You are in [Places] [Iron Foundries] [Cottrell's Iron Works]
There were two important iron foundries in Hungerford in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - 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.
.jpg)
The Shell Petrol Station, April 2025, site of Cottrell's Ironworks and Norman's Garage
Jump to:
- John Newton's papeer on Norman's Garage
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.
Cottrell, Rose & Co Ltd., c.1880
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."
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.
Eddington Motor Garage (Cottrell), 1911-1922:
In 1911 the old ironworks were extensively changed to become Eddington Motor Garage.
Eddington Motor Garage (Campbell & Norman), 1922-c.1945:
(With thanks to the Roger Day and the late John Newton).
By May 1922 the site had been bought by Alfred Campbell and his business partner Warren William James Norman (born 1892), always known as "Billy".
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.
'Billy' 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.
Alf Campbell and Billy Norman installed four petrol pumps on the forecourt, but a small stream, the mill leat from Eddington mill to the west, separated the garage from the A4, and access was by a small wooden bridge.
In 1936, Reg Tilley from Kintbury was taken on (perhaps replacing Don Dodds); he had previously been a mechanic at Oakes Bros. (Alfred Campbell had already left). Jack Ferguson was already working there, and Mr. J. Froome (Mrs Norman's brother) stayed a year or two. Wally Martin helped with office work and taxi work. They did have occasional apprentices. Later Gladys Caulfield came to work in the office (but left to work at James & Co). Ernie Parks, who lived with his mother at Borden Cottage, was forecourt man.
Within a year of starting, Reg Tilley was made foreman, a job previously held but not relished by Jack Ferguson. Reg Tilley was a very hard worker, and was very populer with the customers. In the end he was with the firm from 34 years. One of his first jobs was to help 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 (from The Forge). 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.
Around 1938, Bill Norman puchased the house on the corner, with a view to demolish the 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. However, the project came to an abrupt end when the building firm engaged on this from Reading ran out of funds, and before another could make a start, the Second World War began. Later, the footings were filled in and the space was given over to car parking and flower beds.
Also in 1938 a wider concrete bridge replaced the wooden bridge, and at the same time a concrete island for six electric petrol pumpswas added, which allowed cars to pull off the road before filling up.
Eddington Garage in the early 1930s. L-R: Jack Froom, Billy Norman, ???, ???.
Note the four petrol pumps, two on the left and two on the right.
Also in 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. The premises were referred to as The Egg Factory right up to the 1980s!
At the onset of war in 1939, Reg Tilley was issued with a Green Card which exempted him from war service. During the war the garage and old foundry buildings were requisitioned and became a military workshop for the repair and maintenance of army vehicles. A unit of the 48th Division of the R.A.S.C. under the command of a Captain and Lieutenant came to Eddington. 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. 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.
The unit was to form part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), 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.
Normans Garage (Billy Norman), c.1945-1970:
It seems that during the late 1940s Billy Norman took full control of the business which then ran under the name of Norman's Garage.
Once the war ended, the garage was set for a period of rapid expansion. Billy 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.
Also in the 1950s Billy Norman expanded and updated the premises by demolishing the old garage building and replacing it with a much larger workshop equipped with the latest car lifting apparatus, a modern stores, new petrol pumps and an all glass fronted car showroom. The firm of Taylor Woodrow of London was 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.
There were further improvements in the 1960s when Bill Norman bought from the King family a large slice of garden, formerly in the ownership of the local bakers Jessetts (where A4 Tool Hire is now). This allowed him to complete the bridging over of the stream with concrete for the entire length of his site and to erect a new, larger car showroom.
Normans Garage and its forecourt now occupied the entire northern side of the Bath Road between Oxford Street and Wantage Road.
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.
Billy 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.
The western showroom of "Normans Eddington Motor Garage Hungerford Ltd." c.1974.
Note the advertising of Wolseley, Morris and Rover cars.
By this time, Bill Norman was the town's largest supplier of Shell Mex and B.P. fuel. He also had the concession for the filling station that was constructed on the site of the former town Manor House in the High Street in 1965. This ran only until 1973, after which the site became the International Stores.
