Page 22 - Jigsaw April 2020

Glance at the past.......................................................................................
Not just any old iron – Eric Franklin is on a Foundry Walk...
As recently as the 1980’s the Smith & Grace Screw Boss Pulley Company Ltd were making cast iron at their factory on Midland Road in Thrapston. Nathaniel Smith moved to town in 1857 as manager of the Neneside Ironworks which he ran with his brother Robert until 1868 when Robert retired, being replaced by Mr. Grace, about whom very little is known. The company moved to their Midland Road premises in 1899 occupying a site of over three acres. In 1900, 120
men and boys were employed, 40 in the foundry and the others in the fitting, forging, ‘smiths, turning and finishing shops and the warehouse. The staff are shown below at about this time. Of the 114 people shown in front of the main building, just 10 remain to be identified. (Thrapston District Historical Society archive).
The turning shop is shown left in 1899, having recently been constructed and fitted out. (The Implement and Machinery Review, April 1st 1899 – EDF Collection). Smith & Grace specialised in the manufacture of mechanical power transmission equipment, such as pulleys and blocks. They registered the name “Thrapston” as their trademark, also using the town name for their telegram address. The town, as well as the business, became well known throughout the industrial world. In their 1951 sales brochure is a testimonial extolling the longevity of one of their products, self-oiling Plummer Blocks which were installed in a printing works in 1908 and 1921 in Tottenham. In 1951 they remained in perfect working order.
The final casting took place in the 1980’s followed by closure. A fire, probably caused
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