You are in [Places] [Eddington] [Hardings and Saw Mill site]
On the south side of the junction of the A4 Bath Road with Folly Hill is now (2025) the site of Barrs Yard (incorporating Garden Art+, vendors of antique and reproduction garden ornaments and architectural artefacts).
Much of the village of Eddington had formed part of the large Chilton Lodge Estate for centuries.
Goods for sale in Garden Art in Barr's Yard, August 2013
The site has had a variety of important uses.
Jump to:
- Part of Cottrell's Ironworks
- Barr's Timber Yard and Sawmills
- Barr's Yard - Garden Art and Artisan Units
See also:
- John Newton's complete article on Hardings (written c.1988)
- John Newton's complete article on Barr's (written c.1988)
Part of Cottrell's Iron Works, c.1869-1911:
Levi Cottrell opened his iron works on premises on the north side of the Bath Road in c.1869. See Cottrell's Iron Works.
It seems that Cottrell's made us of some buildings and adjacent land on the south side of the main road, as the photograph of the Eddington territorials in 1908 shows a Cottrell's sign on one of the three buildings in the background.
The Eddington Territorials, showing Cottrell's sign on the buildings, October 1908.
Cottrell's Iron Works closed in 1911 (with the sale of parts of the Chilton Lodge Estate by the Wards, see below). Cottrell's main site on the north side of the main road became a motor business called Eddington Garage, but the sheds and land on the south side of the Bath Road were to become Harding's Steam Traction Company.
Harding's Steam Traction Company, 1911-1919:
(With thanks to John Newton): At the time of the death of Sir William George Pearce, the owner of Chilton Lodge Estate, in 1907, James Harding was his agent, a post in which he was to continue after the sale of the estate to the Ward family on 5th May, 1908.
James Harding had three sons, Reginald, Harold and Richard and one daughter, Vera. It was these sons, known locally as the Harding Brothers, who sought to establish themselves as haulage contractors. The position held by their father most likely weighed heavily in their favour in securing premises from which to carry on their business.
An agreement dated 8th June, 1911 between the Hon. Jean Templeton Ward, wife of the Hon. John Ward, and Reginald James Harding and Harold Llewellyn Harding, shows that the two brothers took that area of land south of the main road, having a frontage of 480 feet, as their premises, agreeing to pay an annual rental of ten pounds. The lease commenced on 29th September, 1911, carefully reserving the sporting rights for the owners, and covered an area of 1 acre, 1 rood and 3 perches.
On the land stood two groups of buildings comprising a five-bay span run of timber and iron sheds 54 feet long by 22 feet wide, together with another of similar construction, being a range of double span sheds, 125 feet by 35ft 6in - "late in the occupation of George Cottrell".
The Hardings were now in business, listed as "Steam Traction Proprietors".
One of Harding's early steam wagons.
John Newton's wife's aunt, Mrs. Mabel Marks (nee Wyatt), recalled that as a small girl in 1911, she went on the St. Lawrence's Sunday School picnic to Braden Oak in Savernake Forest. "Hardings provided a steam engine, which towed one wagon, and a horse and cart followed behind. l rode up in front, behind the steam engine, in my best frock and hat trimmed with forget-me-nots. It was a nice hat but we had a storm of rain on the way home and we all got soaked. I got covered in blacks and we arrived home looking like drowned rats". Incidentally, on that trip were some children from London on a country holiday, known as The Fresh Air Fund. This was a scheme whereby impoverished children's parents paid into a fund all the year round so that their offspring could enjoy a brief annual respite in the country."
The Hardings operated at least five different steam engines during the life of their business. In all probability, their first engine was a large road engine, made by Garretts of Leiston in Suffolk in 1909. It was named "Forward" and was with Harding Brothers by December 1910.
An amusing incident, which gives insight into the rigors of business, besides which records the names of some of their employees, was recorded in the contemporary press. The Newbury Weekly News issue of 27th February 1913 contains a report of a case concerning an accident at Hardings Yard, in which the Hon. John Ward's car, in the hands of chauffeur Fred J. Jessett, struck the last of three trucks of bricks being driven into Harding's Yard. The engine was in the charge of Charles Westall, assisted by Harry Edwards. Another man, Jennaway, was in the road holding a hurricane lamp, but was obscured by the last of the three trucks, which had been uncoupled and left on the road whilst the engine proceeded to enter the yard with the first two. The car, travelling at 16-17mph, hit this last truck, doing much damage to the front wing of the car, poor Jessett being fearful of losing his job. However, the defendant was ordered to pay for the repairs, and costs of 12s 6d. It states that Hardings paid.
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Harding's steam wagon in Everlands Road, c.1920
Next came a Burrell traction engine, which was new in 1885, to be followed in November 1914 by their most famous acquisition, a new Burrell waggon, named "Undaunted", which curiously carried the number '4' . Such a machine would have cost several hundreds of pounds at that time. As Burrells operated a form of hire-purchase arrangement under the title of The Burrell Hiring Co., the Burrell engine was possibly acquired through this scheme.
In November 1915, a Wallis and Stevens wagon, made at Basingstoke in 1908, had joined the fleet, and in February 1919 another steam tractor, made by Manns of Leeds some years earlier, was acquired.
Mention of Hardings ceases soon after this date, with the exception of an entry in Kelly's Directory of 1915, which listed the former Eddington Iron Works as now being occupied by the Hungerford Engineering Co, at the same time as Hardings, being mentioned as haulage contractors.
Little is known of the Harding Brothers' activities, which presumably were varied. The eldest brother, Reginald. who was slightly crippled, used the the Burrell engine to haul and power a threshing machine on a contract basis.
However, all was to change on 1918, when the ownership of the yard, togther with a great many other outlying properties and cottages, which had been in the ownership of the Chilton Estate for a great many years, were offered for sale. A Sale Catalogue, issued by A.W. Neate and Sons, offered the land for sale by auction to be held at the Three Swans Hotel, Hungerford, on Wednesday, 3rd April 1918, by the direction of Capt. The Hon Sir John Ward.
