Smyths Of The Bann
written by Paul McCandless

APPENDIX B

EXTRACTS FROM MINUTE BOOKS MILLTOWN LEACHWORKS - 1907-1936

1st September 1909

Proposed by Mr H Robb and seconded by Mr W S Mollan that Arthur Crosfield Davies be appointed Managing Director, in place of his late father John Henry Davies; also that Crosfield Davies should call with the Bank of Ireland and give his signature.

(Crosfield's father, John Henry Davies, was born at Penrith in 1838 and died at Lenaderg on 20th August 1909. He lived at Lenaderg House and was Managing Director of the bleachworks. John Davies had been involved in the business of bleaching for nearly 60 years. He was a member of the Irish Bleachers' Association. John also had three daughters - Mabel, Gertrude and Marjorie. They had an uncle nicknamed 'Audie' who was a very good gardener and who grafted two different species of tree to grow from the one tree in the grounds of Lenaderg House. Woodcarving was a speciality of Audie's. The Davies where members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and are buried in Moyallon graveyard).

4th December 1911

Mr John Smyth (Jnr) is to receive on his retirement in June an allowance of two thirds his present salary which is now £250 per annum and £60 per annum to be allowed to him for internal repair of his house, all free of taxes. Mr William Haughton Smyth was elected a Director to the Shareholders.

22nd December 1911

Mr H Robb intimated his intention of retiring from the Board of Shareholders as he wished to be able to devote all his time and energies to his own business.

5th February 1912

Circular received from the Sir Edward Carson Unionist Defence Fund for financial support. No action was taken. John Bryson of 'Spence Bryson' was elected to the Board of Directors.

5th June 1912

Crosfield Davies and William Haughton Smyth are empowered to sign the Bank of Ireland document in relation to the Corbet property.
(The Smyths had a small works, probably the mill at the side of Mulligan's Bridge. They also owned the building that is now the Corbet Orange Hall).

3rd February 1913

John Bryson thought the Board would only be doing its duty by extending sincere sympathy to John Smyth (Jnr) on the lamented death of his son, Lieutenant Pierson Florence John Smyth who had died in India and that of James Davis Smyth, John's brother, who had also died. Letters of condolence are to be sent to both John (Jnr) and William Haughton Smyth; seconded by Mr W S Mollan.

8th September 1913

It was agreed to advertise sale of all materials from the old Corbet corn mill including stoves, bricks,
slates and timber. (This gives one an impression that they were going to demolish the old corn mill).

7th December 1914

The deeds of the old Corbet corn mill were accepted on the motion of Mr W S Mollan and seconded by the Chairman John Bryson. The seal of the company be affixed thereto and signed by John Bryson and Mr W S Mollan in the presence of John Johnston, Secretary and Witness. The deeds to be handed to Samuel Fryar, Solicitor, with receipt of £20 being purchase price, paid over by the representatives of Loyal Orange Lodge 724 on the understanding that the corn mill would be converted into an Orange Hall.

10th April 1916

Captain William Haughton Smyth paid us a visit during the month while on leave from active service and the information given to him made him very pleased with the state of affairs, which he hoped would be maintained. Miss Anna Smyth is making arrangements with William John Bell for supply of electric light to Milltown House and thinks the company might bear part of the expense, as the alteration would be an improvement to the property. The wiring of the house would cost £26. On consideration of this, the Board could not see their way to grant this. Instructions were given to write to Miss Smyth saying it would be a bad precedent to establish and would lead to the same claim being made by Crosfield Davies and William J Bell who have both wired at their own expense, them being tenants of the company.
(William John Bell owned a hemstitching and finishing business known as 'Bells Stitching' at Lenaderg in part of the factory. He also owned another works at Springhill, Lurgan, and was a Director of 'Wm Smyth & Co' as well as being a JP).

10th July 1916

Proposed by John Bryson and seconded by Mr W S Mollan that the Directors put on record their deep sense of the loss to the company through the sad death of their colleague Captain William Haughton Smyth, who was killed in action in France on 1st July 1916 and request that a letter of condolence be sent to Miss Anna Smyth of Milltown House.

