,
Alderton, Bower Chalke, and Swindon. (fn. 408) At Swindon it was apparently the Purbeck beds which were
quarried, and the stone was taken to London for use
as hall and stair-paving slabs at Montagu House and
Berkeley House. This is the only record of Wiltshire
stone travelling so far at this date: a great difficulty
was the high cost of transporting stone, so that for
less important buildings local stone was used even
if it was of inferior quality. There are many outcrops
of stone in Wiltshire, and most of them have probably been used at some time.
Changes in the means of transport in the late 18th
and 19th centuries helped to enlarge the market for
Wiltshire stone. The building of the Wilts. & Berks.
Canal gave a great impetus to quarrying at Swindon, (fn. 409) and the Kennet & Avon Canal enabled the
stone from Box Hill to compete for the first time
with that from Portland. The Chilmark, Teffont,
and Tisbury quarries, however, were not benefited
by these canals and an expensive over-land journey
was still necessary before this stone could be transported by water. The difference which this made to
the price of the stone in London was brought out by
an inquiry into building stone in 1839, before the
stone for the new Palace of Westminster was chosen:
stone from Baynton Quarry in Box, which was sent
by canal from Lacock, fetched 1s. 11d. per cubic foot
in London, but that from George Lane's quarry in
Chilmark fetched 5s. 3d., and that from James
Brevis's quarry at East Tisbury fetched from 4s. to
4s. 3d. a cubic foot. (fn. 410) The greater ease of working
Bath Stone may have accounted for a small proportion of the difference, (fn. 411) but transport costs were the
main cause. Bath Stone from Box was not chosen
for the Palace of Westminster, but it was used by
Benjamin Wyatt in York House in 1825, and to
reface Apsley House in 1828. (fn. 412)
The opening of the Great Western Railway made
the transport of stone from Bradford, Box Hill, and
Swindon even easier. The census of 1841 revealed
105 labourers working in the stone quarries at
Winsley in Bradford, and 60 at Box. The construction of the Box tunnel (fn. 413) also revealed the extent
of the stone beds, and led to a great expansion of
quarrying, or rather mining. The change from open
quarrying as at Hazelbury to the method of tunnelling into the side of the hill probably began long
before this. At first the adits may not have run very
far, but by 1770 there is mention of 'mines and
quarries' at Corsham, (fn. 414) which suggests that the
system was well advanced by then. It was extended
after the building of the railway tunnel: the beds
were approached both from another tunnel entering the hill near the railway tunnel at the Corsham
end, and from the surface by deep inclined shafts.
By 1862 there were five miles of tunnels with tramways for hauling the stone; these were partly
worked by the use of gravity, but horses were also
used. (fn. 415) Below the Upper Ragstone a hard rock
called the 'capping bed' formed a natural roof over
the building stone, so that it was possible to have a
working face from 18 to 30 feet wide without danger
of falls. Larch props were sometimes used, but the
roof was mainly supported by large pillars of natural
stone which were left uncut. The good building stone
varied in depth from 20 to 30 feet. It was worked
from above: first nine or ten inches were cleared
below the 'ceiling' with adze-shaped picks, then the
stone was sawn into blocks down to the natural divisions or partings, and, finally, the blocks were
levered off from the parent rock at the back. (fn. 416) Hand
cranes fastened to the roof were used to load the
stone (see pl. facing p. 230).