Lot 2 of the sale particulars was purchased (freehold) by Mr. T.W. Baker of the well-known Compton Engineering family, for £275. Mr. Baker's wish to purchase this parcel of land becomes immediately relevant when one knows that, at one time, he already owned and operated the engineering firm of H. Gibbons and Son, situated immediately across the river in Charnham Street (now in 2025 the Asda Service Station).
It seems that Mr Baker changed the name to Hungerford Engineering Co., but the old Harding's site south of the road appears to have become used for the storage of agricultural implements, mostly elevators, as his trade for these had grown with the closure of Cottrell's works in 1911.
The 1924 entry in Kelly's Directory has no mention of the Hungerford Engineering Co. but again, the Harding brothers are still listed as being haulage contractors.
By 1924 they had left their former yard on the south side of the road, which must mean that they continued for a while at least in the old Cottrell's premises and yard opposite on the north side. This is consistent with recollections that after their haulage business ceased, Hardings used the former foundry premises for storage and as a home for their threshing machine and engines when not out working.
By this time only two Harding brothers were actively engaged in any form of business. However, this arrangement must have been short-lived, as Kelly's of 1924 records the establishment of Alfred Campbell as a motor engineer on that very same site. It also records Harold Harding as residing at Buckland House, Eddington.
Barr's Timber Yard and Saw Mills, 1919-1989:
(With thanks to Norman Barr and John Newton).
Henry Barr of Northfield, Thatcham (born 1875) had developed a local Thatchamn business selling pea sticks, bean poles and firewood. From this branched out into the timber hauling business, having acquired one large shire horse, and growing the businees until he had five. His work took him to a contract for timber in Stype Wood, south of Hungerford, and Henry Barr sought premises in Hungerford to support this work. Henry, now accompanied by his eldest son, Henry William (born in 1903), who had joined his father after leaving school, working with him and his horses out of Thatcham, approached Mr. Baker who was known to him through his trade with the family at Compton.
In June 1919 Mr Baker agreed to lease some warehousing and wharferage for timber to Henry Barr for five guineas per quarter. Now that he had firm premises, Henry Barr took the bold step of buying a brand new Fowler Traction Engine, and a new Taskers of Andover iron-wheeled, 10-ton timber carriage. The engine was purchased through his friend and agent, Mr. Baker, and cost £1,210, a huge sum of money in those days.
The business continued to expand, with additional steam engines and wagons. Sawing timber became possible with the instalation in c.1920 of a hand-wound, 6' cut rack sawbench, later coupled to the steam engine as power source.
The second saw to arrive, a large horizontal saw, was manufactured by the French firm Guillett and Son of Auxerre. long famous for their products. It weighed several tons, and there was considerable difficulty in getting it transported from Hungerford railway station. G.W.R. had no vehicle of their own capable of carrying the several tons of this saw and had to hire a Tasker 'Little Giant' steam engine from James Edwards of Inkpen, and a bogey trailer from the G.W.R. at Swindon for the task.
The installation of this saw meant that whole tree trunks could be reduced to planks. This in turn was soon joined by a small hand-turned, wooden jib crane, bought in Bristol for £12, and installed in such a manner as to be able to move these large slabs of wood not only to the smaller saw but also to load wagons.
By the mid 1920s, Henry Barr was joined in his business by his second son, Cyril, coming into the business straight from school like his elder brother. Cyril travelled down daily from Thatcham with his father, in the sidecar of an early motorcycle combination. His eldest son, 'Bill', now sought lodgings in Hungerford, to be near his work. He cycled from the family home each Monday morning, and returned home each Friday evening. His first lodgings were in Atherton Crescent. Given this increased labour force, these early years were ones of constant growth, as new markets for their products were established. Indeed, almost monthly was an account paid to the Great Western Railway for carriage of timber. This was drawn to Hungerford Station where it was loaded by railway staff.
New contracts were made, including a very big railway contract for timber in the round with the L.M.S. at Doncaster. There were renewed contracts with the well-known furniture manufacturers of G-Plan (E. Gomme) and Ercol at High Wycombe.
In c.1934 they bought a Foden "tractor", with a five cylinder engine. (Norman understands that this particular lorry has been fully restored, including the Barr & Sons sign writing).
In 1935, Henry's eldest son, Henry William 'Bill' was to marry a local girl, the daughter of Mr. Tyler, who was a draper and outfitter with premises in the High Street. After their marriage they moved into the house which had been built specially for them, behind his shop, and where their son, Norman was born in 1939.
With the onset of the Second World War, everything was to change. The handling of timber came under "The Timber Control". Barr's premises like that of every other in the land. It was now categorised "Town Mill" - the middle category. The movement of all timber was done under licence, but there was plenty of work. Given sure and constant employment, they now seized the opportunity and installed their first Band Mill, with which to increase output. Licences were now issued for every item of timber traded. Many firms on Government contracts aften being issued with a licence for many thousand cubic feet of timber. Trees were now felled wholesale - the cutters being hard pressed to keep up; the hum of the saws now seemed continuous to those living nearby. Peter Norman, the young son of the garage proprietor, who lived opposite, well remembers lying in his bedroom and hearing the whine of the saw and the chuffing of the engine late into the night, as sound came in through his open window, which itself looked out over the Wantage Road into the garden and orchard of Middleton Brothers yard.
The small crane was now obviously insufficient to handle the large volume of timber and it was replaced early in 1940, by the large crane made by The Anderson Grice Company of Carnoustie in Glasgow. Like its predecessor, it was strategically placed to move timber about in every direction. Its 65 foot long jib, with a safe 4-ton working load at 49 feet radius, proving a boon to those who used it. Originally it was entirely a manual crane, and for very heavy timbers, four men were needed on the jib winch, with another to turn the turntable. It was later converted to electricity, with the old engine continuing to power the horizontal saw. The crane, which had become dangerously fragile, was demolished in November 2023.
