Catalogue description Records of T H Smith and Sons, corn and seed merchants of Bedford

Z 834/1, Plans and papers, 1965-1981

Z 834/2, Bought book, 1956-1977

Z 834/3, Sold books, 1965-1972

Z 834/4, Credit books, 1964-1973

Z 834/5, Debit books, 1966-1971

Z 834/6, Ledgers (nos 33-38), 1951-1964

Z 834/7, Haulage accounts book, 1965-1971

T H Smith and Sons, c1850-1985, Bedford

Acc No 7323

Records donated by Mr William S "Bill" Knight, who was a partner in the firm, 24th May 1993

• Bedfordshire

The business later known as T H Smith and Sons originated at Tilbrook in about 1850 when Thomas Smith set up a business as a corn merchant, probably by exploiting the new railway links with London to buy animal feed and corn for resale. His son, Thomas Henry Smith, moved the business to Bedford in 1898 where it in turn passed on his death in 1934 to his two surviving sons, Sidney and Thomas. It was at this point that William Charles Knight(Bill Knight's father), an employee since 1908, joined them as a partner. In 1940 Sidney Smith died and in 1946 Bill Knight joined the firm as a partner. In late 1950 Thomas Smith died, thus ending the Smith family connection with the firm, which until its closure in 1985 was operated by the Knight family. The works' offices were at the Smith family home, 41, Lansdowne Road, and later in Midland Road, Kimbolton Road and Lurke Street. The warehouse facilities were firstly in the Midland Railway yard, then at Old Bridge mills, Duck Mill Lane, and from 1957 until 1982 at the Maltings, Lurke Street, Bedford. The building proved uneconomic(see sale catalogue Ref: Z 158/4)and was sold in 1982. The business was carried on for a while from Castle House, 1, Castle Lane, but despite amalgamations with J F Tooley of Luton and a firm from Bury St Edmunds, closed in 1985.

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