Saturday 18 March 2017

What happened to the Hutton Rudby Paper Mill?

At last!  A chance discovery tells us more about the Hutton Rudby Paper Mill - production moved to Yarm in about 1829:-
Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail, 23 August 1886 
The Tees Mills, Yarm 
The following article appears in this week's British and Colonial Stationer:
Whilst in Yorkshire a few days ago, we visited Yarm and called at the Tees Paper Mills, which are carried on under the style of C T Bainbridge and Sons.  The mill was originally a flour mill, but in the early days of the Fourdrinier paper machine Mr C T Bainbridge, a paper-maker and proprietor of a small vat mill at Hutton Rudby, about six miles from Yarm, not content with the slow process of making browns and purples by the vat, removed part of the plant, etc., from Hutton Rudby, to the then Tees Flour Mill 57 years ago, and put down one of the first Fourdrinier paper machines in Yorkshire. 
The old wooden screw press, which was worked by hand at the Hutton Rudby vat mill, was used for some time at the new mill, and the manufacture was confined to browns, purples, and grocery papers. 
In 1867, however, the mill was reconstructed, and the original Fourdrinier was abandoned for a new 62-inch paper machine, by James Bertram and Son, which is still working, and has five cylinders, and bears the date of 1868. 
In conversation with one of the finishers, who has served for nearly half-a-century, we learned that great changes had occurred in the proprietorship at this time, when, through the ill-health of the founder, Mr C T Bainbridge, the loss of his son, and soon after of his nephews, the mill was bought by Mr Wm Henry Benington, who was subsequently joined in partnership by his son, and the firm at present consists of Wm H Benington and Son. 
The management is entrusted to Mr Wm Brougham Benington, a son of the principal.  The trading name, C T Bainbridge and Son remains unchanged. 
Recently some additions and improvements have been made.  Bag machines have been introduced, and a small printing plant and cylinder printing machine are on the premises for printing names and trade marks on the bags if required by the wholesale buyer.  The bag machines have been manufactured by Mr Burnsted, of Hadnesford, one of them being the new Burnsted Patent Machine; and another of a quite new construction, and the first of its kind made by this manufacturer and patented.  The machines are kept running on bags from a 1lb.lump sugar bag up to a 4lb. moist sugar, and the large machine from 4lb. up to a half-stone flour bag.  And bags of a larger size are also made at this mill. 
The firm manufacture browns, purples, and grocery papers, and they have taken up the manufacture of grocery bags at the request of their customers, and are able to supply about eight tons of paper, and bags per week. 
The mill is close to the Yarm station, and is completely surrounded by river, road, and rail, so that there is no outlay on cartage of raw material, or on the manufactured article.  The firm deal with the wholesale, and local trade, and have confidence in both the price, and quality of their productions, and take a pride in the reputation of their old established mill.

A video of a Fourdrinier mill at the Frogmore Paper Mill can be seen here on youtube; its website is here/

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