A Forgotten Industry 

Other than one (small) piece of information to print out, and packing everything ready to go, I'm ready for Saturday.  Many thanks to my good friends Frank Sharman, Graham and Wendy Sanderson and John Pearson, who have kindly loaned me their mills to add to the display.

If you're in the area, do please pop in to the Fair - there's plenty to see - and have a chat with me.

'A Forgotten Industry' will be exhibited at the Wolverhampton Local History Fair on 8 November 2014  - the first time I've appeared at this venue. Two days later I'm talking about the coffee mill makers at Yardley Local History Society, and then on 18 November at Perton WI. 

I've almost completed a fuller list of the mill manufacturers to replace the current page; once this is complete I shall be preparing a trifold leaflet for exhibitions and talks.  In an ideal world this will be printed in time for the Local History Fair - looks like a busy month ahead!

The 1806 Rates Assessment for Wolverhampton contains an entry for James Patterson, of 12 Brickiln Street, Wolverhampton, whose occupation is described as ‘coffee mill maker (box mill maker)’

This is the earliest mention of a box mill maker in the records of the Wolverhampton mill makers.

I am speaking  about the Wolverhampton coffee mill makers at Sedgley Local History Society on Thursday 11 September at 7.30: full details here:  http://www.sedgleylocalhistory.org.uk

'A Forgotten Industry' will be exhibited at Wolverhampton Local History Fair, Wolverhampton City Archives on Saturday 8 November 2014.

I am giving a illustrated talk to Wolverhampton Civic and Historical Society on Wednesday 18 June 7.30pm at The Old School, 73 Dudley Road, Wolverhampton.

Further details here:  www.cityofwolverhampton.com/meetings.html 

"A Forgotten Industry" showcased at this year's Local History Fair, and was very well received.  Many   people  were fascinated to learn about Wolverhampton's coffee mill makers.  

I was also lent a wall-mill for the show, which was made by Clark & Co, a company which was later to become  T & C Clark & Co.  As the only reference I have found to the company as "Clark & Co" is in White's "History, Gazetteer & Directory Of Staffordshire" for 1851, this enabled us to date the mill.

I've been busy for the last few weeks searching through old Rate Assessment ledgers and Apprenticeship Registers - these have filled in a few gaps in my research, revealed some new names and raised a few new questions....

I'm also busy preparing the "Forgotten Industry" exhibition  for the Penn Local History Fair.  And I've identified the 'mystery mill makers' E&T Clark  (details on the Forum).

I spotted this box mill, made by the Bilston company Cannon, on display at Bilston Town Hall.  The makers' plate is particularly attractive.

Almost a fortnight ago, I was sitting in the sun with friends, enjoying a cup of coffee (what else?) when one of them mentioned that he had worked for William Corns and Sons in the 1960s, and remembered seeing coffee mills being made there.

Although this lies outside the period of my research, I was interested to learn that the industry continued into the second half of the twentieth century.