The Anderson Grice crane, Feb 2023
The volume of timber being converted into all manner of items, including many thousand pit props, now desperately needed as the miners sought hard to feed the industrial furnaces of the country, meant also that the engine did not have time to both saw and fetch timber. This situation led to the arrival on the scene of a brand new Foden diesel timber tractor, bearing the registration mark CJB 95 on 14th May 1940, which together with a new pneumatic-tyred timber carriage transported the timber from the woods to the yard.
An increased workforce now maintained the constant flow of raw material towards the ever sharp saw blades. Cyril Barr would often stand for ten hours a day, for at least six days a week at the controls of the band mill. This very mill was later replaced by another which was used in the 1980s, and was joined at the rear of the building by a smaller saw bench, manufactured by Cooksleys of London, which had formerly seen use in the builders yard of John Wooldridge of Bridge Street, Hungerford.
Now no longer required for haulage, the faithful engine, which hitherto had played so great a part in the formative years of the firm, was sold in October 1940 - to be replaced by a Clayton and Shuttleworth Portable engine, which was designed for the job of powering tools such as the horizontal saw.
After the end of the war, life at the sawmills resumed a more peaceful pace. The firm was well respected and continued to offer high quality service across the whole area. Henry Barr purchased, at an auction held at the Chequers Hotel, Newbury on 27th September 1951, Chamberhouse Farm, Thatcham. Listed as a Gentleman's Fine Agricultural Estate, it comprised almost four hundred acres, of which some seventy six acres were woodland, together with about two miles of the River Kennet flowing through it. He was to establish himself as a farmer of no mean repute, with a fine dairy herd. The farm was to be put under managership, for some ten years under Derek Smalley, who had married the daughter of Hungerford Blacksmith, Vic Caswell - another local connection.
Relieved of the pressure of the day to day running of the sawmill, Henry Barr's main task was that of timber buyer, where his great skill, built up over many years, was put to good use. He continued his work to his last day, dying at his home in 1954, aged 79 years.
His eldest sons, Henry William Barr and Cyril Percy Barr, now took control of the firm, which led to a change in title of the family business - becoming, in March 1956, H. Barr and Sons, Limited, the name by which they traded into the 1980s. Much of their trade was done buying and selling timber in the round, straight from off the ground without the necessity of it having to pass through the sawmill.
In 1957 the third generation of the family entered the business - Norman, the son of Henry William. Like his father and uncle before him he joined the firm straight from leaving school. There he was to learn his trade as a sawyer, working for a while under the watchful eyes of his father and uncle.
December 1960 was marked by the highlight of the marriage of Cyril to Miss Dorothy Whitley, a maths teacher at Newbury County Girls' Grammar School. Their first home was to be a flat in Newbury, followed by a move to a cottage on the farm at Thatcham, in which they lived for nine years and it was here that their two sons Michael and David were born. However, following the move of their farm manager to a new position on Sir William Mount's Wasing Estate. the family moved into the large farmhouse in 1970, from where, as before, Cyril travelled to work in Hungerford daily.
In 1960, also, the Foden timber tractor was abandoned, the labour force cut and timber being delivered by specialist hauliers. The end of the 1960s was also marked by the retirement of Henry William Barr. He retired to live in his home in the High Street until his death in 1982.
Norman continued working with his Uncle Cyril, but Cyril was to suffer illness, which forced him to cease working full time in July 1985, and permanently from 1st January 1986. He died later in 1986.
The Barr & Sons timber yard continued to operate until 1989 when the costs of Health and Safety legislation and the lack of profitability of small timber yards forced its closure.
Barr's Yard, Garden Art and Artisan Units, 1989-present:
In 1989 the site is was Garden Art - vendors of antique and reproduction garden ornaments and architectural artifacts, owned by Travers Nettleton.
In May 2017: Barr's Yard Artisan Collective opened, with seven purpose built units currently used by JAX Jeans, Honesty Coffee Shop, Grape Smith, Garden Art Plus, Wendy Lewis Flowers, Cricket Fine Art, and The Generous Gardener.
Four of the purpose built Artisan units, c.2020
See also: Advert for Barr's Yard, May 2023.
On 23rd November 2023 the historic old timber-yard crane, which had become badly rusted and unsafe, was demolished and removed.
The Anderson Grice crane being removed, 23rd Nov 2023
The site was rapidly put to good use:
The site of the old crane put to good use, Dec 2023.
Photo Gallery:
5-ton wagon No. 3638 AH 0223 at Thetford when new in November 1914, prior to delivery at Hardings Bros.
The Anderson-Grice crane, standing in Garden Art+, Aug 2013
Garden Art+, Aug 2013
The Eddington Territorials, with Cottrell's Enginerering workshops in the background, 1908.
Artisan Collective Units 8 May 2017
Artisan Collective Units 8 May 2017
Hardings of Eddington steam engine, undated c.1920 [A. Parsons]
- Garden Art+, August 2013.
- The Eddington Territorials, with Cottrell's Enginerering workshops in the background, 1908.
- 5-ton wagon No. 3638 AH 0223 at Thetford when new in November 1914, prior to delivery at Hardings Bros.
- An early Hardings Steam Wagon,
- A Hardings Steam Wagon in Everlands Road,
- Hardings of Eddington steam engine, undated c.1920 [A. Parsons].
- The Anderson-Grice crane, standing amongst sale items in Garden Art+,
- The Anderson-Grice crane, standing in Garden Art+, August 2013,
See also:
- Various photos and invoices relating to Barr's.
- "Artisan's Collective for Barr's Site?", NWN 23 May 2013.