Pete Tilley at Normans of Hungerford c.1974, showing six of the eight pumps,
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.
Normans of Hungerford (Diagran Motors Ltd), 1970-1985:
Billy Norman finally sold his large undertaking to locally-based Diagran Motors Ltd. (Mike Ricketts and Johny Johnson) in 1970. He started his retirement by 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.
Diagran Motors Ltd then 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.
John Newton recollected that it was a particularly poignant day for him when he stopped one February day in 1987 to see the former 'Three Horseshoes' Inn reduced to a pile of rubble.
During the mid 1980s David Hunter, who had served his apprenticeship at Normans of Hungerford, started his own business from the site, which he named Hungerford Service Centre.
When Johny Johnson died unexpectedly in c.1985, Mike Ricketts sold the business which was redeveloped as a Total Service Station.
Total Service Station, 1985-2012:
The site was acquired by the Total Oil Company and in 1986 it was redeveloped by Total Oil as a filling station, convenience store and car wash.
.jpg)
Norman's Garage, May 1985, now advertising Peugot and Talbot cars.
.jpg)
The Total petrol station, c.1985. The name Norman's is still on the workshop.
The western part of the property later became A4 Tool Hire.
.jpg)
A4 Tool Hire, April 2025
Shell Service Station, 2012-present:
A new Shell Station and convenience store opened in 2012.
Photo Gallery:
Cottrell, Rose & Co, 1903. There are at least 53 men in the photograph.
Catalogue, 1897, including Improved One Horse Cart - £15 0s. 0d. Award winning 'Climax' Elevator £42 0s 0d.
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"
Eddington Garage, c1922. L to R: Jack Froom, Billy Norman, ??, ??, ??.
?inside workshop at Eddington Garage, c1922
Norman's Garage, c1974
Looking towards Gibbs Builders, 1985
Henry and Francis Tidbury in handcuffs, accused of the police murders of 1876.
Total Service station, Feb 1988. [Ivor Speed Collection]
Total Service station, Feb 1988. [Ivor Speed Collection]
Total Service station - near site of former Cottrell, Rose & Co Eddington Works. 29 Jan 2009
.jpg)
Site of demolished Norman's Garage / Cottrell's Iron Foundry, NNov 1986 (John Allen).
Norman's Garage, Eddington, undated.
- 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."
See also:
- "Motoring History of the Kennet Valley", by Roger Day and Tim Green, 2021.
- John Newton's interview with Reg Tilley, 25th March 1987.
- Aerial view of south Eddington, c.1955.
- Property owned by Normans and plans of the garage, c.1955.
- Norman's cards and billheads.
- John Newton's paper on The Cottrells
John Newton's paper on Norman's 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 family 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.
John Newton's paper on The Cottrells, April 1987
The inclosure award map pf 1819 for Hungerford, Berkshire, though diagramatic in nature, nevertheless gives, for the first time, a reasonably accurate indication of buildings and dwellings in Eddington. Of particular interest to us in our study of Industry in the village, is that small area of land adjacent to Eddington Bridge - shown then in 1819 as Eddington Marsh.
However, by the projection of the first ordnance survey in 1882, based on a survey carried out in 1878, this small parcel of land had become clearly defined, a single row of buildings also having appeared, to be later followed by a second double row of buildings. This is significant, for that site of little more than an acre in area, was to be the birthplace of one of Hungerford's most famous industrial concerns. This same small plot, possibly more than any other locally, was destined to become the town's most famous industrial site, in continuous use for more than a century.
Early in the nineteenth century, a marriage took place at Wellington in Somserset, between John Cottrell and Jane Bubehr, which was to have a remarkable effect upon the lives of many in the village of Eddington and town of Hungerford. Their eldest son, Levi, was born in 1816, and was later to become a licenced victualler and wine merchant of Camden Town, London. He never lived in Berkshire, yet it was he who established himself as as business man at Eddington around 1869. Married twice, firstly to Agnes in 1843 and secondly to Rachel Butler in 1851, his business interests locally were managed for him by his son of his first marriage, William Charles Cottrell, born in 1844. William Charles' home was at The Firs, Charnham Street, where his three children were born, all of whom were christened in the Parish Church of St. Lawrence. Therefore, it was William Charles Cottrell who now occupied the premises besides the bridge at Eddington in 1869 on behalf of his father, Levi, and who established the firm that bore his name.
