PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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In around 1830 Mr James Bryant built a sugar refinery on the site of some vegetable gardens and a tanyard in Mill Lane, in the centre of the Town. It was operated by him and Mr William Burnell until 1856 when it was acquired by the British and Irish Sugar Refinery Company. In 1885 they closed down their operation and the refinery was purchased by Sir Edward Bates, who was then interested in becoming Plymouth's parliamentary representative. This was done to try to keep employment in the Town. He kept it open until 1888 by when it was one of only 10 such establishments in the country. The others had closed because of cheaper imports. Within the last year of operation, machinery worth some £12,000 had been installed, including costly charcoal kilns and the machinery that operated them. The building then lay idle for nine years until 1897 when it was bought by Mr Henry Matthews, the local confectioner, who demolished part of the site and turned some of the remainder into accommodation for his wholesale jam and sweetmeat business. The land that was left was made available for building on. The machinery was dismantled by a Mr Harding, who was apparently well versed in such procedures, and some of it was to be shipped to the Continent, India or Egypt. The newer premises were said to date from 1855 and be of five storeys in height. On the ground floor were eight centrifugal machines, each attached to a separate engine. The charcoal kilns cost about £3,000 and were only installed three months before closure. Even in 1897 they still contained 300 tons of powdered charcoal. The older part of the refinery was six floors high. In all there were around 40 steam engines and pumps, over 60 tanks and a large number of vacuum pans, some almost new, and one of which was exhibited at the Great Exhibition in 1852. Attached to the site were large offices, a caretaker's house, fitters' and blacksmiths' shops, and stabling for 15 horses. Apparently while the buildings were empty there was a rumour that the London & South Western Railway Company had purchased the site for a central railway station. By the mid-1900s this was known as thew Old Sugar Refinery and after the Second World War it fell in an area that was to be redeveloped. The building had to be vacated by March 1st 1954 and was demolished soon afterwards.
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