- "Big plans for former sawmill", NWN 23 Jul 2013
- "Barr's yard Artisans' Collective", The Advisor, 14 Nov 2014
- "Opening party the best Barrs none", NWN 11 May 2017.
John Newton's Complete Article on "Hardings":
Much of the village of Eddington had formed part of the large Chilton Lodge Estate for centuries. It is, therefore, not surprising that this association should also apply in our study of industry within the village. At the time of the death of Sir William George Pearce, the owner of the estate, James Harding was his agent, a post in which he was to continue after the sale of the estate to the Ward family on 5th May, 1908.
James Harding had three sons, Reginald, Harold and Richard and one daughter, Vera. It was these sons, known locally as the Harding Brothers, who sought to establish themselves as haulage contractors. The position held by their father most likely weighed heaveily in their favour in securing premises from which to carry on their business. Therefore, we find an agreement dated 8th June, 1911 between the Hon. Jean Templeton Ward, wife of the Hon. John Ward, and Reginald James Harding and Harold Llewellyn Harding, not surprising. By this agreement, the two brothers took that area of land south of the main road, having a frontage of 480 feet thereto, as their premises, agreeing to pay an annual rental of ten pounds. The lease commenced on 29th September, 1911, carefully reserving the sporting rights for the owners, and covered an area of 1 acre, 1 rood and 3 perches, on which stood two groups of buildings comprising a five-bay span run of timber and iron sheds 54 feet long by 22 feet wide, together with another of similar construction, being a range of double span sheds, one hundred and five feet by thirty three feet and six inches- late in the occupation of George Cottrell.
By the signing of this lease, the Hardings were now in business and listed as Steam Traction Proprietors. This is borne out for me by an incident related to me by my wife' s aunt Mrs. Mabel Marks (nee Wyatt) who clearly recalls that as a small girl in 1911, she went on the St.Lawrence's Sunday School picnic to Braden Oak in Savernake Forest.
"Hardings provided a steam engine, which towed one wagon, and a horse and cart followed behind. l rode up in front, behind the steam engine, in my best frock and hat trimmed with forget-me-riots- It was a nice hat but we had a storm of rain on the way home and we all got soaked, I got covered in blacks and arrived home looking like drowned rats". Incidentally, on that trip were some children from London on a country holiday, known as The Fresh Air Fund. This was a scheme whereby impoverished children's parents paid into a "fund all the year round so that their offsprings could enjoy a bried annual respite in the country".
Returning to the Hardings, from records that survive, I known that they did operate at least five different steam engines during the life of their business. In all probability, their first engine was a large Road Engine, made by Garretts of Leiston in Suffolk in 1909. It was named FORWARD and was with Harding Brothers by December 1910. Next came a Burrell traction engine, which was new in 1885, to be followed by their most famous acquisition, a new Burrell waggon, named UNDAUNTED in November 1914, which curiously carried the number '4' . Such a machine would have cost several hundreds of pounds at that time. As Burrells operated a form of Hire-purchase arrangement under the title of The Burrell Hiring Co., I speculate that this was possibly how this item was acquired. In any event, the purchase of a new machine would have been a bold step to take, and would indicate great confidence in the future of their business by the proprietors - confidence which, it would transpire, was ill-founded. However, by November 1915, a Wallis and Stevens wagon, made at Basingstoke in 1908, had joined the fleet. The last remaining entry in my records being that another steam tractor, made by Manns of Leeds some years earlier, was being offered for sale in February 1919.
An amusing incident, which gives insight into the rigors of business, besides which records the names of some of their employees, was recorded in the contemporary press . The Newbury Weekly News issue of 27th February, 1913 contains a report of a case concerning an accident at Hardings Yard, Hungerford, in which the Hon. John Ward's car, in the hands of chauffeur Fred. J. Jessett, struck the last of three trucks of bricks being driven into Harding's yard. The engine was in the charge of Charles Westall, assisted by Harry Edwards. Another man, Jennaway, was in the road holding a hurricane lamp, but was obscured by the last of the three trucks, which had been uncoupled and left on the road whilst the engine proceeded to enter the yard with the first two. The car, travelling at 16-17mph, hit this last truck, doing much damage to the front wing of the car, -- poor Jessett being fearful of losing his job. However, the defendant was ordered to pay for the repairs, and costs of 12/6. It states that Hardings paid.
Little is known of their activities, which presumably were varied, except that the eldest brother, Reginald. who was slightly crippled, used the the venerable Burrell engine to haul and power a threshing machine on a contract basis. However, all was to change on 1918, when the ownership of the yard, togther with a great many other outlying properties and cottages, which had been in the ownership of the estate for a great many years, were offered for sale. A Sale Catalogue, issued by the Hungerford and Newbury firm of A.W. Neate and Sons, offered the land for sale by auction to be held at the Three Swans Hotel, Hungerford, on Wednesday, 3rd April, by the direction of Capt. The Hon Sir John Ward. Lot 2 of the sale particulars was purchased by Mr. T.W. Baker of the well-known Compton Engineering family, for £275. The desire of Mr. Baker to purchase this parcel of land becomes immediately relevant when one known that, at one time, he already owned and operated the engineering firm of H.Gibbons and Son, situated immediately across the river in Charnham Street.
Mention of Hardings ceases soon after this date, with the exception of an entry in Kelly's Directory of 1915, which listed the former Eddington Iron Works as now being occupied by the Hungerford Engineering Co, at the same time as Hardings, being mentioned as haulage contractors. However, in the 1924 entry in the same directory, no mention is made of the Hungerford Engineering Co. but again, the brothers are listed as being haulage contractors. What is known is that by 1924, they had left their former yard, which must mean that they continued for a while at least in the premises and yard opposite, formerly Cottrells. This is consistent with remarks I have heard stating that, after their haulage business ceased, Hardings used the former foundry premises for storage and as a storage yard for their threshing machine and engines when not out to work. By this time, I have been told, only two brothers of the name Harding were actively engaged in any form of business. However, this arrangement must have been short-lived, as Kelly's of 1924 records the establishment of Alfred Campbell as a motor engineer on that very same site. Incidentally, it also records Harold Harding as residing at Buckland House, Eddington.