Records exist, which I feel almost conclusively prove that the firm started out, not as foundrymen and agricultural implement makers, but as steam ploughing contractors, operating from that site. In September, 1869, they took delivery of a pair of new Fowler ploughing engines numbers 1228 and 1229. These engines, manufactured at the Steam Plough Works in Leeds, were of fourteen nominal horse-power, and were undoubtedly the ones with which they established their business.
These early years must have been successful, for not long after this date, the firm acquired the vacant plot of land contained within the centre of the village of Eddington, across the road from their site, on which to build their foundry. It was reported in the local press that on Saturday, 6th July 1872, the workmen employed in erecting the new foundry were entertained at dinner at The Bear Inn by Mr. Cottrell, the proprietor of the new works, whose health and success was heartily drunk. The date on which these works were completed or at what cost they were established, is not recorded.
Nevertheless, they obviously continued with their steam engine enterprise and must have had other traction engines out at work on contract threshing duties. It is again recorded that on 24th August 1873, two traction engines belonging to Mr. Cottrell of Hungerford were being driven down Durley Hill when the hinder one ran into the foremost, doing damage to the extent of £100-£150.
Nevertheless , their purpose-built foundry, sporting a lantern-type roof, with traditional earth floor, was undoubtedly put to good use from the earliest opportunity. Known as Eddington Works, it too features prominently on the first Ordnance Survey map of 1878, with the word IRON in brackets. This clearly shows that, like many another small rural foundry, their early products would undoubtedly have been small items made from cast iron - such as cattle and pig feeding troughs, hand-operated straw and turnip choppers, cast iron hubs for wagon wheels, railings and so on, besides which, early horse-drawn water carts, general carts and wagons.
This was an era of rapid expansion in agricultural mechanisation, heralded by the successful harnessing of the power of steam and the birth of the steam engine, which, coupled with early plant breeding techniques, had begun to change for all time the face of the countryside. This led to a rapid increase in food production, and an uncertain measure of prosperity for all, which sadly, was not to be maintained.
As their production increased, so too did their labour force - drawn from Eddington and the neighbouring town of Hungerford, and outlying villages, soon to number more than fifty, a level which it was maintained for a good number of years. Indeed, I have heard of several members of one family by the name of Rosier, walking daily from Inkpen to their place of employment.
Modern though these premises might have been, much work was nevertheless done by hand, amid much noise and clatter. In fact, two of the three men arrested for the terrible murder of the policemen at nearby Folly Crossroads on the winter evening of December 11th 1876, were employed as strikers at Cottrell's Ironworks, whilst another was arrested while working on a threshing machine owned by Mr. Cottrell, which again proves that, even after the establishment of the foundry, contract steam threshing and presumably p1oughing, still continued as before. More evidence to substantiate this is contained in my records which state that a Burrell, six nominal horse-power, single cylinder traction engine was owned by Cottrells in May 1889, to be later followed by a similar sized engine of Hornsby manufacture, Cottrells purchased new in 1891, and another made by McLaren of Leeds, which was offered for sale by the firm in July 1901, which might possibly have been the date on which all contract steam engine operations ceased.
From the earliest of times, the firm exhibited at Agricultural Shows, the Royal Show being a particular favourite, at which they took space at various venues around the country from 1874 until 1904. It was undoubtedly to show off their newly invented elevator that they took trade space at that show in 1874. Elevators later were to become the mainstay of their business, and the product for which they are still remembered. It is interesting to study the various items displayed on their stand during this period, which also gives, I feel, a clue to the fortunes and rise of this firm of agricultural implement makers, during their formative years .
As previously mentioned, their elevator took pride of place on their stand at their first appearance at The Royal. This item, listed as a new implement, being a patent folding, hay, corn and straw elevator, invented, improved, and manufactured by the exhibitor – price £44. 10s. 0d. The only other item exhibited that year being a set of horse gearing, suitable for driving the elevator, which was priced at £8. These two items continued to be displayed annually until the 1879 show when their stand contained eleven items.
