Cottrell's Iron Works

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There were two important iron foundries in Hungerford - Gibbons and Cottrell's. They became big employers, and both firms were known for the high quality of their work.

Cottrell's went on to become a motor business, which is trading today as the Shell petrol station and convenience store.

Photo Gallery:

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eddington trade-08 1974

eddington trade-09 c1985

police murders 1876

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19861100 Site of Norman's-Cottrell's (John Allen)

Norman's Garage, Eddington

- Cottrell, Rose & Co, 1903. There are at least 53 men in the photograph.

- Henry and Francis Tidbury in handcuffs, accused of the police murders of 1876.

- Catalogue, 1897, including Improved One Horse Cart - £15 0s. 0d. Award winning 'Climax' Elevator £42 0s 0d.

- Catalogue, 1897, including Builder & Contractor's Cart, and Brewer's Crank Axle Spring Cart.

- Catalogue, 1897, including the award winning "Improved Climax Grain elevator".

Click here to see 10 more pages from the 1897 catalogue.

- Eddington Garage, c.1922. L to R: Jack Froom, Billy Norman, ??, ??, ??.

- ?inside workshop at Eddington Garage, c.1922.

- ?inside workshop at Eddington Garage, c.1922

- Norman's Garage, c.1974.

- Norman's Garage, Eddington, undated.

- Norman's Garage, May 1985.

- Looking towards Gibbs Builders, 1985.

- Site of demolished Norman's Garage / Cottrell's Iron Foundry, Nov 1986 (John Allen).

- Total Service station, February 1988 [Ivor Speed Collection].

- Total Service station - near site of former Cottrell, Rose & Co Eddington Works

- Mr A G Mills sent a copy of this to the NWN in 1971, and said "The man on the left is Mr W J Sperring, managing clerk. Close to him is Mr Rose in the light cap. The man with the watch-chain is Mr Hilsdon, works manager, and behind him is Mr Coles, wages clerk. The bearded man on the right is Mr F Bates, a clever craftsman and sub-postmaster at Newtown. Perched up behind is Walter Lovelock, one of the best footballers Hungerford ever produced."

Cottrell & Co, c.1869-1911:

The first Mr Cottrell (possibly Levi Cottrell) started the business c.1869. He developed the Eddington iron works, and in due course it was taken over by his son George Cottrell.

Kelly Directory describes them as "iron founders, millwrights, agricultural implement and boiler makers; patentees of the 'Climax' (gold medal) folding elevator and prize medal engines and water carts".

The Police Murders, 1876:

Two of their employees were notorious when in December 1876. Brothers Henry and Francis Tidbury, were found guilty of the murder of two policemen at nearby Folly Crossing. Follow this link for more on the Police Murders of 1876.

The fire at Cottrell's Iron Works:

A disastrous fire occurred at Cottrell's Works on 23rd December 1892.

The Parish Magazine of January 1893 records: "This fire must have convinced the most sceptical of the absolute necessity of an efficient organisation for dealing with accidental or incendiary fires.

Had it not been for the prompt and energetic action of the Fire Brigade with their powerful Steam Engine, the whole of the extensive premises and probably all the houses in Eddington must have been destroyed.

As it was, the damage done was most lamentable, and must be the occasion of considerable loss and inconvenience to the Firm, to whom Hungerford owes so much of its prosperity.

The fire appears to have originated in the foundry, where casting operations had been proceeding a few hours previously; and the flames rapidly extended to the pattern room, which contained patterns valued at many hundred pounds.

The casting stores were completely destroyed, and portions of the showroom and blacksmith's shop were also burned.

The damage done is estimated at £2,000. With his usual consideration for his work people, Mr Cottrell has arranged to find employment for those who were engaged in the casting and moulding departments, so that none will be out of work in consequence of the fire."

Eddington Motor Garage, later Norman's, 1911-1970s:

By the time of the 1911 census, George Cottrell was listed as "General Engineer" and his two sons, Thomas and John, are listed as Motor Engineers. Cottrell's Iron Works closed in 1911, the site becoming a motor business, initially called Eddington Motor Garage.

Norman's Motor Garage, 1922-c.1970:

By May 1922 the site had been bought by Alfred Campbell and his business partner William Warren James Norman (born 1892), always known as "Bill".

They had purchased the disused and abandoned buildings of the former firm of Cottrell, Rose & Co. at Eddington, together with the small thatched dwelling, formerly "The Three Horseshoes" public house.

'Bill' Norman had acquired his great skill as an engineer by working for an engineering concern in South London, not far from his home in Dulwich, and at an early age, his cards proclaimed him as an automobile engineer.

As time passed, they went on to acquire ever more properties in Eddington.

It seems that during the late 1940s Bill Norman took full control of the business which then ran under the name of Norman's Garage until 1970.

In the 1950s the old garage building was demolished and replaced by a larger workshop and showroom. A further extension was built to the west (now A4 Tool Hire). 