3rd May 1917

Our experiment in the clearing of aeroplane cloth has turned out satisfactory and further cloth is now coming our way.
('Clearing' was the light scrubbing of the fabric. The amount of aeroplane cloth produced during the First World War in all the factories concerned must have been phenomenal when one considers the information contained in a newspaper article from 'The Daily Mail' dated 21st February 1920. It states that a man called Leonard J Martin had bought some 43 million yards of aeroplane cloth for £4m in June 1919 and had sold the entire amount in six months when it was expected that it would take him years to dispose of it).

6th June 1917

John Bryson with Mr W S Mollan visited the Corbet property, which they found in good order. Douglas Smyth mentioned that a Roll of Honour for the soldiers connected with the firm be made out and hung up in a conspicuous place; this was agreed to.

8th November 1917

Last year's lighting by carbide had cost £230. Taking this figure into account, and seeing that carbide will soon be un-obtainable, we should arrange as to the future lighting of the place. We are confident that a properly arranged plan of electric lighting should be put in so that the bleachgreen would have its light for nothing. As to above report, a further explanation and from reliable information obtained and given by Crosfield Davies, the Board considered that we had no other option but to leave the matter in the hands of Crosfield Davies, as they unanimously agreed to what he had said and immediate action is to commence at once.

7th December 1917

The question of electric lighting has been sought into more fully and we can now give appropriate cost of plant and materials, also an estimate of probable saving. Since the figures were made out there has been a further advance in the price of carbide which brings the price up to £50 or £60 per ton. It was passed on a motion from Douglas Smyth and seconded by John Bryson, that the lighting is left in the care of Crosfield Davies.

27th April 1918

Letter from John B Bryson of 'Spence Bryson', dated as above:
"I very much regret that, owing to the state of my health and acting under doctor's orders, I am
obliged to resign my position on your Board. Please accept my resignation as from date of your next
Director's meeting.
Yours very truly, John B Bryson."

5th June 1918

Letter from Mr W S Mollan tendering his resignation from the Board of Directors after 20 years' service as a Director.

7th August 1918

On the whole, good progress has been made with the lighting plant, but there has been an unavoidable delay in connection with driving wheels for the turbine. The condition at the Corbel mill is not improving, the old wheel needing constant looking after and it is rather uncertain as to the time of delivery of the turbine.

23rd October 1918

More material has now come for the lighting plant and it seems probable that in about a month or so it should be almost completed.

4th November 1918

The wage increase that was before the Committee has not yet been published, but is settled at five shillings per week for all adult workers and 2s/6d per week for all young persons. This is a very serious advance on the class of work we are principally engaged in and it will force a further advance in bleaching prices. This matter is at present under consideration of the Association.

13th December 1918

The new lighting plant is now practically completed and we hope to have a trial run in the early part of next week. We shall then go on with the wiring up of workers' houses.

8th January 1919

The lighting plant has now been running for over a week and we think, on the whole, it is satisfactory; when some little adjustments are completed it should be a good job. It is impossible to form any idea as to trade prospects for the coming year as the reaction after the War has left things very unsettled.

21st May 1919

We have made arrangements to start the alterations at the Corbet works on 1st June and count upon finishing the job in eight weeks. To keep up our finishing during alterations we have been fortunate in being able to rent 10 engines at Ballydown and this will be considerably cheaper than sending out the goods for beetling. The lighting plant is working well and gives every satisfaction.

15th November 1919

The Corbet works is not yet completed but, as aforementioned, a considerable quantity of extra work had to be done that had not been counted upon and the trouble with moulders is now holding back two important wheels. We have been looking into the matter of cartage to the Corbet works and believe that with a small motor lorry carrying say 25 to 30 cwt the work would be cheaper and more conveniently done. At the same time the lorry would also be available for work to Lurgan. We could work with two horses less at present and very probably we could even manage with three less. The proposition is well worth consideration.

