A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



paper was stored and also the dwelling-house of 

 the manager were saved. Several thousand 

 pounds' worth of paper had fortunately just been 

 removed to the government offices in London. 

 The premises were insured in the Norwich 

 Union Insurance Company, which shortly 

 rebuilt them at a cost of about ^^4,000. 



Mrs. Wise died in August, 1 861, and the 

 business was continued by her second husband. 

 Dr. Faircloth of Northampton, who died in 

 1879, within a week of the contract for govern- 

 ment paper ceasing. The mills had produced 

 both hand-made and machine-made paper, the 

 best quality having the water-mark ' Stacey 

 Wise Handmade,' and the rest ' Wise & Co.' 

 The manufacture was continued in 188 1 by 

 Messrs. Spalding and Hodge, who also had a 

 mill at South Darenth (Kent). Although they 

 made a small amount of banknote paper for 

 private firms their productions were hardly of 

 the same grade as formerly. They ceased 

 business in 1888, and the mills stood idle for 

 some time. 



In 1889 work was again commenced by the 

 Sparre Patents Company, Limited, under a 

 patent taken out in 1880 by a Count Sparre, for 

 producing by machinery a paper similar to that 

 made by hand.* The experiment did not prove 

 a success, and in a short time the mills were 

 again closed and are now used for other purposes. 



At Wansford a mill was started early in the 

 nineteenth century by Mr. Hammerton for the 

 manufacture of white and brown papers of the 

 cheaper kind, and in 1847 John Clipsham was 

 making paper there. This mill was operated 

 both by water and steam, and was closed in 

 May, 1859. 



At Helpston near Peterborough Mr. Alfred 

 Towgood in 1862 started a steam mill for the 

 manufacture of air-dried rope brown paper, for 

 which commodity his successors Messrs. Alfred 

 Towgood & Co. still maintain a high reputation. 

 They also make hand-made paper of high 

 quality, including foolscap and ledger papers. 



1 Patent No. 3982, I Oct. 1880. 



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