In the 1970s Billy Norman sold the business to Mike Ricketts and Johny Johnson, trading as "Normans of Hungerford". When Johny Johnson died unexpectedly, Mike Ricketts sold the business which was redeveloped as a Total Service Station

Total Service Station, 1970s - 2012:

The site became the Total Service Station in the 1970s.

In 1986 the site was redeveloped by Total Oil as a filling station, convenience store and car wash.

Shell Service Station, 2012-present:

A new Shell Station and convenience store opened in 2012.

See also:

- Gibbons' Iron Works

- "Motoring History of the Kennet Valley", by Roger Day and Tim Green, 2021.

 John Newton's paper on Norman's Garage:

NORMANS GARAGE

The island of dwellings and buildings contained in the centre of Eddington, north of the Bath Road, was again to become synonymous with the name of one man, who arrived there in the early 1920s, much the same as it had the century before with the firm of Cottrells.

The actual date on which William Warren James Norman, who was born in 1892, arrived at Eddington is not recorded, but he had certainly set himself up in business by May 1922. 'Bill' Norman had acquired his consumate skill as an engineer by working for an engineering concern in South London, not far from his home in Dulwich, and at an early age, his cards proclaimed him as an automobile engineer. His colleague in this Hungerford venture, Alfred Campbell, was similarly skilled, and it was to combine their skills that they purchased the disused and  abandoned buildings of the former firm of Cottrell, Rose & Co. at Eddington, together with the small thatched dwelling, formerly "The Three Horseshoes" public house, and there to establish Eddington Motor Garrage. The measure of their success, or rather that of Bill Norman, was to be the virtual creation of a dynasty within that small village. For, as time went by, the names of Norman and Eddington became so interlinked, that one could not think of one without the other. So it is to this day, for, by the time of his retirement from Eddington, only a few of the houses and buildings contained within the centre of the village were not under his ownership. 

Upon his arrival, things had been much different. The decay of a decade of neglect was evident. So too were the piles of black sand left over from the last foundry work still to be found - outside the door of the workshop. A Mr. Wiggins was living in the house fronting the stream at the junction of the Wantage Road with that of the A4. This house joined to the old workshop buildings enclosing a yard, between which one of the entrances to the workshop was situated. Similarly, further access was via a small wooden bridge, straight into the buildings from off the Bath Road, and another at the rear of the former public house. However, business soon commenced, a large sign proclaiming the new motor works was hastily erected across the building, above the doors from the main road. Two early type petrol pumps were installed at the entrance to the workshop, which had formerly been Cottrells erecting shop, at the rear of the wooden bridge- and so, it all began. Even Mrs. Norman was provided with a small garden and lawn area at the rear of her house, now the fami1y home . 

In the early days, Mr. Campbell's name was to appear as proprietor on the firm's billheads, and this was soon to be joined by that of Mr. Norman as partner, and before long, as sole owner - Mr.Campbell never having lived in Eddington but preferring to remain in London. One of their first employees , a man who was to stay with the firm for the rest of his working life, giving yeoman service, was Jack Ferguson. He had joined Oakes Bros. upon leaving school, where he learnt his trade, leaving them to join the motor trade soon after the establishment of the Norman's Garage. The vehicles which were worked on in those days bore no relationship to those we see today, neither were spare parts readily available, much innovation being the order of the day and necessity being the mother of invention. Along these lines, I believe that the garage sported the first electric light in Hungerford, and old engine being coupled to a generator to provide electricity for the workshop as early as 1923. Incidentally, it was not until 1927 that the first wayleave for electricity was taken out by the then Hungerford and District Electricity Supply Co. that too going to Eddington, to Edward Little at The Hermitage. 

In 1936, a young man from Kintbury by the name of Reg Tilley was to seek employment at the Eddington Motor Garage. Little could he have realised, as he cycled to work that first day, that he was embarking on an association that was to last for 34 years with the same employer. During those years, he was not only to give yeoman service, but to create a great bond of friendship between himself and the many customers who visited the garage. He well remembers, to this day, one of his first jobs, helping to enlarge the wooden decking over the stream that fronted the garage - the first major improvement - and the drilling of many holes in large girders, using a hand powered ratchet drill borrowed from Hungerford blacksmith, Vic Caswell. The following year, he became garage foreman, and in later years looked after the garage in its entirity, whilst the owner visited his elder daughter, Joyce, in America. 

As years passed by, progress was constant by the hard work of all concerned, and the increasing number of vehicles on the road made good use of the expanding facilities offered by the garage. 

Around 1938, the house on the corner was purchased by Mr. Norman, and this led to plans being prepared for another major development -which, unhappily, was never to materialise. The plan was to demolish the corner house, and erect, further back from the main road, a new dwelling with a car showroom in the ground floor and incorporating living accommodation above. Soon, a start was made on this, the house demolished and new footings laid. An abrupt end came when the building firm engaged on this from Reading ran out of funds, and before another could make a start, the brooding clouds gathering over Europe were to manifest themselves in the happenings of September, 1939. The plans for this bold step forward were now shelved - never to be implemented. Later, these footings were to be filled in, the space thus created given over to car parking and flower beds. 