10th December 1919

Had it not been for the delay in getting castings, the engines at the Corbet works could have been working. We are doing all possible to hurry up the suppliers but can get no definite reply. Several inspections have been made by various persons of the beetling engines at Ballievey and, as the auction is fixed for 15th December, we should make immediate arrangements if intending to bid. The
advantages they would be to us would be worthwhile, as it would enable us to do away with the old engine house. The house and the loft above would then be available for an addition to our 'blueing' machine and drying cans, as this will have to be done in the near future. The Board approved of the above suggestion.

19th January 1920

The question of motor lorries was under consideration during the month and a proposition for purchase of an Albion 30-tonner is now before us for approval.

11th February 1920

The present value of customers' goods in our hands for processing is valued at £481,000.

17th March 1920

We are glad to say that during the political unrest in Belfast, we were able to get some supplies from Newry. Had it not been for this the works would have had to stop. The work at the Corbel works is now so advanced that we hope to be able to get the wheel working in the next seven to 10 days.

3rd April 1920

We are at last glad to report that the Corbet engines are again working, 11 being started on Monday. The results shown from the driving of these prove that the turbine arrangements will be most efficient in every way and reflects great credit on the careful and thoughtful manner in which our own engineer carried out the work. Plans are now being prepared for the new workers' houses that we have in contemplation of building. The idea is to erect a few houses with better accommodation than those at "Cedar View.'

8th May 1920

As our lease for the land in Lisnafiffy has expired we have been served with forward notice to give up possession by 1st November 1920. The landlord has a valuation made and we shall then have to decide whether to buy out the land or make a new lease. The Board considered it to be better to buy out the lease. Plans for proposed new houses are now completed and Henry Hobart (Architect) estimates the cost at about £700 per house.

11th August 1920

We have again to report a further disturbance in work caused by the action of the Banbridge workers as a whole in regard to Sinn Fein (due to the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Brice Ferguson Smyth). Owing to this we had for sometime to carry on as well as we could with 18 workers short. This is however gradually making itself right and we are this morning in a fairly good position. The small motor lorry is now in full commission and, we are glad to say, is doing good work. We are now open to dispose of three horses and have offered them for sale. Owing to the unsettled conditions in Banbridge district, we are keeping extra watchmen in the bleachgreen at night and have applied through the proper channels for a permit for these men to carry guns.

March 1922

A report for March stated that there were 1,800 pieces in the brown room. During the month business had been very quiet, brown goods for bleaching being hard to get. Arrangements are made to let the engines at the Corbet to Mr McCaw at a rent of 10 shillings per engine, per week. These, deducting repairs, will give the firm close on £200 per annum. A second letter was sent to Mr McCaw dated stating that each engine would cost £1 per week and the firm would pay the water rates and repairs.

28th September 1922

A draft resolution was proposed by Crosfield Davies and seconded by William J Bell on the above date stating ''that the title deeds of the Company's lands and premises at Lenaderg, Lisnafiffy and Tullyconnaught in the County of Down be deposited with the Company's Bankers, Ulster Bank Ltd, as security for all advances from time to time made, or to be made, to the Company by the Bank or any account whatsoever, and for all present and future liabilities of the Company to the Bank, and that Douglas Smyth be hereby appointed to make the said deposit."

3rd March 1923

With the high rates now charged, the cost of fire insurance is a very considerable annual outlay. We have been looking into the matter and find roughly that about £1,000 per annum could be saved by the installation of a sprinkler. Estimate and tender for this has been prepared for us by Mather & Platt and would cost about £300. We think we should put the matter before our insurance people and get an exact quote from them of annual savings in premiums.

7th January 1925

The repairs to the foundation under the blueing house were satisfactorily completed during the Christmas break. A leak in the back of the filter ponds is getting attention at the end of the week and we are preparing to rectify the Lenaderg dyeworks. As arranged we have ordered the one-ton Leyland truck (second lorry) at a cost of £230. The old cambric calendar was sold to Baillie's for £125.

