by Mildred Cookson, The Mills Archive, UK
A year ago in Milling and Grain I featured William Gardner of Gloucester in a brief review of 10 successful milling engineers with works in the UK
I have now found that The Miller (5 August 1895) provides a detailed account of this highly regarded firm, well known in Gloucester and the West of England since the 1870s. The firm underwent several moves since it was founded around 1860, culminating in new premises in Bristol Road, completed when plant was installed in June 1894. Once established there Mr. Gardner took into partnership his sons, Charles and Alfred, styling the firm as William Gardner and Sons.
The ground floor offices accommodated a little room in which a telephone was installed so Mr. Gardner could take a call immediately from a client "in any part of the kingdom" as well as a strong room with an iron door for holding valuable papers which "would withstand a charge of dynamite"! Charles Gardner, as general manager of the works could see, through a glass window, the whole length of the fitting and turning shop, which ran longitudinally to the offices.
There was also a room near the offices for storing large quantities of Dufour’s silks in presses, so arranged that any particular number or quality could be taken out immediately. There was a storeroom for mill furnishings, with a large stock of hoist chains, brooms, sack trucks, bolts, butts and brasses as well as all kinds of lubricators.
The fitting shop was supported on two rows of iron columns carrying a line of shafting and held all kinds of machines being made ready for work. At the time of the report, there was a large power friction hoist, a large elevator bottom, and a gigantic patent Rapid mixer with a capacity of half a ton on view. Roller mills were evident in all stages of completion as well as centrifugals and ordinary reels, rotary scalpers etc. There was a fine lathe capable of turning 20 feet of shafting and of boring out large wheels. An overhead crane served the whole length of the shop.
Gardner devoted much time and attention to the grinding and grooving of their rollers in a separate department furnished with the latest design of grinding and grooving machines. Rolls were sent from all parts of England and Ireland to be grooved, where any spiral or shape, or number of corrugations could be readily matched. On the opposite side to the erecting shop were double roll grooving and grinding machines, both served by travelling cranes. These were of the horizontal pattern and fitted with automatic reversing gear. Close by the engine house was a smithy with power driven forges capable of heating iron and steel goods of any size. Outside the fitting shop a large yard held a shed containing a wide selection of iron bars and in another, planks of raw wood were dried. Particular attention was paid to cog gearing timbers such as hornbeam, crab tree etc of which they held enormous stocks. Another shed contained pulleys, hangers, power possers and worms etc.
The millstone department stood by itself. One shed contained a line of hurstings, another a collection of rough stones ready for millstone building, with the finished stones stored separately. Although the millstone had seen its day in flour milling, there were yet many industries in which grinding stones of different patterns and diameters were used and Gardner did a fair trade in these
Read the full article, HERE.
A year ago in Milling and Grain I featured William Gardner of Gloucester in a brief review of 10 successful milling engineers with works in the UK
 |
| Mildred Cookson |
I have now found that The Miller (5 August 1895) provides a detailed account of this highly regarded firm, well known in Gloucester and the West of England since the 1870s. The firm underwent several moves since it was founded around 1860, culminating in new premises in Bristol Road, completed when plant was installed in June 1894. Once established there Mr. Gardner took into partnership his sons, Charles and Alfred, styling the firm as William Gardner and Sons.
The ground floor offices accommodated a little room in which a telephone was installed so Mr. Gardner could take a call immediately from a client "in any part of the kingdom" as well as a strong room with an iron door for holding valuable papers which "would withstand a charge of dynamite"! Charles Gardner, as general manager of the works could see, through a glass window, the whole length of the fitting and turning shop, which ran longitudinally to the offices.
 |
| Joinery department for milling machinery Image credit: The Mills Archive |
There was also a room near the offices for storing large quantities of Dufour’s silks in presses, so arranged that any particular number or quality could be taken out immediately. There was a storeroom for mill furnishings, with a large stock of hoist chains, brooms, sack trucks, bolts, butts and brasses as well as all kinds of lubricators.
The fitting shop was supported on two rows of iron columns carrying a line of shafting and held all kinds of machines being made ready for work. At the time of the report, there was a large power friction hoist, a large elevator bottom, and a gigantic patent Rapid mixer with a capacity of half a ton on view. Roller mills were evident in all stages of completion as well as centrifugals and ordinary reels, rotary scalpers etc. There was a fine lathe capable of turning 20 feet of shafting and of boring out large wheels. An overhead crane served the whole length of the shop.
Gardner devoted much time and attention to the grinding and grooving of their rollers in a separate department furnished with the latest design of grinding and grooving machines. Rolls were sent from all parts of England and Ireland to be grooved, where any spiral or shape, or number of corrugations could be readily matched. On the opposite side to the erecting shop were double roll grooving and grinding machines, both served by travelling cranes. These were of the horizontal pattern and fitted with automatic reversing gear. Close by the engine house was a smithy with power driven forges capable of heating iron and steel goods of any size. Outside the fitting shop a large yard held a shed containing a wide selection of iron bars and in another, planks of raw wood were dried. Particular attention was paid to cog gearing timbers such as hornbeam, crab tree etc of which they held enormous stocks. Another shed contained pulleys, hangers, power possers and worms etc.
The millstone department stood by itself. One shed contained a line of hurstings, another a collection of rough stones ready for millstone building, with the finished stones stored separately. Although the millstone had seen its day in flour milling, there were yet many industries in which grinding stones of different patterns and diameters were used and Gardner did a fair trade in these
Read the full article, HERE.
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