John Newton's complete article on BARRS (written c.1988):
Born in 1875, Henry Barr's home was at Northfield, Thatcham. What tempted him to seek his fortune in the timber trade, or at what age he commenced his chosen career, I know not. However, what I do know is that, by doing so, he was to indelibly plant his name on the town of Hungerford, and the village of Eddington in particular.
From various sources, I have been told that he started in a very humble way by selling pea sticks, bean poles and firewood in and around his native village. From this and by hard work, he must have branched out into the timber hauling business. Having acquired at least one large shire horse, at one time having no fewer than five in his ownership, four of which weighed over one ton, he set to loading timber in the round. This he hauled for other timber merchants on a wooden-wheeled carriage, almost inevitably on a piece-work basis. The timber would have been felled and trimmed and left ready for him to collect and deliver. The local sawmill of Barlow's of Hermitage being a regular customer of his - also his long-term association with the Baker family of Compton, renowned agricultural engineers, was to start around this time. Presumably, he would still have carted and sold the other aforementioned small timber products, which would have been readily available in an area where large timber was being felled and copses cleared. The three and a half acres of land surrounding his home at Thatcham would have served as his yard, stables and paddock for his horses. Married now, and with a growing family, which was to number eight when complete, three boys and five girls, his days were long, in a profession which, to this day, is recognised as being very hard.
However, as his trade expanded, his forays took him further away from home, making the return trip each night more difficult for his horses to accomplish. By natural progression also, he now purchased standing timber, organising the felling, and its eventual sale by himself, and by so doing, had proud reason to proclaim himself a timber merchant -his headed notepaper of the period justifiably adding credence to this claim. It was his purchase of a particularly fine stand of timber in Stype Wood near Hungerford, that was to be instrumental in setting up his family's long association with this neighbourhood of ours.
And, here, I must digress. For in researching the history of this family business, I have entered into a different world- a world full of fascinating people- a world with its own terminology, which, although strange, is well understood by all who seek to ply their trade as merchants of that most marvellous material - TIMBER.
To begin with, there are the timber cutters. In this particular region of the country, the area around Tadley in Hampshire has been renowned for its timber cutting fraternity- its gypsy-like folk who in days past eked out a living by making hedgerow-gained items such as clothes pegs, pea and bean sticks, thatching spars, hurdles and besom brooms. Their deft skill with an axe and billhook had to be seen to be believed, and it was a family of these people that did most of the contract felling for Henry Barr. They cycled to wherever the standing timber had been purchased, a young boy, just left school, 14-15 years of age, would ride in front, then grandpa on his tricycle, with the rest following behind. They would arrive in time for work on the Monday morning, living in the woods , sleeping under a sailcloth slung between two trees, and then return home the following Saturday afternoon.
Henry Barr's son, the late Cyril Barr, told me of his first encounter with the family which he so clearly remembered. He told me, "I was only just a young boy, still at school. I went with my father to the wood. They were sitting down having a meal, around a fire, with great lumps of fat bacon hanging from a stick which they held in their hands and dangled it over the fire. As it got hot, the fat dripped into the flames and made the fire flare up. They had a cauldron over the fire in which they brewed tea which was thick and dark and they called it BARK TEA. I heard tell they would toss an odd bit of tree bark into it to give it body. They offered me some but I said that I wasn't thirsty! He believed that their diet would sometimes be enlivened by the odd pheasant and hedgehog. I thought that this made a beautiful cameo of a certain aspect of country life in the second decade of this century.
As previously mentioned, the language of the timber trade is equally varied. Talk being of stands of timber, butts, topwood, brushwood, cordwood and, most strange of all to me, the measurement of timber by use of HOPPUS'S FOOT and quarter girth tape! By use of this tape and by using the table laid out in HOPPUS'S MEASURER, the merchant or woodsman could easily deduce what cubic footage of usable timber was contained in any tree trunk or log of timber. This could be used equally well to calculate the worth of standing trees, even taking into consideration their natural tapered pattern of growth. Fascinating stuff!
All about "Hoppus"
The hoppus cubic foot (or ‘hoppus cube’ or ‘h cu ft’) was the standard volume measurement used for timber in the British Empire and countries in the British sphere of influence before the introduction of metric units. It is still used in the hardwood trade in some countries. This volume measurement was developed to estimate what volume of a round log would be usable timber after processing, in effect attempting to ‘square’ the log and allow for waste. The hoppus ton (HT) was also a traditionally used unit of volume in British forestry. One hoppus ton is equal to 50 hoppus feet or 1.8027 cubic meters. Some shipments of tropical hardwoods, especially shipments of teak from Myanmar (Burma), are still stated in hoppus tons.
The English surveyor Edward Hoppus introduced the unit in his 1736 manual of practical calculations. The tables include reference to stone as well as timber, as stone can similarly suffer wastage during processing into regular pieces.
Returning to my narrative, it was to service the timber in Stype Wood that Henry Barr sought premises in Hungerford. My listener will remember that Thomas William Baker, owner of the Kennet Works, had previously, on 3rd April 1918, purchased at auction in the Three Swans Hotel, the small plot of land, together with the buildings, alongside the Bath Road, near Eddington Bridge. This same spot had been the birthplace of Cottrells of Hungerford, as well as the home of Hardings haulage concern, prior to the sale. Since its purchase by Mr. Baker, he had used this area for the storage of agricultural implements, mostly elevators, his trade for which had correspondingly grown with the closure of Cottrell's works, some seven years previously.