The growth of the industry was very rapid and
Bath Stone was sent by rail all over the country: a
surviving price list of 1860 gives delivery quotations for towns and villages in nearly all the counties
of England from Cornwall to Yorkshire, and in
Wales. (fn. 417) The firm issuing the list was Randell &
Saunders, who owned quarries in Corsham Down,
Box Hill, Farley Down (Monkton Farleigh), Murhill Down (Bradford-on-Avon), and Coombe Down
(Som.). This firm was not one of the oldest ones
working at that time for it was only founded in
1845, (fn. 418) while some of the other firms had a much
longer history, in particular the firm then owned by
Job Pictor of Box, and that of the Sumsion family of
Bath, who quarried at Coombe Down and Monks
Park (Corsham). The second half of the 19th century saw a great multiplication of firms in the Wiltshire Bath-Stone district from Corsham and Box to
Bradford-on-Avon. By 1885 there were twelve quarry
owners listed in Kelly's Directory, and four more had
appeared by 1895. The most significant movement at
this time was the amalgamation of several of these
firms as the Bath Stone Firms Ltd. in 1887. Robert
Pictor and his younger brothers, Cornelius and
William, seem to have prompted this amalgamation,
and on the sudden death of Robert, Cornelius Pictor became the first chairman and managing director
of the company. The other firms who joined were
Randell & Saunders, and those of Samuel R. Noble
of Box, Isaac Sumsion of Bath, John T. F. Turner of
Bath, George Hancock of Corsham, and Robert E.
Giles of Bath. (fn. 419)
In the first year of its existence the Bath Stone
Firms Ltd. quarried 1½ million cubic feet of stone. (fn. 420)
It is not possible to know how many men were employed because the work was carried out by subcontractors or 'gangers', who each usually employed
from seven to twelve men. This system was maintained until about 1940 when it was exchanged for
the Portland system of 'companies'. The sub-contractor or foreman is eliminated in the latter system,
but each team or company of five to seven men, with
apprentices, is still paid on their results over and
above a minimum wage, and not on the number of
men employed. The Census Report for 1841 gives
110 men as stone quarriers and another 1,320 as
masons or stone cutters. By 1861 the number of
quarriers had risen to 373, of whom 211 lived in the
Chippenham Registration District and another 44 in
that of Bradford-on-Avon: this means that about
two-thirds of all the quarriers in the county worked
in the Bath Stone area. The later Census Reports link
together quarriers, dressers, and cutters, so they do
not provide comparable figures. In 1901 there were
1,199 quarriers, dressers, or cutters, 16 other workers
in quarry products, and 45 stone dealers.
Traditionally miners are Nonconformist and this
seems to have been true of the Bath-Stone workers.
In the mid-19th century the miners appear to have
supported a Primitive Methodist or some more
extreme Methodist preacher. It is said that this
preacher was arrested at the instigation of the then
Vicar of Box, so Robert Pictor permitted one of the
galleries in Spring Quarry to be used for the miners'
meetings. This gallery is still called 'Chapel Ground'. (fn. 421)
Although Bath Stone was quarried on a far larger
scale in the 19th century than any of the other Wiltshire stones, quarries at Chilmark and Swindon were
used throughout the 19th century and into the
twentieth. The firm of Levi Bowles was established
at Chilmark some time before 1885, and was still
operating in 1920. (fn. 422) Gething & Co. started work in
Chilmark early in the 20th century, and were still
quarrying there and at Teffont Evias in 1931. The
Chilmark quarries were closed, however, later in the
1930's, and the galleries were taken over by the Air
Ministry for storage purposes before the Second
World War. (fn. 423) The Swindon quarries declined
rapidly in importance in the 20th century because
they were almost exhausted.
The 20th-century history of the Bath Stone industry is also one of declining production, although
considerable quantities of stone are still (1958) quarried at Box and Corsham, and, indeed, all Bath Stone
now produced comes from Wiltshire. At the beginning of the century 3 million cubic feet of stone a
year were quarried, and there was a considerable
export trade with Canada and South Africa. (fn. 424) It was
claimed that the Wiltshire stone mines were the
largest in the world. (fn. 425) There were then 60 miles of
tunnels. Work continued throughout the First World
War and large stocks of stone were built up. Much
of this stone was exported to America. This export
trade was developed until it was killed by the tariff
barriers which the Americans erected in the late
1920's and early 1930's. Mechanization in the Box
and Corsham quarries was slow at first because it
was more profitable to invest all the capital available
in the Portland Stone quarries; there was also difficulty in obtaining electric power underground at
Corsham. In 1936, however, the War Department
took over Tunnel Quarry and Hudwell Quarry at
Corsham, and one of the Monkton Farleigh quarries,
for ammunition storage. The transformation of these
quarries was undertaken jointly by the War Department and the Bath and Portland Stone Firms Ltd.
