Page:VCH Berkshire 1.djvu/497

 INDUSTRIES inquire of Tanners that have used the occu- pation of a Cordwayner or a Currier, or hath putt any Leather to sale, but red Leather as it came from the Tannefutte, or that hath putt any Hyde or Peece of Leather to sale before it be well dryed, marked & sorted & then sold in open Markett, or that hath tanned any Sheepskins. Also wheather Glovers or Whitetanyers of Leather doe make any other ware then that w'ch is substantial!, well taned & dryed, and not rotten nor tainted, and sell the same at reasonabl prices. And a white Taner may tane noe calfe skynns except they be putt to him to be tanned upon paine to loose for every calfe Skynne xxd.' * Ock Street seems to have been the chief centre of the trade. In 1830 William Gidden and Thomas Waite had tanneries there, one of which was continued until a few years ago, having been carried on by Mr. T. R. Kendall. It is now aban- doned. Parchment does not properly come under the head of leather, seeing that it is neither tanned nor tawed, but consists of dressed skins dried and prepared for particular uses. But although an account of its manufacture does not come within the scope of this section, it may be stated that there were several parchment makers in the county at the beginning of the last century. James Parker carried on the business of fell- monger and parchment maker in the kine- croft, Wallingford, and was presumably con- nected with John Parker, tanner, who had a tannery in the same locality. Parchment was also made in the last century by George Jackson at Abingdon, which is still a seat of the industry, Messrs. T. J. Bailey & Son having a manufactory in Ock Street, and Mr. W. B. Bailey at the Spring Grove Works. Faringdon also produces parchments at the works of Mr. J. Bailey. At Windsor the industry was not unknown, though tanning has been extinct there for many years. In 1637 it is recorded there was a house called ' the Tannhowse ' by the Thames side, which points to the existence of a tannery at that period, and curriers and leather-cutters carried on this trade until modern times in High Street, Eton. The old Tanhouse at Wokingham still remains. It is an ancient building situated on the Barkham Road, and the business is now in the possession of Messrs. Philbrick, who own the Reading tannery in Katesgrove Lane. In 1830 James AUwright conducted the business at a tanyard, and was succeeded by the Twycross family, 1 Rec. of Abingdon, xxix. who held it until about 1860, when it was acquired by the late Mr. John Philbrick and adapted for the purposes of fellmongering. Messrs. C. & G. Philbrick's tannery at Reading is situated in Katesgrove Lane, and occupies the land between that thoroughfare and St. Giles's millstream. It was purchased some years ago by Thomas and John Phil- brick from Mr. George Higgs, who had successfully carried on the business for many years prior to 1832. The tannery was partially destroyed by fire in 1839 and was completely burnt down in 1851, when it was rebuilt by the late Mr. John Philbrick. The method of tanning carried on here is known as the ' English Oak Bark Tannage ' and the articles produced are dressing hides and calf skins. About thirty men are employed. It would appear that leather and all the trades dependent upon it have formed one of the staple industries of the county. Shoe- makers appear among the earliest manu- facturers in Berkshire industrial history. Allusion may here be made to an important village industry, that of boot and shoe making, which was founded at Cookham in 1828. This village became the centre of a large manufacture, giving employment to from 1,200 to 1,500 workpeople. The business was both home and colonial. It was a cottage industry carried on by the workpeople in their own homes, women and girls taking the lighter portions of the work, only the cutting out and giving out of the work being done at the central place of business. But with the introduction of machinery in making boots and shoes, enabling them to be produced at lower prices than by the handmade pro- cess, this was superseded, and the Cookham business, hitherto so successfully carried on first by Mr. Burrows and subsequently by his sons, was brought to a close some twenty years since, the trade going to towns such as Leicester and Northampton and the work being carried on in large factories. The origin of the Cookham business was somewhat singular. Mr. W. J. Burrows had been connected with the Bermondsey leather market, but ill-health compelled him when quite a young man to retire from business, and he settled at Cookham. From his business knowledge he enabled the three or four local shoemakers, for whom he interested himself, to obtain their materials on better terms than they had been accustomed to do, and, noting how much spare time they had, he suggested to them the making of boots and shoes, of good material and workmanship, suitable for the middle and working classes, which he would dispose of for them. The 399