Henry, now accompanied by his eldest son, Henry William, born in 1903, who had joined his father upon leaving school, working with him and his horses out of Thatcham, approached Mr. Baker who was known to him through his trade with the family at Compton. In June 1919, they entered into an agreement whereby Mr. Barr leased some warehousing and wharferage for his timber in Mr.Baker's yard for the agreed price of five guineas per quarter. Now, given the firm base from which to operate, Henry would appear to have taken what was possibly the boldest step in his career - the purchase of a brand new Fowler Traction Engine, and a new Taskers of Andover iron-wheeled, 10-ton timber carriage. The engine was purchased through his friend and agent, Mr. Baker, and cost £1,210.00, a prestigious amount of money in those days, and the purchase of which must have represented great faith in his business by its founder. An agreement dated 7th July, 1919 listed the terms of sale of this engine - these being that by 5th August of that year, he would pay £250.00 by cheque, subsequent quarterly payments to be made after the expiration of 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Included in the terms of the agreement was the clause that, if for any reason any payments failed to be made, then the price of the engine would be advanced by 5%. In fact, that particular engine was a 7 h.p. single cylinder traction engine. built by Fowlers of Leeds, bearing the works number 15304 and the registration mark BL 8945.
This engine, together with the timber carriage, the price of which is not recorded, were to be seen daily as visitors to Hungerford High Street, Much timber was also gained from Littlecote Estate and Savernake Forest. Indeed, I am told that it was not uncommon to see the engine on the road after dark, its oil lamps twinkling on the front whilst a red-glassed hurricane lamp swung from the rear of the timber carriage. Even though the firm now possessed this engine, driven, I'm told, by Henry's son Bill, the horses were not dispensed with. In fact, I have a record of hay being purchased as late as 1928 - so, presumably, even though they were not now prime movers, they must have been employed in decreasing number in the woods, and on short-haul journeys. In this, connection, I do not know where, if at all, they were stabled in Hungerford, but presumably they grazed the nearby water meadows, owned at that time by farmer, Mr. Pearce. Records of Mr. Baker's concern, however, give a clear indication as to the hard use to which this engine was put, namely:
- 20 June 1920 - collar for Fowler engine 7/-
- October of the same year - repairs to Fowler engine £9. 7 .6.
- August 27 - repairs to snatch block £2.19.0
- February - welding pin for timber carriage 3/8d
During the same time, I have records written in Henry Barr's own hand, on his headed notepaper which proclaimed: "H. BARR Timber Merchant. All kinds of English timber sawn & in the log."
These record all manner of timber supplied by him to the various Baker concerns, obviously for a variety of uses; sawn ash timber, ash butts, tops, 400 ladder rounds, wood for an axle. All this and the accounts sent to him make for interesting reading, and show the growth and diversification of his business away from that upon which it was founded.
However, all letters to pass between the two parties were not to be on such a friendly basis, as some relate to minor misdemeanours by the growing firm. Reference being made to timber being stacked in the wrong place - timber carriages left in such a manner as to block the entrance to his (Mr. Baker's) storage sheds and to damage done to the hedges. Nevertheless, this obviously did nothing to dent the personal friendship that was growing between the two families as Mrs. Baker was noted as offering the Barr family the use of her house at Milton-on-Sea for a holiday. Whether or not this kind offer was ever taken up is unknown. Another copy letter I have seen recently provides information on another facet of this concern about which I had previously heard nothing. This relates to the Barr's entry, if only for a short period of time, into the field of steam threshing contracting.
This fact is substantiated by later entries in the accounts which passed between the aforementioned two parties. Unfortunately, this letter is undated, but by subsequent happenings and dates, it can only have occurred soon after the purchase of the steam engine in July 1919. I suspect that, with the purchase of the engine, and being unsure of the continued growth of his timber business, and anxious to maximise on his new power source, he sought another avenue of trade. However, his faith in the timber business was to be more rewarding, as general agriculture at that time was poised on the very edge of a severe depression. This letter deals at length with the purchase and repair of a threshing machine, and is remarkably frank in its terminology. It is written in Mr. Baker's own hand, long before the advent of copying machines It states: "Mr. Barr desired to purchase a second-hand threshing machine. I accompanied him to Swindon but the machine there was not fit for work. I then went to Marten with him, where we inspected a Marshall at £115, and a Nalder at £90 (non-working). I told him it was a high price for the machine, having regard for its age, but he said that he must have a machine as he had contracted with Mr. J. Alexander of Beacon Farm to do his threshing and baling. The repairs to the Nalder, I estimated at between £10 and £20, with belts extra, and that I could repair it on a time and materials basis. He then wanted a pulley put on the drum and shaft to drive a baler. He asked Taskers and Nalders for one but could not agree their prices, and told me to make one - this was done."
The letter then goes on to say that he (Mr.Baker) saw it at work and that it was doing a good job, but that he considered a few further repairs ought to be carried out. He sent his man, James Jessett, to inspect the machine and advise on necessary repairs. James Jessett was reputed to be one of the best threshing men in the locality. The estimated cost for these repairs was around £5. Mr. Baker stated, however, that he would give no guarantee that these works would benefit the machine, but neither had he made a charge for going to Swindon and Marten! After a few more details, it was signed T.W. Baker.
However, as previously mentioned, this excursion into agricultural contracting was to be short-lived. I noticed an entry in the aforementioned accounts dated 9th May 1922 that T.W. Baker, trading as H. Gibbons and Son had made an allowance to Henry Barr of £20 in respect of the threshing machine. No entry mentions the baler but I assume that by this one entry, his activities in the field of contracting had ceased. From then on, his sole attention would appear to have been concentrated on the timber business, which was soon to take a new and more permanent hold on his premises at Eddington.
Earlier, I made brief mention of sawn timber. The first date that I can put upon the commencement of timber sawing comes to light in a letter requesting an increase in the insurance premium payable by Barrs, dated 28th July 1921, which stated that, with sawing being undertaken, the buildings were now being put to greater use than storage. Undoubtedly, this operation had been going on for some while, possibly a year or two, as a hand-wound, 6' cut rack sawbench, coupled to the steam engine as power source, was in operation soon after its acquisition, outside the yard.