Electricity was introduced, and later this was carried
into the other quarries where stone was still worked.
Before the Second World War, mechanical cutters
and electric cranes were in use. Otherwise, the
method of obtaining the stone was exactly the same
as in 1862.
The disused galleries made such an excellent
storage area that many more quarries were requisitioned after the outbreak of the Second World War;
they were used by both the Air Ministry and the
Admiralty. In 1942 a large aircraft factory was built
underground, while married quarters and six hostels
for 1,000 persons each were built nearby. (fn. 426) Quarrying
is still (1958) greatly restricted by the Air Ministry's
control of many quarries, and only about 160 to 170
men are now employed in Wiltshire by the Bath
and Portland Stone Firms Ltd., the only firm still
working.
Another use which has been made of the disused
stone quarries is the establishment of a mushroom
farm at one of the quarries previously worked by the
Yockney and Hartham Park Stone Company, and
subsequently called Pockeridge Quarry. A firm called
Agaric Ltd. was formed in 1914: by 1923 13 acres
underground were in cultivation and were producing
from 250,000 lb. to 300,000 lb. of mushrooms a
year. (fn. 427) The even temperature and good ventilation
of the quarries provide perfect conditions for mushroom farming throughout the year.
Other modern developments in the use of the
quarries have been carried out by the quarrying
firms themselves. It is probable that stone carving
was always carried out near the quarries, but the
scale on which it was done was expanded at the same
time as the quarries themselves were expanded after
the building of the Box tunnel. It is said that I. K.
Brunel and Job Pictor collaborated in this development. At all events, stone dressing, cutting, and
carving have been important side-lines of Pictors,
and of the Bath and Portland Stone Firms Ltd.,
since the mid-19th century. The connexion of the
Pictor family with the company was broken for a
time early in the 20th century, but the present chairman and managing director is Mr. A. N. Pictor,
grandson of Robert Pictor.
Stone carving and ornamental work has been
undertaken also by many smaller firms and individual craftsmen, such as Mr. M. V. Sheppard of Box,
who in 1953 was still carrying on the business
started by his family many years earlier. Work for
churches, inscriptions, and garden ornaments were
then some of the main activities of this small firm. (fn. 428)
Originally, the small stones and dust produced in
the quarrying were waste, but it was discovered at
the end of the Second World War that they could be
ground very fine and used as agricultural lime. The
Bath and Portland Stone Firms Ltd. is now one of
the leading suppliers of this product in the southwest, trading under the titles of Western Farm
Supplies Ltd. and Wessex Spreaders Ltd. The dust
and waste stone is also made by the firm into Bath
Stone concrete-faced blocks for use in house building.
Thus, although quarried on a smaller scale than in the
19th century, Wiltshire Bath Stone has wider uses.
Iron-working
There are two districts in Wiltshire where iron ore
has been quarried and smelted. (fn. 429) One is situated on
the lower greensand area, which stretches westwards
from the foot of the escarpment of the chalk downs
running in a northerly direction from Devizes. This
area extends in a westerly direction to Seend, and
north-westerly to Bromham; both these villages are
about four miles distant from the town. The other
mining area is also in the western part of the county,
but farther south, and is within about a mile of Westbury.
