A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE 



So that the biscuits receive the requisite 

 amount of baking. Thus the ordinary biscuit 

 is manufactured. Various processes have to 

 be adopted for other more delicate kinds, but 

 it is not necessary here to describe them. 

 The biscuits have then to be sorted, so that 

 no defective ones are sent out, and then 

 packed. In the packing department there are 

 three branches the home trade, the conti- 

 nental trade, and the export trade. The 

 last includes all countries in the world out- 

 side Europe, and special patent air-tight 

 soldered tins have been devised in order to 

 prevent any injury that might be caused 

 by excessive heat or cold, damp or insects. 

 Women are largely employed in decora- 

 ting biscuits and cakes with sugar, and 

 there is a special engineering department 

 where nearly all the machinery used in the 

 factory is designed and made. Two large 

 steam engines are in constant use, and there 

 are about twenty smaller ones and several 

 dynamos. A large staff of carpenters is also 

 employed in making the packing cases. 



Reading at the present time possesses 

 another biscuit factory, the property of 

 Messrs. H. O. Serpell & Co., Limited. 

 This firm was established in 1851 at Plymouth, 

 and was engaged principally in the manu- 

 facture of ship biscuits, the proprietors being 

 Messrs. Frean, Daw, and Serpell. The first 

 of these became partner in the London firm 



of biscuit-makers, Messrs. Peek, Frean & Co. ; 

 the last-named partner, Mr. R. C. Serpell, the 

 father of the present proprietor, bought out 

 Mr. Daw's interest and became the sole 

 proprietor. In former days, when vessels 

 occupied many months during their long 

 voyages, a large supply of ship bread and 

 biscuits was needed. Owing to the more 

 rapid sailing of ships large stores were no 

 longer required, and the demand for ship 

 bread was greatly diminished. Hence the 

 firm began to make fancy biscuits. In 1869 

 their factory at Plymouth was destroyed by 

 fire and rebuilt. Owing to the progress made 

 in recent years the Plymouth factory became 

 too small, and as there was no space for 

 expansion, and as an opportunity occurred of 

 purchasing the biscuit factory in Reading 

 formerly worked by Messrs. Meaby & Co., 

 Limited, Mr. Serpell decided to remove his 

 business to the Berkshire town in 1899. 

 Unfortunately a disastrous fire occurred in 

 1904, which completely destroyed the build- 

 ings. They were immediately rebuilt, the 

 work being accomplished in eight weeks. The 

 factory is a two-storey building. On the 

 ground floor is the biscuit cutting and mixing 

 machinery with a range of ovens adjoining, 

 engineers' shop, etc., and on the first floor is 

 the icing room where women are employed in 

 icing and decorating cakes and fancy biscuits, 

 packing rooms, stores and warehouses. 



THE BELL FOUNDRIES OF BERKSHIRE 



For considerably over three centuries the 

 craft of bell-founding flourished in Berk- 

 shire, and then, when roads had somewhat 

 improved, and trades in commodities not of 

 every day requirement were gradually con- 

 centrated in London, it dwindled down al- 

 most to vanishing point, and finally came to 

 an end in the early years of the eighteenth 

 century. For just over half a century (about 

 1565 to 1616) there was sufficient demand to 

 support three flourishing foundries in the 

 county at the same time, the two chief of 

 which were in Reading. 



At what period bell-founding was first 

 practised in the county is unknown ; very 

 likely one or more of the religious houses 

 may at an early date have contained a brother 

 versed in the mysteries of the art, but if so, 

 not only the productions but all documentary 

 record of these ' potters ' or ' ollarii ' have 

 long disappeared. 



During the last quarter of the fourteenth 

 century, however, an excellent and important 

 bell-foundry was at work at Wokingham. 



This business, to distinguish it from its later 

 rivals, I would call the Wokingham-Reading- 

 London Foundry, from its successive habitats. 



No name of an owner of this foundry has 

 as yet been discovered earlier than nearly 

 the middle of the fifteenth century, but there 

 are several bells from it which are obviously 

 of earlier date, and in the case of one bell 

 there is good proof that it was cast not later 

 than 1383, and from its quality we may con- 

 fidently assert that it was by no means the 

 earliest effort. 



There are two ancient bells at Wotton 

 (Surrey), which may be either the two 

 earliest known examples from this foundry 

 (not necessarily then located at Wokingham), 

 or which at least seem * to show a connecting 

 link between this foundry and that of Stephen 

 Norton, a founder who rather vaguely de- 

 scribed himself on some of his bells as ' De 



> For the reasons, I must refer the inquirer to 

 my Church Bells of Buckinghamshire (Jarrold, 1897), 

 p. 48, footnote. 



4 I2 