Shown for the first time that year were various one-horse carts, a winnowing machine and improved malt crushing machines, together with the patent 'Climax' folding elevator, and horse-gearing aforementioned. The prefix 'Climax' first appeared in 1877. By 1881, the firm had entered the steam engine era, and exhibited the usual two items together with an 'Engine and boiler, 3 horse-power vertical, invented , improved and manuf actured by the exhibitor. Mounted on a cast iron bedplate forming water tank, £78. mounted on four travelling wheels, with shafts - £6 extra'.
1882 saw the largest amount of items ever exhibited by the firm at any Royal Show, numbering 38 in total. A shepherd's house or portable granary had appeared together with line shafting, cattle troughs, lifting jacks, two-horse wagons, horse hoes, water carts and other sundry cast iron products, such as pig troughs, a plough and even a garden roller. This large number of exhibits was never again achieved however, the number steadily declining with a hiccup of twenty in 1889.
The year 1900 saw goods carrying another manufacturer's name appearing on their stand, namely a turnip cutter of Hornsby's patent, the patent rights of which had been acquired. An interesting item marked NOT FOR SALE and which was previously included as a curiosity appeared in 1903, and was a 'Dew Catching Pan' model of Simms Patent for pheasantries etc.
Again the appearance of a steam lorry, manufactured by Muskers, Ltd. of Liverpool must have raised a few eyebrows, it being offered for sale priced £600.
The report under the title of Cottrell & Co.'s elevator in the issue dated 1st June 1886 of The Implement and Machinery Review, speaks in glowing terms about this firm's products. It recalls that their patent folding Climax elevator secured the first prize Gold Medal when exhibited in Amsterdam in 1884, a fact about which they themselves were, naturally, very proud. This product and a facsimile of the medal appeared on the front cover of all of the firm's subsequent catalogues.
Mention is made of the firm in further issues of the same journal, spanning several years, and reports outline various other new and improved implements made by this concern, which would seem to have been looked upon by the establishment of the day with approval.
The year 1890 is recorded by Messrs.Cottrell as having been an unusually good and prolonged season in elevators.
They also produced chisel bars, pinching levers and barrel skids during the year for the Central Argentine Railway Company, for whom Cottrells have been well employed. This export trade to the far country of Patagonia, must have been a feather in their cap.
A further prize medal was to be bestowed upon them in 1897, when their improved one and two-horse wagons were shown at the Tunbridge Wells Show. The firm's April 1897 catalogue gives the address of the firm as The Eddington Iron and Wagon Works, this being also the title afforded the site on the revision of the Ordnance Survey map of 1899. The prominence, therefore, of the manufacture of wagons by the concern having some real effect upon the nature of their business.
During the period 1878 to 1899, the works had corresporjdingly grown in size to keep pace with the growth of theirenterprise forming an erecting and carpenter shop had been built to the south side of the original foundry buildings, with a wooden bridge over the stream included, which gave direct access to the works from the main A4 London to Bath road. This building built of brick under a slated roof , featured large, rounded top windows over the doors to the south side, which gave light to the works as well as an imposing frontage to the roadway. A long series of multi-paned, iron framed windows situated in the western wall overlooking the gardens at the rear of the houses fronting the north-south aspect of Oxford Street.