At what period these areas were first worked is
uncertain. Quantities of ashes and slag, clearly the
remains of smelting, have been ploughed up from
time to time at various places in the former of the
two districts mentioned, (fn. 430) and as these finds were in
all cases associated with definite signs of Roman or
Romano-British occupation, it seems reasonable to
suppose that the industry existed at least from that
period. The fact that slag and haematite were found
at the Iron Age A village at All Cannings Cross, (fn. 431)
and slag in the ditches of the somewhat later camps
of Lidbury and Casterley, (fn. 432) all of which are of preRoman date, may perhaps be evidence of an earlier
origin of the industry.
The first documentary mention of iron-working is
found in Domesday, where Fifield Bavant is stated
to have an iron-work or forge (ferraria) yielding
12d. a year. (fn. 433) The next reference found is about two
centuries later, when Edward I in 1294 granted to
the abbot and monks of Stanley Abbey (near Calne)
a licence to dig iron-ore on their demesne lands
within the king's forest of Chippenham, to smelt it
and carry it away. (fn. 434) No other references have been
found until the 17th century, when John Aubrey,
speaking of the village of Seend, wrote:
This village is on a red sand hill, from which it has
its name. . . . In this hill underneath the sand is iron
ore and the richest that I have seen, for the smith can
make the ore which he takes up from the street melt in
his forge, which the ore in the Forest of Dean will not
do. . . . Melksham Forest reached to the foot of the
hill. It was full of good oaks which were cut down
about 1634. . . . Now there are very few oaks left in
the parish or thereabout and so this rich mine cannot
be smelted. (fn. 435)
It was not until the middle of the 19th century that
attempts to work the ore both at Seend and Westbury
on any extensive scale were made. In 1857 a company called the Great Western Iron Ore Smelting
Co. acquired 15 acres of land at Seend, situated about
¼ mile west of the village, on a hill-side sloping
northwards towards the Kennett & Avon Canal and
the railway. On this site they began operations at a
point about a mile south of the railway station. A
prospectus was issued describing in glowing terms
the quality of the ore, which various analyses stated
to contain from 33 to 40 per cent. of metal. The
capital required was fixed at £50,000, and profits
of anything up to 50 per cent. were confidently
expected. (fn. 436) Contracts were made with a London firm,
Messrs. Sarll, to supply from 400 to 1,200 tons of
ore a week. (fn. 437) Some of the coke required for the
smelting furnaces was brought from a coal mine at
Vobster, near Frome (Som.), (fn. 438) but the company also
acquired a property at Ruabon in North Wales to
supplement this supply and to provide the lime
required in the smelting process. (fn. 439) Two blast furnaces
were erected, and a railway line was constructed
from the works to the Kennet & Avon Canal and
later to Seend railway station. (fn. 440) The ore being on
the surface, no tunnelling was necessary.
The optimistic expectations of the promoters were
never fulfilled, and in the short space of two years—
in 1859—the company was bankrupt, the excess of
its liabilities over its assets amounting to £28,629. (fn. 441)
Several reasons seem to have contributed to this
rapid failure. The cost of transporting fuel to the
furnaces and of sending the iron to its markets
absorbed too much of the profits; and that the
management was bad and reckless is shown by the
fact that the Ruabon property, bought for £10,000,
was described in the bankruptcy proceedings as
being 'almost valueless' for the purposes for which
it had been bought and was sold for £600. (fn. 442) The
whole property was taken over by Messrs. Sarll, who
in 1861 formed another company with the title of the
Wiltshire Iron Co. A third furnace was erected,
and work began again. (fn. 443) An article in the Mining
Journal in May 1861, which must surely have been
inspired by the promoters, describes this new enterprise in some detail and prophesies success for the
venture. It states that 250 tons of ore were being
produced a week, and gives the area of the ironbearing land as 150 acres, containing an estimated
total of 25 million tons of ore. (fn. 444)
For a few years the new venture was able to claim
a measure of success, and a letter from H. Penruddock, a resident of Seend, states that in the year 1865
40,000 tons of ore were raised. (fn. 445) But this prosperity
was brief, for in the next year a local newspaper
printed the following statement: 'The Seend Iron
Works has again come to grief, this time under the
name of the Wiltshire Iron Company, and a windingup order has been made in the Court of Chancery.' (fn. 446)
What happened then is not quite clear, but some