The second saw to arrive was manufactured by the French firm Guillett and Son of Auxerre. long famous for their products, and was a large horizontal saw. Its arrival at Hungerford Station gave rise to much acrimony, as the station staff declined to deliver it. However, Barrs contested that its purchase had included it being delivered to a prepared site, which was in readiness. In the event. after considerable delay, the Barr's case was upheld - the G.W.R. being instructed to complete their contract. They had no vehicle of their own capable of carrying the several tons of this saw and had to hire a Tasker 'Little Giant' steam engine from James Edwards of Inkpen, and a bogey trailer from the G.W.R. at Swindon for the task. Henry Barr, senior, was heard to remark that so critical was the outcome of this court case to him and his still fledgling business, that if it had gone against him, he would have been finished. Nevertheless, success was theirs, the installation of the saw now meant that whole tree trunks could be reduced to planks. This in turn was soon joined by a small hand-turned, wooden jib crane, bought in Bristol for £12, and installed in such a manner as to be able to move these large slabs of wood not only to the smaller saw but also to load wagons.
By the mid 1920s, Henry Barr was joined in his business by his second son, Cyril, coming into the business straight from school like his elder brother. Cyril travelled down daily from Thatcham with his father, in the sidecar of an early motorcycle combination. His eldest son, 'Bill', now sought lodgings in Hungerford, to be near his work. He cycled from the family home each Monday morning, and returned home each Friday evening. His first lodgings were in Atherton Crescent. Given this increased labour force, these early years were ones of constant growth, as new markets for their products were established. Indeed, almost monthly was an account paid to the Great Western Railway for carriage of timber. This was drawn to Hungerford Station where it was loaded by railway staff.
A different world from that of today was described to me by Cyril Barr who said that, soon after his arrival at the yard, during lunch hours, the Middleton boys, and others who worked in the old foundry buildings, would play football in the Wantage Road - imagine that today - they were not allowed to join in by their father, as coming from Thatcham, they were outsiders! He well remembered also, one late afternoon in 1923 standing on the roadside with a gathering crowd of Hungerfordians, waiting to see King George V pass by on his way to stay with his friend The Hon. Sir John Ward at Chilton Lodge. He told me how all the men cheered and threw their caps in the air as the King's Daimler car swung round the corner and disappeared up the Wantage Road. As the 1920s gave way to the 30s, continuous hard work was their lot, earning a living in those times was by no means easy, but gradually, they forged their way ahead. Different contracts were won, including a Railway contract for the L.M.S. at Doncaster, which was for much timber in the round. Their long association with well-known furniture manufacturers such as G-Plan (E. Gomme) and Ercol at High Wycombe were founded about this time. Indeed, Cyril remembered well 'A terrible journey' being undertaken with engine and loaded timber carriage to High Wycombe. This must have been for several days duration - the hardships of this being etched into his mind. Besides the above, they nevertheless continued to trade with and supply their local customers such as Bakers of Compton. More than one journey being made by the engine with two loaded timber carriages coupled up one behind the other, which says much for other road users of the day. By this time the horses had been dispensed with.
The decade of the 1930s was, in many respects, not much better that the previous ten years, which had witnessed firstly the coal strike and then the general strike. The country stumbled from one crisis to another as it strove to seek prosperity for the nation. One aspect of this being the hunger marches of the mid 1930s. One such march from South Wales passed through Hungerford and was recorded in the local Newbury Weekly News, some four hundred men camping for the night at Eddington. They sought to light a fire for warmth and comfort at Normans Garage, not surprisingly to be turned away only to light up in the corner of the woodyard opposite! The plight of those without employment in an age devoid of welfare payments did not, however, go un-noticed or unremembered by those who toiled away at Eddington.
In 1935, Henry's eldest son, Henry William 'Bill' was to marry a local girl, the daughter of Mr. Tyler, who was a draper and outfitter with premises in the High Street. Upon their marriage, they moved into the house which had been built specially for them, behind his shop, and where their son, Norman was born in 1939.
Sadly, it was not long after this happy occasion that the country was plunged into the dark days and years of war, and here the firm of Barrs was to take on a new turn.
The country was now on a war footing, everything changed as if overnight. The handling of timber except for very small quantities fell under The Timber Control. Barr's premises like that of every other in the land, was now categorised - they being in the middle category - that of Town Mill. The movement of all timber was done under licence, but work there was in plenty. To counteract the possibility of some concerns making too much money from the dire circumstances, a ceiling was placed on their earnings, and above a certain figure, one hundred per cent tax was levied, known as the excess profits tax. The upper limit of individual earnings was also set - that for a highly skilled man was £8 per week, attainable only by working seven long days and part of the night. However, as is the case in wartime , many industries were to receive a welcome boost during these dark days, the firm of Barr being no exception. By dint of hard work, an increased measure of prosperity was to come their way during those six long years, which was, without doubt, their period of greatest activity and growth. Given sure and constant employment, they now seized the opportunity and installed their first Band Mill, with which to increase output. Licences were now issued for every item of timber traded. Many firms on Government contracts aften being issued with a licence for many thousand cubic feet of timber. Trees were now felled wholesale - the cutters being hard pressed to keep up; the hum of the saws now seemed continuous to those living nearby. Peter Norman, the young son of the garage proprietor, who lived opposite, well remembers lying in his bedroom and hearing the whine of the saw and the chuffing of the engine late into the night, as sound came in through his open window, which itself looked out over the Wantage Road into the garden and orchard of Middleton Brothers yard.