Returning to the family, William Charles Cottrell was undoubtedly joined in the expanding business at Eddington by his half-brother John Butler Cottrell, the fourth child of his father's second marriage to Rachel Butler. On what date he joined the family firm, I know not, however, the date of his marriage to Miss Clara Keen, step-daughter of the respected town clerk of Hungerford, Mr. H.E. Astley, is well recorded. This marriage took place on 3rd September 1881 at St. Saviour's Church,Eddington. The contemporary press report recalls that this was a wedding which Cottrells excited a large amount of interest and goes on in glowing terms to tell of the occasion. 'The sun shone brilliantly as the bridal party in four carriages. each drawn by a pair of greys mounted by postillions in scarlet jackets were conveyed to the church'. One of the bridesmaisd was Miss C. Cottrell. It goes on to say that the little hamlet of Eddington was 'en fete' for the occasion. The Iron Works (Cottrells) was gay with flags which the men had hoisted. A row of streamers was carried across the entrance of the road. A little further on, an arch of evergreen and flags was erected bearing the following wishes 'Health and Happiness' and 'Peace and Prosperity'. Over the church gateway, a floral arch was placed, being prettily made of dahlias and asters, and bearing the wishes 'Prosperity to the bride and bridegroom' on one side and 'a long life and a merry one' on the reverse. The whole of the pathway to the church was laid with cocoa matting and the aisle with crimson carpet. The wedding breakfast was supplied by Mr. Fruen, confectioner of the Town, in elegant style. The choir of St. Saviour's was invited by Mr. Ast1ey to a supper at The Three Swans Hotel, and the workmen at the ironworks, about fifty, were, through the kindness of Messrs. Cottrells, given a days holiday and a good dinner at The Bear Hotel. At each of the entertainments, the health of the Bride and Bridegroom and Mr. Ast1ey were drunk with much enthusiasm.
Following a honeymoon spent in Scotland, John Cottrell and his bride returned to Eddington and took up residence in Walton Cottage, a house built in 1830 and only a stones throw from the foundry. having access to Oxford Street, and, via a footbridge, to the path alongside the River Kennet.
Sadly, one of the legends portrayed on a banner at their wedding was not to manifest itself as John was to die in 1886, leaving his widow, Clara, with three small daughters. The same year, 1886 was also to claim the life of Mr. H.E. Ast1ey, upon whose death, his son, H. D'O. Astley, offered John's widow and three daughters a home. They moved into Bridge House in Hungerford's High Street where they lived with him until his marriage, late in life, in 1895, after which they moved away to Ealing. Of the three daughters, only one married and she had no descendants.
Therefore, in relationship to the above, it was a providential act which took place as the dying embers of the year 1885 faded, which was another occasion for feasting at the Bear Hotel. The contemporary report of the Newbury 'Weekly News records that 'a cheerful gathering of between 40 and 50 workmen and others connected with the Eddington Iron Works was to be seen on the last evening of the old year, sitting around the festive board of the old hostelry, 'The Bear Hotel' to celebrate the admission of Mr. George Cottrell as a member of the board of Messrs. Cottrells of Eddington Iron Works. The table groaned beneath the old English fare of roast beef, savoury goose and other substantial dishes'. George, a brother of John Butler Cottrell, mentioned above, was the sixth child of Levi, by his second marriage. and was born in 1863. With the death of the principal partner o£ the firm, William Charles, his half brother, in 1891, the task of running the firm fell squarely on the shoulders of George, and it was he, more than any other member of the Cottrell family, who was to identify himself with the town of Hungerford. During his stay at Eddington, George became not only one of the locality's greatest characters but also one of the town' s leading citizens. Assuming control of the firm, he it was who was to carry it into the twentieth century, and who would also enlarge its field of activity. Sadly, all his efforts were not sufficient to turn back the tide of the rapidly approaching depression within the country at large and agriculture in particular, which was all too soon to follow.
Nevertheless, for a few years, success was his. Married to a lady named Alexandra - Queenie to her friends - a big, handsome woman, their home from 1895 was at The Hermitage, Eddington, a large, rambling farmhouse situated within sight of the foundry, where their four children were born; firstly two daughters Doris and Sybil, then two boys Torn and Jack. Whilst living here, George immersed himself in the life of the town, becoming a member of the Parish Council, and its chairman in 1902, besides which, he was elected to serve on the committee of numerous other clubs - the Hungerford Club being a particular favourite of his, the family being great sportsmen, the women also playing golf and tennis.
However, his greatest role, and the one for which he is most often remembered was that of Captain of the Fire Brigade, following its inauguration in 1891. Indeed, its first Captain, a position he held for over twenty years, during which time he gave of outstanding service to the town and neighbourhood. During this time, he had charge over firstly a horse-drawn fire engine, and later on a motor driven one. At the handing over ceremony of the motor engine "Dreadnought" on the 21st September 1910, it was said of him "that in Captain George Cottrell, the brigade had an experienced skipper and one whose knowledge and genial personality had secured for him the respect, esteem and confidence of not only every member of the brigade, but also those who had occasion to require the brigade's services".
