Prentice Brothers Limited
| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Chemicals |
| Founded | c.1856 in Stowmarket, England[1] |
| Founder | Thomas Prentice |
| Defunct | 1929 |
| Fate | Merged with Packard and James Fison (Thetford) Limited |
| Successor | Fisons |
| Products | Fertilisers |
Number of employees | 40 (1874[2]) |
Prentice Brothers Limited was an English fertiliser manufacturer founded in Stowmarket, Suffolk during the mid-1850s. The company produced a number of "chemical manure" products that used coprolites and rock phosphates among other ingredients.[1]
History[edit]
The Prentice family was prominent in Stowmarket at the time and operated a number of other businesses including a gasworks, corn and coal merchants, maltsters and a Guncotton Company.[3]
The fertiliser business was founded by Thomas Prentice and by 1866 was being run by his brothers, Eustace and Edward.[1] Manning Prentice joined the business in 1871 after Edward was killed in the nearby Guncotton explosion.[4] Manning Prentice developed patented techniques and processes around acids.[5][6]
In 1922 a fire destroyed part of the works and needed to be rebuilt, and the 1920s was a problematic period for the industry partly due to falling demand.[4] In 1929 the company merged with Packard and James Fison (Thetford) Limited whose company was subsequently renamed to Fison, Packard & Prentice, Limited.[7] The Prentice and Fison families had previously been joined by the marriage.[3] That company then formally changed its name to the shorter Fisons Ltd in 1942.[8]
The Food Museum has a number of items from the company including a coprolite grinding stone apparently used by the company.
Location[edit]
The Prentice Chemical Works was located on the eastern side of the railway line approaching to Stowmarket railway station. The business made use of the railway to transport its goods.[9] Today, the area is occupied by the Tomo Industrial Estate.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "STOWMARKET, SUFFOLK". www.bernardoconnor.org.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "PrenticeNet :: Prentices of Palgrave, England". prenticenet.com. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ a b "The Prentice Family". Stowmarket History and Heritage. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007.
- ^ a b Malster, Robert (2000). Stowmarket. Budding. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-84015-153-4. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ McDonald, Donald; Hunt, Leslie B. (1 January 1982). A History of Platinum and its Allied Metals. Johnson Matthey Plc. ISBN 978-0-905118-83-3.
- ^ The Early Fertiliser Industry. Fisons Journal. December 1963.
- ^ "Certificate of Change of Name - Packards, and James Fison (Thetford) Limited, Fison, Parkard and Prentice, Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Early history of the company to 1960 Archived 20 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine at UK Competition Commission, 1960. (PDF) Accessed September 2007
- ^ "Prentice Bros (Stowmarket) 14T tank wagon No.10, ex-Works. Chemical Works, Stowmarket. Wooden underframe". hmrs.org.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2021.