The small crane was now obviously insufficient to handle the large volume of timber and it was replaced early in 1940, by the present crane, so long a familiar landmark on the Hungerford skyline. Manufactured prior to the War by The Anderson Grice Company of Carnoustie in Glasgow, this one, like its predecessor, was strategically placed to move timber about in every direction. Its 65 foot long jib, with a safe 4-ton working load at 49 feet radius, proving a boon to those who used it. Originally, hand-wound, this, like the band saw, became powered by electricity, with the old engine continuing to power the horizontal saw. The volume of timber being converted into all manner of items, including many thousand pit props, now desperately needed as the miners sought hard to feed the industrial furnaces of the country, meant also that the engine did not have time to both saw and fetch timber. This situation led to the arrival on the scene of a brand new Foden diesel timber tractor, bearing the registration mark CJB 95 on 14th May 1940, which together with a new pneumatic-tyred timber carriage transported the timber from the woods to the yard. An increased workforce now maintained the constant flow of raw material towards the ever sharp saw blades. The tremendous pressure on everyone concerned in this venture was brought home to me in a remark made by Cyril, when he stated that he stood ten hours a day, for at least six days a week at the controls of the band mill. This very mill was later replaced by another which is still used to this day, and was joined at the rear of the building by a smaller saw bench, manufactured by Cooksleys of London, which had formerly seen use in the builders yard of John Wooldridge of Bridge Street, Hungerford.
Now no longer required for haulage, the faithful engine, which hitherto had played so great a part in the formative years of the firm, was sold in October 1940 - to be replaced by a Clayton and Shuttleworth Portable engine, which was designed for the job of powering tools such as the horizontal saw. However, I have not been able to find any details of this portable engine, save that at the end of its life, it was sold for scrap for £20.
Life now settled to a more even pace - the frantic rush of those war years passed, business was conducted on a more peaceful level - time to take up old friendships and renew acquaintanceship with previous customers. The years now passed by and the firm became well established and respected not only within the locality but within their trade. Their measure of success in this chosen field was to be demonstrated by Henry Barr's purchase, at an auction held at the Chequers Hotel, Newbury on 27th September 1951, of Chamberhouse Farm, Thatcham. Listed as a Gentleman's Fine Agricultural Estate, it comprised almost four hundred acres, of which some seventy six acres were woodland, together with about two miles of the River Kennet flowing through it. How proud he must have been of this purchase, and it was here that he was to establish himself as a farmer of no mean repute, with a fine dairy herd. The farm was to be put under managership, for some ten years under tha hand of a young man, Derek Smalley, who had married the daughter of Hungerford Blacksmith, Vic Caswell, another local connection. Relieved of the pressure of the day to day running of the sawmill, the founder's main task was that of timber buyer, where his great skill, built up over many years, was put to good use. It was after a day spent thus, in 1954, that he returned to his home in Thatcham, to die at the age of seventy nine. His had been a lifetime full of long days; days in which he had accomplished much, his joy was his work from which he never retired.
The founder dead, his eldest sons, Henry and Cyril now took control of the firm, which led to a change in title of the family business, more in line with this, taking place. Under the Articles of Association, dated the twentieth day of March, 1956, the official name of the firm became H. Barr and Sons, Limited, the name by which they trade to this day. These same years also gave settled employment to quite a number of persons, names such as Tosh, Marchant, Chapman, Barratt, Robinson and Wood among others being mentioned regularly in the Wages Book of the period. Much of their trade, then as now, was done buying and selling timber in the round, straight from off the ground without the necessity of it having to pass through the sawmill. Indeed, quite often, only the odd trees from any stand of timber purchased and the top wood would come into Eddington mill to be converted, the more readily saleable going straight to places of manufacture. Thus it was that the measure of a business such as this cannot be gauged by 'looking in' on the local scene, much taking place out of sight, the skill of the trade of buying and selling featuring well in the overall viability of the concern, as in many other walks of life.
1957 saw the third generation of the family enter into the business - Norman, the son of Henry William, like his father and uncle before him, leaving school to enter the sawmill. There he was to learn his trade as a sawyer, working for a while under the watchful eyes of his father and uncle.
December 1960 was marked by the highlight of the marriage of Cyril to Miss Dorothy Whitley, a maths teacher at Newbury County Girls' Grammar School. Their first home was to be a flat in Newbury, followed by a move to a cottage on the farm at Thatcham, in which they lived for nine years and it was here that their two sons Michael and David were born. However, following the move of their farm manager to a new position on Sir William Mount's Wasing Estate. the family moved into the large farmhouse in 1970, from where, as before, Cyril travelled to work in Hungerford daily.
In 1960, also, the Foden timber tractor was abandoned, the labour force cut and timber being delivered by specialist hauliers. This practice is still in use today. The end of the sixties was also marked by the retirement of Henry William Barr, a man who had toiled so hard to help his father establish the firm - a man of who my late father-in-law, himself a person with vast experience of observing his fellow men, remarked that of all the people he had known, Harry Barr was undoubtedly one of those who had worked the hardest. He retired to live in his home in the High Street until his death in 1982. Norman continued working with his Uncle Cyril, and it was during this association between them that many of my stories of life in Eddington were gleaned - upon my frequent visits to the yard.
Sadly, Cyril was to suffer illness, which forced him to cease working full time in July 1985, and permanently from 1st January 1986. His death later that year being a great blow to his many friends, and bringing to an end his long association with that small piece of land, wedged between the road and river at Eddington.
Norman continues to this day with the trade of timber merchant from these premises. and by so doing, he maintains a family tradition, ensuring that today, the firm of H. Barr and Sons, Ltd. remains the oldest established industrial concern at present trading in the town of Hungerford. In his capacity as Officer in Charge of the Town's fire fighting force, in which he has served, with distinction, for over twenty five years, he keeps alove also the tradition of service to the community established by the Town's first Captain of the Fire Service, - George Cottrell, whose own firm had its origins from the same plot of ground, more than one hundred and twenty years before.
The Canal Wharf, 2011