Whether or not the large fire at Eddington on the 14th June 1875, in which seven cottages and numerous outbuildings along Oxford Street were destroyed, leaving over fifty people homeless. had anything to do with the nearness of the foundry, I do not know.
However, we must not overlook the fact that these dwellings were just across the road from both the foundry and the village forge.
Nevertheless, by their destruction, the townspeople were roused to such fervour over the inadequacy of their fire-fighting machines that it led to the establishment of the fire brigade. It was therefore fortuitous that when a most destructive fire broke out at Cottrells Works on 23rd December 1892, the town was better equipped to deal with this, and this time under the command of George Cottrell.
His tenure of The Hermitage from the Chilton Lodge Estate, owned at that time by Sir William Pearce, also included. with it, the farm known as Eddington Farm, being of 36 acres, 3 roods and 6 perches, which was leased by him on a Michaelmas yearly tenancy. The date of the last tenancy agreement given for the farm being 29th September, 1905, at the annual rental of £107.
However, his tenure of The Hermitage and farm was by no means his only obligation to the estate as he also rented, on a monthly tenancy, two cottages in Upper Eddington, being 'well constructed, brick built and slated cottages, each containing four rooms with wood-house and earth closet'. These he rented for two employees, Mr. Monk and Mr. J. Smith. Two further cottages, situated along Wantage Road were similarly leased by the proprietor of the foundry and leased to his employees, these on a yearly tenancy, having six rooms each and being occupied by Mr. C. Tull and Mr. J. Cole. The rental for these cottages in 1908 being £4.16.0 per annum for the former two and. £4. 0s. 0d. and £5. 0s. 0d. for the latter. By this act, it would seem that their employer sought some measure of security for at least some of those engaged in the engineering works. The small plot by Eddington Bridge - the birthplace of his firm was also owned by the estate, the same as it had been for centuries up until its sale in 1908, and was similarly rented by him on an annual tenancy.
By 1903, the obvious strain of shouldering the burden of this large 61 wokforce and manufactury, single handed, in a hostile environment had presumably led to the necessity for outside help. Thus we find Sydney Durrant Rose had taken up residence at The Laurels, Eddington, and become a partner in the firm, formerly known as Cottrell and Co. His arrival, however, signalled a change of name to that of Cottrell, Rose and Co., under which title they traded until the cessation of the business.
For a few more years, a certain measure of success was undoubtedly theirs, sufficient for them to lease premises in Bartholomew Street, Newbury, on a yearly tenancy at £15. 0s. 0d. per annum. In these premises known as Bartholomew Works, they carried on trade and advertised themselves as Cart and Wagon Builders and Agricultural Engineers.
Sadly, the demise of this firm was mirrored by many another during the first decade of this century, as the earlier rapid rise of mechanisation and agriculture had begun to decline, and farming in general had started on a downward spiral which was to manifest itself in the 1920s with only a brief respite during the Great War.
Also, large manufacturing firms, with deep pockets and well-organised sales forces at home and overseas, were better able to secure what trade there was, and by so doing, the gap between themselves and the small, rural concerns, correspondingly, grew. Indeed, these small concerns, from which many of the larger ones, themselves, had grown a half century before, were now relegated to the manufacture and repair of small, often by then obsolete, machines, which themselves were soon to be ousted by war surplus, together with the birth of factory-made implements and early tractors.
The role of the horse and its wagon, around which agriculture had revolved for so long, was beginning to be played out. Yet, Cottrell, Rose & Co. sought hard to fight both. They now diversified and enterd the Motor trade, itself in its infancy - the premises being recorded by Ordnance Survey and shown on their map of 1909 as being Iron, Wagon and Motor Works. This last brave attempt, which I feel admirable demonstrated the forward thinking approach of the Directors, so apparent since the establishment of the firm, was, unfortunately, insufficient to arrest their demise.