10th October 1925

Crosfield Davies offered his resignation as Managing Director, which was accepted with regret by the Board, but he continues as Manager of the bleachworks.

15th September 1927

A letter dated 13th September 1927 was read from the West Down Harriers Athletic Club and signed by William Sergeant of Ballymacanallon, Gilford, asking for a site of 80ft by 50ft to build a Clubroom. They had also decided to rent this to a Badminton Club and to any other amusement that the club approved of. At a meeting of the above club on 15th August 1927 they decided to meet Douglas Smyth and at the interview he had suggested a few sites, one of which was the foundry field. The Club held a meeting on 8th September at which they decided that the foundry field would be suitable. A letter dated 17th September 1927 from Douglas Smyth stated that they would grant on let a portion of the foundry field, 80ft by 50ft, at a nominal rent of £1 per annum, provided that they submit to the Smyths a plan of the proposed building and state exactly what the building would be used for. A further stipulation was relating to an earthenware water pipe belonging to the firm, which would run under the proposed site of the building. It would maybe be necessary for two or three lengths of iron pipe to be put in by them to prevent the breaking of the earthenware pipe.

13th October 1927

The Directors had under consideration the question of the general health of the Secretary John Johnston and it was resolved that he be relieved of all business responsibilities and further that a retiring pension of £3 per week be paid to him from 1st September 1927. The Directors wish to place on record the high esteem they have always had for John Johnston who has been 61 years in employment of the company. His work was always carried out in an exact and particular manner and it is gratifying to know that no auditor has, at any time, been able to find any error in the books under his control. The Directors also resolved that William Smyth (not a member of the family), who has been in charge of the brown room, should on account of failing health be retired from active work and receive a pension of £2 per week from 1st September 1927. Willie Smyth is an old servant of the company, having been with them for 53 years.

November 1927

Proposed by the Chairman and seconded by William J Bell, that the salary of William Bothwell
Johnston, Assistant Book Keeper, be increased to £192 per annum from 1st December 1927.

31st June 1931

Insurance and salaries came under consideration and, after a full discussion, it was decided to make no change in the insurance on buildings or machinery. With salaries, it was decided that in some circumstances a reduction of 10% would come into effect as from 1st August 1931. The appointment of Mr Kennedy as Yarn Bleacher in place of Mr Morrow was confirmed and the salary was fixed at £400 per annum.

11th March 1932

The Directors had before them a letter from Messrs 'F S Airey, Entwistle & Co', regarding purchase of the bleachworks for a client. This was duly considered and the Secretary was instructed to reply, thanking them for their letter and asking them to put us in touch with their client as the matter might
be of interest to us. During the month of January a good firm made a very tempting offer for the employment of our Yarn Bleacher, Mr Kennedy. The Directors, after full consideration, decided to increase Mr Kennedy's salary from £400 to £425 per annum; this arrangement was accepted by Mr Kennedy. Proposed by Douglas Smyth and seconded by Jack Balfour McGown that William B Johnston is appointed Company Secretary as from 1st December 1934 at a salary of £200 per annum.

14th November 1934

At a meeting held at 6 Linenhall Street, Belfast, with Douglas Smyth as Chairman and William J Bell, Jack B McGown and Mr J Kelso in attendance, the final arrangements were made for payment of the Bannville property. It was arranged to let a portion of the old mill at Bannville to LOL 822, the rent to be 25 shillings per annum, with £1 refundable. Mr James Hale is appointed as Overseer in the bleaching department, at a salary of £200 per annum as from 1st December 1934.

9th January 1936

Owing to the adverse condition of trade, the following Director's fees and pensions are reduced to the following annual figures: Jack B McGown, £200; Crosfield Davies, £200; Mr W A Kelso, £40/10s and William J Bell, £25. (The Kelso family lived in the semi-detached house past the old school and opposite the gates of Lenaderg House. The adjoining house also belonged to the Smyths)