However, during this same period of the 1930s, the rear portion of the old foundry buildings, which had lain idle and empty for years, were leased to The Wiltshire Egg Producers, Ltd. as an egg packing station. This brought not only a valuable source of added income for the garage proprietor, but welcome employment for many young persons, mainly female, from both Eddington and Hungerford, many of whom received their first employment in these premises, which are today often referred to as The Egg Factory! 

The spectre of war now hung heavily over Eddington - as elsewhere - the garage being a prime target for requisition. This was soon to take place with the arrival of a unit of the 48th Division of the R.A.S.C. under the command of a Captain and Lieutenant. The men were billeted at the rear of the buildings, where their cook-house was set up, their field kitchens being erected in Mrs. Norman' s small garden. The garage and old foundry buildings now became a military workshop for the repair and maintenance of army vehicles. 

Working seven days each week, Mr. Norman's men carried out any work they had to do, including military work, outside in the yard under a temporary shelter which was a roof with no sides. 

However, this unit was to form part of the British Expeditionary Force, the B.E.F., and only a few weeks after leaving Eddington, were to suffer the nightmare of Dunkirk. They never returned to the Hungerford area, but were dispersed, mostly under canvas near Salisbury. The R.A.S.C. gone, the garage, still under ministry orders, took in vehicles owned by the Reading firm of Philip and Powis, themselves given over to aircraft production. At one stage, the old foundry building at the rear was taken over for parachute packing. 

The conflict past, the garage was set for a period of rapid expansion, based on the success it had built up before the war. Mr. Norman was now able to buy, from the Ministry, many of the lathes and other machinery, with which they had equipped his former workshop, and put them to good use. Early in the 1950s, the little house, the family home, which had originally been the thatched "Three Horseshoes" public house, was now  enlarged, new bow windows being added at the front and the roof tiled, where previously, it had been slated. Around this time, also, Mr. Norman purchased the old forge, formerly occupied by the Wiggins family, and a row of small cottages, which adjoined this premises in Oxford Street, Eddington. 

These same years were marked by the single largest improvement being undertaken in the history of the garage, which upon completion, the business concern, which had started almost three decades previously in antiquated conditions, could boast as modern a garage as any in the land. This was the construction of a complete new workshop, equipped with the latest car lifting apparatus, a modern stores, new petrol pumps and an all glass fronted car showroom. 

To construct this, the firm of Taylor Woodrow of London were engaged, and, of necessity, the old wooden bridge and original erecting shop of the Iron and Wagon Works were demolished, together with the wooden staging over the stream, all to be replaced by the latest steel and concrete type of construction. 

However, this was by no means the end of the Norman story. This dynamo of a man, small in stature and quick of temper, who had the uncanny knack of instilling great loyalty amongst those who worked for him, was quickly to follow this aforementioned vast improvement with others. By acquisition from the King family of a large slice of garden ground, formerly in the ownership of the local bakers Jessetts, he was able to complete the bridging over of the stream with concrete for the length of his site and to erect a new, larger car showroom. This was done in the early 1960s.

Similarly, in an effort to protect the sightline as one approached his garage from the East. he purchased a further length of the river bed alongside the main road towards Newbury. To eliminate the threat of opposition, he purchased a small orchard site on the southern side of the A4 on the eastern approaches to the village. 

In all probability, by this time, Mr. Norman was the town's largest supplier of Shell Mex and B.P. fuel, and it was he who had the concession for the filling station that was constructed - unhappily - on the site of the former town Manor House in the High Street in the 1960s, only to be replaced by the International Stores during the following decade.

Bill Norman's grand boast was that he could supply any make of car, providing they were available, as he paid cash for all his cars. Therefore he would not be tempted by any manufacturer to enter into an agency agreement with them, always preferring to remain truly independent. His last few years at Eddington, with his wife, must have given him great comfort, as, by this time, their home had once again been extended - a complete front changing for all time the marks of the old inn. As he surely reminisced on all that he had achieved during a remarkable near half century spent in the village, it was as a contented man that he finally sold his large undertaking to locally-based Diagran Motors Ltd. in 1970, and took a well-earned retirement, moving into his purpose-built large house at Holtwood, Hamstead Marshall, where he lived for twelve years until just before his death at the age of ninety years.

The new firm continued to trade as Normans of Hungerford and perpetuated his name. They, in turn, sold out completely to the Total Oil Co in July 1985, but, sadly, their reconstruction of the site necessitated the demolition of all that Bill Norman had built and most of the former foundry buildings. 

It was a particularly poignant day for me, and many others, when I stopped one February day in 1987 to see the former 'Three Horseshoes' Inn reduced to a pile of rubble.