work still went on, for a letter written in 1869 by
William Cunnington, a Devizes resident who took
much interest in the work, estimates that about 60
men were still employed there. (fn. 447) In 1870 the industry was taken over by a firm named Malcolm, (fn. 448)
who lasted until 1873, when they suspended payment. From that time the works remained derelict
for about fifteen years; and in 1889 the plant and
machinery were sold, and the furnaces demolished. (fn. 449)
The quarrying of ore, however, was resumed later
and in 1905 the property was acquired by the
Westbury and Seend Ore & Oxide Co., whose head
office is at Midsomer Norton (Som.). (fn. 450) The ore
produced found a market in South Wales. The
demand for steel during the First World War resulted
in a great increase in production, and in order to
maintain the supply on a scale in accordance with
the demand, an overhead cable was constructed
which conveyed the ore in large steel buckets to the
railway station at Seend. (fn. 451) After the war production
fell considerably, and this cable has now been dismantled. Quarrying has almost ceased, though a
small amount of ore is still dug from time to time,
and is sent to Cardiff, where it is ground to a fine
powder and used in a process connected with the
manufacture of coal-gas. (fn. 452)
The other rich deposit of ore in the county, near
Westbury, was first noticed in 1841, when a cutting
for the railway line was being made, but no attempt
to work it was undertaken until 1857, the same year
in which the Seend quarries were opened. In that
year steps were taken to form the Westbury Iron Co.,
the directors being chiefly business men who had
interests in the collieries at Radstock (Som.), and in
1858 work was begun on the site. (fn. 453) The bed of ore
here is a narrow belt extending along the line of the
railway on both sides of the station for a considerable distance; the workings of the deposit finally
extended for about a mile. The ore being very near
the surface—in some parts only 5 or 6 ft. below the
top soil—it was possible to work it by 'open-cast'
methods. The presence of water in the cuttings was
a difficulty which necessitated continual pumping,
and of course increased the costs of production
considerably. (fn. 454)
Furnaces were erected on the northern side of the
railway about 100 yds. from the track, and for some
years the enterprise flourished, producing at first
about 250 tons of iron a week. (fn. 455) In 1866 it was
described as 'a brisk little iron work, with a pair of
blast furnaces'; (fn. 456) by 1869 the pair had increased to
four, of which three were in operation. (fn. 457) A local
newspaper cutting of 1872 or 1873 (fn. 458) states that
the weekly production was about 400 tons, and the
number of men employed about two hundred. The
principal markets for the output were Staffordshire,
Bristol, and South Wales. That the company was
at that time considered financially sound is shown
by the fact that in 1872 some blocks of shares in
£500 lots were sold for £600 each. (fn. 459)
The works did not escape, however, the industrial
depression which affected the whole country a few
years later. In March 1877 it was reported that in
consequence of the slackness of trade the company
had deemed it advisable to reduce the wages of the
workmen, (fn. 460) and in August of the same year it was
stated that only two of the four furnaces were in
action. (fn. 461) A revival took place, however, in 1880,
when all the furnaces were again at work, and about
50 additional men were employed. (fn. 462) This increased
prosperity continued for some years, and in 1896
77,400 tons of ore were raised. (fn. 463) But subsequently
production gradually declined until the end of the
century, and in 1901 the pressure of foreign competition and the rise in costs of materials and wages
led to the closure of the works. (fn. 464) The local gentry
who were able to do so thereupon decided to try
to make a fresh start. They purchased the property
for £9,500, and appealed for an additional £10,000
as working capital. (fn. 465) This appeal hung fire for a time,
but in the autumn of 1903 the industry was again set
going. (fn. 466) It struggled on until the outbreak of war in
1914, when production rose considerably, and in
1917 reached a total of 24,470 tons. (fn. 467)
After the war, financial difficulties again became
serious. The costs of transporting fuel to the site and
of sending the pig-iron to its markets had greatly
increased; employees' wages rose steeply, and it was
no longer possible to sell the iron at remunerative
prices. The furnaces were closed down and all
smelting ceased. A few men were retained to quarry
the ore which was sold to other smelting works, or
to gas-works. (fn. 468) But the struggle was hopeless, and
the final blow fell in 1921, when a strike of the workmen compelled the company to close the works.
