Shardlow Heritage Centre -Village Traders - Working Port - about this 18th century canal transhipment port

Shardlow Heritage Centre The Working Port 1770 - 1948

OTHER TRADERS WITHIN THE PORT

BREWERIES, MALTINGS, AND PUBLIC HOUSES	expanded Jan 2002
DANIELS AND PAYNE IRONMERCHANTS	added 20 January 2002
ROPEWORKS	)
ELLIS AND SON WOODWORKS	) potential subjects not yet written
STEAM CORN MILLS	)
F E STEVENS - animal feed millers	)
Links to other pages in this site

BREWERIES, MALTINGS AND PUBLIC HOUSES
MALT SHOVEL INN AND MALTINGS
ZACHARY SMITH'S TRENT BREWERY

MALT SHOVEL INN AND MALTINGS

The Malt Shovel Inn and the adjacent corbelled building on the Wharf were built by Humphrey Moore in 1799. The Moore's were a local farming family but in addition to working the land Humphrey rented part of a quarry from the Holden's of Aston and carried stone from Weston Cliff to mend the flood defences at Derwentmouth and the copings of the canal. In 1811 he borrowed money from Mr Holden to build a tramway from the Aston plaster pit to the canal and he also bought the plot of land later known as Millfield from Mr Burgin.

Humphrey died in April 1816 leaving legacies totalling £1640 to nephews and nieces. His nephew George took over the buildings on the wharf and sold the contents which from the auctioneers advert in the Derby Mercury we know included brewing vessels. A map of the same year confirms that the corbelled building started life as a brewery. In the will George is described as a maltster and as the brewing implements were sold perhaps the building now continues as a maltings or malt warehouse.

Humphrey's not gone, however, as George Gilbert tells us the story of Humphrey's ghost haunting the building, a tale dating from George's childhood in the 1820s which caused him to "whistle as loudly as ever I could whenever I had to pass it". George also tells us that until the Baptist Chapel was built on the Wharf the house attached was used to hold services and the Sunday School classes.

By 1852 the properties are owned by William Clarke who is running the Malthouse himself, letting out the house which later becomes the Malt Shovel to William Bancroft, a boatbuilder and a storeroom to Mary Cope who runs the New Inn.

Throughout the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries the building was a brewhouse and never listed as a public house or inn in the local trade directories. For some years it was called the Dew Drop and the first mention of it as the Malt Shovel seems to be the 1891 census when the publican is Joseph Cope. We know from a Trust Deed of 1923 that the "Malt house or Malt Office now unoccupied" and the beerhouse, the Malt Shovel Inn were owned by Zachary Smith and Co., whose brewery was across the canal. Zachary lived at Broughton House. Smiths Brewery was taken over by Marston's and so to the present day.

pre 1955 layout of Malt Shovel

new layout 1955

More information, photographs, maps and the full text of the 1816 advert, George Gilbert’s memories of the beerhouse and Humphrey’s ghost and a fuller story of Zachary Smith’s Brewery are on display at the Centre. Use the links below for more information.

to TOP OF PAGE

ZACHARY SMITH'S TRENT BREWERY

The Trent Brewery appears in the 1870 Directory as Smith, L & Co. mild, strong, India pale ale and porter brewers, Trent Brewery. By 1874 the company is listed as Z. Smith & Co. and Zachary Smith is living in the village at Broughton House. The 1881 census entry gives the following details:
Zachary Smith 54 Brewer employing 20 men. Born Ashby, Leicestershire.
Emma Smith wife 47 born Ireland.
They employed a cook, a housemaid and a page.

Dr Lethbridge Farmer, the son of Shardlow’s Rector, remembered Zachary Smith as “a retiring man of punctilious manners, generous to all good causes and always dressed in a grey suit and grey bowler hat”. John Nash recalled that it was at Zachary Smith’s house that he “with all the other village kids received a medal and enamel mug on the coronation of King Edward V11”.

Emma died 6 May 1906 aged 76 and Zachary died 27 December 1918 aged 91.

The Brewery was built on the site of a disused grain warehouse (no.27 on the 1852 plan) and the company also used the warehouse (no.35 on the plan) as a bottling store.

Z. Smith & Co. became a Limited Company and issued shares in December 1898 and became a registered company in 1923. The schedule attached to the latter document lists the properties owned by the company.
SHARDLOW; Malt House, Malt Shovel Inn, Dog and Duck Inn, Wharf House, Canal Tavern.
SAWLEY; Railway Inn, house, shops and cottages on Church Street and Cross Street, Nags Head and related cottages and Butcher’s Shop, Off-license at the corner of Nottingham Road and Hey St.
DERBY; Alexandra Hotel, the Lorne, Boyer Street, bakehouse on Milton Street, houses and shops on Normanton Road, Warner Street, Gerard Street, Bainbrigge Street, Depot Street and Barrow Street, Neptune Inn, Buck in the Park.
LONG EATON; Tiger Inn, shops and houses on Queen Street, Lower Brook Street and Russell Street.
DRAYCOTT; Travellers Rest Inn.
BORROWASH; Nags Head Inn.
CASTLE DONINGTON; Kings Head Inn, Lamb Inn, house, stable etc at the corner of Clapgun Street and Market Place.
OSGATHORPE; Story Arms.
SHEPSHED; Lifeguardsman Inn, Pied Bull Inn, houses and shops Factory Street and Bull Ring, Railway Hotel, cottage and shop Hallcroft.
WHITWICK; Foresters Arms.
LOUGHBOROUGH; house and shop Russell Street, Gate Inn, Boat Inn.
MELBOURNE; house shop and cottages Rawden Street, houses and shop Station Road.
QUORNDON; Quorn Hunt Ale Stores.
LONG WHATTON; Royal Oak Inn.
HATHERN; Kings Arms Inn.
PEGGS GREEN; Engine Inn.
LITTLE EATON; New Inn.
COALVILLE; houses and shop Gutteridge Street.
SMALLEY; Nag’s Head Inn.
BREASTON; Bull’s Head Inn.
HUGGLESCOTE; houses and shop.
PACKINGTON; Bull and Lion Inn.
SHELTON LOCK; Bridge Inn.
ILKESTON; house and shop Ebenezer Street.
ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH; White Hart.