This was to rapidly come about early in the year of 1911. In January, George Cottrell resigned from the Parish Council, and subsequent reports contained within the pages of the Newbury Weekly News issues for the next few months, record, with great melancholy, the last chapters of the firm, which had started out so valiantly the century before.
23rd February 1911 - the report states: 'The last straw was when notices were served on men at Eddington Works, which now are practically closed, though two or three men are still in employ'.
However, the issue dated 9th March 1911, carried an advertisement which revealed all: 'In Bankruptcy - George Cottrell' , and went on to state that Messrs. J.T. Skelding and Holland F.A.I. of 48, Gresham Street, London would sell, by order of the trusees of bankruptcy, on the premises, of importance to Ironfounders, Motor, Wagon, Agricultural and General Engineers, the important unreserved sale of Engineering Plant, Machinery Tools and General Stock and Effects.
The extensive and valuable plant and machines, stock-in-trade stores and general effects of the Eddington Iron Foundry, Motor, Wagon and Agricultural Engineering Works. It then lists a great number of lots contained within the forthcoming sale, which, themselves, give a true picture of how extensive an undertaking had been built up on the site over those intervening four decades.
Beneath the advertisement, similar to the first, was another detailing the forthcoming sale of the contents of Bartholomew Works, Newbury. So many lots were contained in those sales, that three days, Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd March 1911, were given over to the sale of the Eddington contents, starting prompty at 12 noon each day. Friday, 24th March being for the sale of the contents of Bartholomew Works, to commence promptly at 11 am.
Under the heading of SALE AT EDDINGTON IRON WORKS contained in the Newbury Weekly News issue of 23rd March 1911, was the following report. which also portrayed a little of the consequences of the collapse of this firm, upon which so many had been dependent.
"One of the most important sales of the kind that has taken place for many years in this particular part of the country is at present proceeding at Hungerford, where the engineering and Ironfounder's plant, agricultural machinery, stock and general effects of Messrs. Cottrell & Co. are being disposed of by auction. There is a very large attendance of buyers and the place is, at present, a scene of animation, but there is a melancholy side to it, especially when one contemplates that, with the sale over, what was once a busy and thriving industry, will be closed up. No longer will be heard the hum of the hooter and the clang of the hammers. In their place will reign silence, which spells unemployment and want for many families, and loss of trade and hard times for tradesmen who can ill afford it. It is the more melancholy when one sees the large and spacious workshops, admirably suited for their purpose, and when one remembers that, not many years ago, some ninety employees, a great many of them married men with families, were employed here, earning good wages.
Mr. J.T. Skelding, occupying the rostrum, and throughout, there has been a spirited and keen competition for some of the more important lots. Of course, a great many of the lots were mere scrap iron, as may be imagined from the fact that a HORSE RAKE went for 5/- and a couple of GRASS MOWERS for 5/- each, but a representative of a well-known engineering firm told our reporter that anything that was really good fetched its value, and that there were very few things picked up.
On the first day, a plain CIRCULAR SAWBENCH WITH FITTINGS fetched £15 .0 .0. , the ARTESIAN AND WELL-BORING PLANT made good prices, the boring rods realising 15/6 cwt. The HOISTING GRABS sold for 2 guineas and 3 guineas each, the MOULDING BOXES made from 2/5 - 2/11 cwt. A COTTRELL ELEVATOR made £6 .0. 0. PORTABLE ENGINES 10 guineas and 11 guineas; a 3-ton horse trolley fetched ten guineas, Brown Cart Gelding £16.0.0.; carts £4.0.0. and £6.5.0. ,rod and cast scrap iron realised from £2.7.0. - £2.10/- ton, lathe tools up to 4d per lb. and leather belting from three farthings to 10d per foot.
The sale continuing today (Thursday) when the motor cars, contents of the motor house and office furniture come under the hammer, whilst the stock at Newbury will be disposed of on Friday.'
Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the majority of the wooden patterns were purchased by the well-known firm of Bakers of Compton, who, for several years after the demise of Cottrells, received the odd order for replacement parts cast from these patterns.