By 1925 all production had ceased. The works were
dismantled, and nothing now remains except the
water-filled mine-holes as a reminder of a small, but
once flourishing industry. (fn. 469)
Bell-founding
The founding of church bells was carried on in
Wiltshire from about 1380, and probably earlier, until
1826, though a few bells have been made since then.
The chief centre of the industry was Salisbury, but a
foundry flourished for over a century at Aldbourne,
and individual founders worked at Devizes and
Warminster. (fn. 470)
Until about 1700, Salisbury founders supplied the
majority of the bells in the southern half of Wiltshire,
and in the adjacent parts of Dorset and Hampshire.
Little can be said about the work of pre-Reformation
founders there, as only one of them has left his name
on a bell. He was John Barber who inscribed 'John
Barbour made mee' on a bell at Chitterne St. Mary,
now in the present church at Chitterne. (fn. 471) According
to his will, dated 1404, he lived in Winchester
Street in St. Edmund's parish, Salisbury, and called
himself a brasier. Six other bells, possibly ten, (fn. 472)
can be ascribed to him. Three other pre-Reformation
founders from Salisbury are known from documentary evidence; they are Henry Pinker, who was
working in 1495, Thomas Skelton in 1512, and
Roger Ellis in 1530–6. (fn. 473) No bells can be ascribed
to them, and there must have been several other
founders, as the evidence of types shows that founding went on all through the 15th century. One
hundred and twelve bells of similar styles are known,
which were probably made here. From about 1380 to
about 1450, they are generally inscribed in gothic
capitals with simple phrases such as Ave Maria or
Ave Gracia. After about 1450, longer inscriptions in
the same vein were common, and black-letter smalls
came into fashion. The distribution of these bells
points to Salisbury as the place of manufacture,
though a few may have been made in Hampshire.
In addition, there are about 35 uninscribed or otherwise unclassifiable bells of medieval type in Wiltshire,
and no doubt many of them came from Salisbury.
After the Reformation, the historian's task is much
simplified, as almost every bell bears a date and the
name, initials, or trade mark of its maker. The first
result of the Reformation was, however, to bring the
industry to a standstill, and for many years secondhand monastic bells supplied all needs. The first
known founder to restart work at Salisbury was
Thomas Warre (d. 1578), who cast a bell for Winchester College in 1565, and possibly one other.
Nothing else is known of him, but his successor,
John Wallis, was responsible for 263 bells cast
between 1581 and 1624. He lived in St. Martin's
parish, probably in Culver Street, which was
referred to as the bell-founders' street in a deed of
1624. (fn. 474) Although most of his bells are found in the
area round Salisbury, there are a few as far away as
Sussex and Berkshire. His work is good and plain,
with inscriptions containing simple exhortations to
piety. His most notable work is the oldest ring of
eight in an English parish church, that at Bishop's
Cannings. It was during his period of activity, in
1613, that the bell-founders became sufficiently
organized to be included in the Company of Smiths. (fn. 475)
Wallis was followed by John Danton, who made
47 bells between 1624 and 1640. Nothing is known
of his life, but his bells are similar to those of Wallis.