Trent Brewery Employees.
We know the names of three of Zachary Smith’s waggoners.

Joe Herod
“His head waggoner Joe Herod drove a pair of 17 hand horses of which he was deservedly proud.” - Dr Lethbridge Farmer.
The 1881 census lists the family living on Long Row. Joseph Herod, 57, brewery drayman, born Sawley is listed with his wife Elizabeth, 54, born Hemington, and their four children Catherine, Joseph, Harriet and Sarah Jane, and grandson Hartley Howarth.

Mr Nash
“My father was one of [Z Smith] waggoners who with a pair of heavy horses and a waggon took barrels and cases of bottled beer to public houses in the surrounding district as far as Loughborough” - John Nash talking of the 1890’s [in 1970’s].

John Pegg

John Pegg driving one of Zachary’s drays

Z Smith horse harness brass

The 1891 census lists the Pegg family living on Wilne Lane. John Pegg, 48, brewers drayman, born at Wilne is listed with his wife Ann, 50, born at Weston and their eight children Sarah, Mary, George, John, James, Henry, Kezia and Ann.

Mr Nash also remembered one of the employees perks.
“I had the job of taking a stone gallon bottle in my barrow along with the other kids whose fathers worked at the Brewery and line up at five o’clock for old Joe Herod to fill the bottle with the workman’s beer allowance. This gave us the chance to nick a few barrel bungs to play hop scotch with” - John Nash, Long Eaton Advertiser 21 March 1975.

After the Company's activities were moved to Burton on Trent, the building was used as a Malt Extract Works, then demolished in 1975.
Demolition in progress.
Many thanks for information and illustrations to Mr Clifton, Mrs Knibb, Mr and Mrs Morton-Harrison
.

to TOP OF PAGE

DANIELS AND PAYNE IRONMERCHANTS
Daniels and Payne were iron, steel and tin plate merchants. Their main address was 20 Upper Thames Street, London EC, with a branch at Marsh Street, Bristol and another in later years in Nottingham. In Shardlow they occupied the Old Iron Warehouse (no 17 on the 1852 plan).


Old Iron Warehouse in 1995	1930's postcard	Site Plan 1938

The original building is the right hand half of the present building as viewed on the above photos. The early building stands alone on the 1816 map but in the rate book of 1831 the firm is paying for warehouses including a new warehouse. They also owned the two little houses at the West End of the twitchell (no 18 on the 1852 plan, and crosshatched on the above plan).

They must have opened their depot at Shardlow as early as 1800 as George Gilbert’s father Thomas had worked for them for more than 50 years when he retired in 1857. George in his memoirs gives a lovely testimonial to their qualities as employers:
“I have stated that at the time of my birth my father was employed by the firm of Daniels & Payne and a better firm or kinder hearted gentlemen there never was their principal place of business was in Lower Thames Street London with branch establishments at Bristol and Shardlow and afterwards one at Nottingham. My father remained with them for more than half a century and always had his wages paid him no stoppages for loss of time through sickness or any other cause and I believe it was the same with the other men also, besides having presents at certain seasons of the year such as Christmas for instance and when he had attained the age of 80 years he was pensioned off for life with 15/- per week and allowed to live in the house free of rent which he had ever done before and for many years previous to this he had only gone to the place and done a little work just as suited him, or nearly so, at length he died in the 86th year of his age (1863) his funeral expenses all being paid by the firm and afterwards my mother was allowed 10/- per week during the remainder of her life when at her decease which took place in the following year 1864 in her 81st year they also kindly defrayed all the expenses of her funeral they were both buried in the Church yard at Shardlow close to the spot where my elder sister Jane was laid but a short time before having died at the age of 43 in the year 1857.”

The firm's name changed over the years as the Partners changed. In a lease of 1812 between the firm and the Canal Company it is suggested that it would be necessary to make the lease flexible enough not to need renegotiating in the event of the firm taking on a new partner. At that time the partners were Harford, Daniels, Payne and Balby. About 1860 it was Miles, Gould and Company, and by 1870, their last entry in the Directory for Shardlow, it was Miles, Gould, Duce and Company.
They had a succession of agents in the village; in the 1820’s to 1832 it was John Tringrose (Trengrouse in the 1832 Rate Book), and from 1833 it was William Gould who was probably the Gould listed as a partner from about 1860.
From about 1840 the agent was James Llewellin who was born 14 August 1814 in the village. He lived with his mother Elizabeth and his three sisters in one of the houses owned by the Soresby family (no 19 on the 1852 plan). He died 15 October 1863.

For the last half dozen years that the firm was in the village, their agent was Henry Dickinson who combined the job with that of his market gardening business. Henry's firm became a major employer as Dickinsons, later Shardlow, Nurseries.
The Old Iron Warehouse was later used by F E Stevens and Company as a grain store and is now the premises of Don Fab, a sheet metal working company.
The 1812 Lease is deposited in the British Waterways Archives at Gloucester, ref BW 1111.95.