The sale of the contents of both concerns was quickly followed by the notice of sale by auction of the Eddington premises. This was held on Wednesday, 12th April, 1911 in The Bear Hotel, Hungerford at 3 pm, and advertised as one Lot, being the former well-known freehold works and premises where the engineering business of Messrs. Cottrell & Co. has been recently carried on. However, it says much for the prevailing attitude towards manufacturing at that time, that, in the face of the rates on these premises, no-one would bid for them and they remained unsold.
This was quickly followed by an auction of the effects from The Hermitage held on Wednesday 11th June, advertised as the home of Mrs. Cottrell. On the twentieth day of the same month, it was reported that Captain George Cottrell had tendered his resignation as Captain of the Fire Brigade, a post which he had held since it was formed. At a supper at the Hungerford Fire Station, he was presented with a large, framed photograph of the engine, officers and men of the brigade and was wished every success in his venture abroad.
Strange to relate, whilst the final pages of this firm were being written, no further mention is made of Mr. Rose, neither does his name appear on any of the notices of sale. Whether or not he had moved away by this time, not wishing to see the end of all his endeavours, I have, as yet, been unable to substantiate. It is also interesting to note that the site by Eddington Bridge, the birthplace of the concern, and an area so soon to spring into life again, had at one time in Cottrell's career, housed a sawing pit.
This was situated near to the entrance and almost opposite the Wantage Road. I speculate that even before the foundry buildings were erected in 1872, a certain amount of timber work, repair and even manufacture of small agriculatural implements might well have been undertaken from this yard and buildings. The success of which may have prompted the decision to build the foundry in the first place - this idea is only conjecture!
The sale of the contents over, it was not long before Herbert W. Porter was advertising that he had taken over the premises known as Bartholomew Works in Newbury - lately the business of Cottrell & Co. and for which concern he solicited the support of customers both old and new.
Incidentally, one or two former Hungerford employees carried on their working careers with Mr. Porter at that address. By the end of June 1911, the Cottrells had left Hungerford, emigrating to Australia. I am told that the two boys, Tom and Jack returned to fight with the Australian contingent during the Great War and that both survived. They returned to that continent, where both were believed to have married. George's elder daughter Doris also married an Australian, later having a family. However, Sybil did not like Australia and returned to England to live in Suffolk - she never married. I halve also recently heard that George eventually returned to this country and sought employment with the Liverpool Overhead Railway Company, after which he retired to Colwyn Bay, North Wales, where he died. As yet, this also, I have been unable to substantiate.
Many persons living around Hungerford remember to this day the firm in business in the centre of Eddington village. Many speak excitedly about those days, and have recalled for me, many happy episodes. Some well-known Hungerford families had relatives who worked in the foundry and iron works. A surprising number of artefacts and even some implements still survive; these looked upon with kindness and jealously guarded and much prized by their owners. Not only, I suspect, for any antiquarian value that these might posess , but more for their sentimental attachment. I have recently seen some fine examples of the foundryman's art as portrayed in small doorstops and desktop ornaments. These, in the shape of sheaves of wheat, dogs and cats for the doorstops, and a horse and rider and other small horses for the ornaments, all cast, I am told, by the foundrymen, using up surplus molten metal left over after a major pouring. These small ob jects were really the perks of the trade and sold to others, presumable for 'Baccy Money'.
Larger items, such as cast iron pig troughs, can be found in many a local garden, containing flowers in due season. At least one High Street shop sports a cast iron column which still endeavours to hold aloft the upper storey of someone's living accommodation.
A farmer friend of mine has recently restored to new condition, a lovely two-horse wagon of Cottrell manufacture, supplied new to a farm at nearby East Woodhay, whilst another friend has a galvanised, iron clad, shepherd's house amongst his elderly farm equipment.
All local people will know of the two cast-iron crosses which stand nearby the roadside at Folly crossroads, marking the spot of the murder of those two local policemen on that December night in 1876. These were cast by their fellows in the foundry, and stand, not only as an epitaph to those fine guardians of the law, but as a fitting tribute and lasting memorial to the skill of those who played a part in the firm of Cottrell &. Co. of the Eddington Iron and Wagon Works.
The Canal Wharf, 2011