Civil war stopped the Wiltshire bell industry, but
it was revived under the Commonwealth by William
Purdue, who was previously established at Bristol,
and whose bells are of excellent quality. Six bells in
the Marlborough district, dated 1652–3, by William
and his brother Thomas of Closworth (Som.) were
probably made locally. Then William produced 62
bells at Salisbury between 1656 and 1664, with
occasional assistance from Nathaniel Boulter, a
wandering founder from Buckinghamshire. After
Purdue, little more than one bell per annum was
produced at Salisbury. They were made by various
founders the most important of whom was Clement
Tosier, who worked from 1679 to 1717, but he was a
poor craftsman. After 1730 bell-founding ceased at
Salisbury until the late 19th century, when a few bells
were made by T. Blackbourn at the Friary Works.
The brothers William and Robert Cor worked a
foundry at the Court House, Aldbourne, (fn. 476) from 1694
to 1724, producing 88 bells. Their inscriptions
usually record only churchwardens and donors, but
they introduced the unusual custom, followed by all
Aldbourne founders, of putting the lettering on the
rim instead of the shoulder. After 1724 the business
was continued on a smaller scale until 1741 by other
members of the family, and then until 1757 by John
Stares and Edward Read. In 1760 Robert Wells
started a new foundry at Bell Court, Aldbourne.
Eighty-six of his bells are known. After his death in
1781 his sons, Robert (until 1799) and James (from
1792 to 1826), carried on, and between them have
left over 200 bells. Trade declined after 1812, and
in 1826 James Wells went bankrupt, the business
being bought by Thomas Mears of Whitechapel.
While most of the bells made by the Wells family
are found, like those of the Cors, within 30 miles
of Aldbourne, and few towers in north Wiltshire are
without a Wells bell, about 50 of their bells are
farther afield.
Three other founders deserve brief mention.
James Burrough of Devizes, of whom nothing is
known, made 25 bells between 1738 and 1755. Two
founders named John Lott produced 69 bells at a
foundry in Common Close, Warminster, between
1624 and 1691.
Most of the earlier founders must have been
humble artisans. This can be inferred from the lack
of information about their lives, and from the frequent illiteracy of their inscriptions. John Wallis,
who made more bells than any other Wiltshire
founder, left only £100 at his death in 1627. (fn. 477) The
Aldbourne founders, however, were more like
capitalists. The Cors could afford a private Act of
Parliament (fn. 478) to disentangle their inheritance, while
James Wells could mortgage his property for £5,000
in 1810. This change in the character of industrialists
is typical of the 18th century, but it may be partly
explained by the increased specialization of bellfounding, due to the introduction of change ringing,
which required tuned rings of six or eight bells, instead of single bells.
Even when allowance is made for bells which
have not survived, and for other work in belfries,
it is clear that church bells could not have occupied
all the time of these founders. Nor does their known
output of bells account for the wealth of the Cor and
Wells families. It appears that the Cors were woodenbutton makers; (fn. 479) Robert Wells was a fustian manufacturer as well as a bell-founder; (fn. 480) and, in connexion
with his bankruptcy, James Wells is referred to as a
corn dealer. (fn. 481) But the most obvious extra occupation
for a bell-founder is the making of small bells and
other brassware. In an advertisement in 1772, (fn. 482)
Robert Wells stated that he made church bells,
handbells, horse bells, clock and room bells, and
mill brasses. Sheep bells and handbells with his
initials are common in the district. (fn. 483) No information
about the other occupations of other founders has
been traced.
The making of small bells was not, however, the
preserve of the specialists in church bells. In medieval times even church bells were made by tinkers,
and small bells of all kinds must have been turned
out by itinerant craftsmen. In one district at least it
became a settled trade: at Market Lavington generations of craftsmen known as 'potters' manufactured
sheep bells. (fn. 484) In neighbouring Great Cheverell a
James Potter was described as a farmer and bellmaker in the third quarter of the 19th century. (fn. 485) As
no church bells are known by him, he almost certainly made sheep, cattle, and other small bells. At
the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century William Lancaster of Great Cheverell made
sheep and cattle bells on quite an extensive scale, for
he sold them wholesale at home, in the colonies,
and to foreign countries. (fn. 486)