Bennett's of Ballinacurra Descriptive List (Ref. B609)

From the collections of Cork City and County Archives Service.

Cork City and County Archives Descriptive Lis t

Identity Statement Area

IE CCCA/B609

Reference Code:

Bennett’s of Ballinacurra

Title:

Dates: 1806-2006 Level of description: Fonds / Item Extent and medium:

227 Boxes, 37 volumes, 99 volumes of computer printouts, 5 Framed Pictures, 29 large rolled drawings, 3 large rolls of maps

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION (including Note on Abbreviations)

B609/1

CORRESPONDENCE

B609/1 /A

Correspondence with Arthur Guinness & Sons, 1901-1990

B609/1/B

General Letters, 1851-1989 (1826-29)

B609/1/C

Incoming Letters, A-Z Series, 1939-1964

B609/1/D

Letters Received, 1900-70

B609/1/E

Other Letters Received, 1937-98

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MANAGEMENT OF BARLEY AND MALT PRODUCTION 63

B609/2/A

Barley Growers, 1951-2006

B609/2/B

Weather Reports, 1931-93

B609/2/C

Barley Returns, 1907-39

B609/2/D

Production Control: Statistics (1926-90) and Quality Systems (1997-2004) 71 Malt, Tally, and Summary Books, and other malting records, 1910-77 73

B609/2/E

B609/2/F

Freight and Weighbridge Books, 1913-28; 1974-89

B609/2/G

Malt Barley Drying and Fuel Consumption, 1894-1994

B609/2/H

Malting Analysis Records, 1914-94

B609/2/I

Seed Barley and other Sales, 1904-78

B609/2/J

Barley Purchases, 1909-76

B609/2/K

Harvest Printouts, 1982-2002

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B609/3

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

B609/3/A

Cash Books, 1898-1971

B609/3/B

Journals, 1871-2002

B609/3/C

Ledgers, 1867-2000 (1824-27)

B609/3/D

Other Financial Volumes, 1845-1990

104

B609/3/E

Bank Statements and Harvest Cheques, 1956-96

107

B609/3/F

Receipts, Invoices, and Petty Cash Records, 1960-2000

108

B609/3/G

Stocks and Shares, 1920-2005

109

B609/3/H

Taxation and Rates Records, 1922-99

110

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CORPORATE GOVERNMENT AND COMPANY MANAGEMENT

112

B609/4 /A

Articles of Association, 1928, 1951

112

B609/4/B

Directors’ and Management Committee Minutes, Annual Reports, and related matter, 1951-93 (1929-42) Directors’, Management, and Company Secretary’s Correspondence, 1950-69 (1935-37) Company Statements of Account, and related matter, 1918-96 Involvement in Other Companies and Industry Bodies (including Irish Malt Exports and the Irish Maltsters’ Association), 1939-91

113

B609/4/C

116

B609/4/D

121

B609/4/E

122

B609/5

STAFF AND OFFICERS

124

B609/5/A

Workmen’s Agreements and Records of Service, 1917-2006

124

B609/5/B

Wages Books and Printouts, 1908-2000

126

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B609/5/C

Salaries and Pensions Printouts, 1986-96

129

B609/5/D

Wages Rates and Analyses, 1908-15; 1936-86

131

B609/5/E

Other Employee Records, c1908-2000

132

B609/6

PROPERTY, ESTATE, AND FARM MANAGEMENT

135

B609/6/A

Inventory, Valuation, and Insurance Records, 1925-96

135

B609/6/B

Surveys, Plans, and Control Books, 1896-2006

137

B609/6/C

General Estate Management, 1935-71 (1899, 1926)

141

B609/6/D

Farm Records, 1924-81

142

B609/7

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CEREAL STATION 145

B609/7/A

Letters to the Department concerning the Cereal Station, 1932-77

145

B609/7/B

Letters Received regarding the Cereal Station, 1899-2004

148

B609/7/C

Cereal Station Administrative Records, 1901-2003

153

B609/7/D

Cereal Station Scientific and Experimental Records, 1901-41 (1960-85)

155

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PHOTOGRAPHS AND VISUAL RECORDS

158

B609/8/A

Photographs and representations of JHB property and premises at Ballinacurra, and of Ballinacurra 1884-1990

159

B609/8/B

Photographs of JHB Officers and Staff, 1920-68

160

B609/8/C

Other photographs, visual matter, and OS Maps

162

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B609/9

BENNETT AND WEST FAMILY RECORDS

163

B609/9/A

John H Bennett Diaries and related items, 1881-1935

164

B609/9/B

John H Bennett, personal letters, photographs, and other items, 1877 to 1935 (1952) John W ‘Jack’ Bennett and Gwendoline Bennett Records, 1904-38

180

B609/9/C

183

B609/9/D

Esther Bennett (formerly McNeill, nee Duffey), 1939-57

185

B609/9/E

Dorothy West (nee McNeill), Diaries, 1936-51

186

B609/9/F

Dorothy West (nee McNeill), other records, 1932-77 (1915, 1987)

190

B609/9/G

Other Bennett family records, c1806-1880

193

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Context

Creator

John H. Bennett and Co. Archival History/Source of Acquisition

The transfer of records of John H Bennett & Co, and of Bennett and West family records, to Cork City and County Archives occurred through the good offices of Mr Trevor West of Ballinacurra, Mr Eamonn McSweeney, General Manager, John H Bennett & Co Ltd, and Ms Ursula O’Mahony, Secretary, John H Bennett & Co Ltd. The bulk of the business records were transferred in 2004. A further transfer of business records occurred in 2007, while the final transfer, containing personal and family records as well as further business matter, took place in 2008. All three transfers included records of the Department of Agriculture Cereal Station held by the firm, and the initial transfer also contained a small amount of personal matter. The records of the business, including Cereal Station records, were formerly kept on the company’s premises in Ballinacurra. Personal records and a small quantity of business records were maintained by Mr Trevor West, including records consulted in preparation for Mr West’s biography/history of John H Bennett and the firm, Malting the Barley: John H Bennett, the man and his firm, 200 years of malting barley in Ballinacurra (Charleston, 2006). Administrative / Biographical History The malting firm which was to become John H Bennett & Co began business about 1792, when the Charleston Maltings was built by John Anderson and John Lapp. By the turn of the century the firm was in the control of a group of Cork merchants including Samuel McCall, and came to be known as McCall & Co, which is the name that appears on the earliest record in the present collection, a financial ledger opened in September 1824 (B609/3/C/1). In the 1840s, the company came to be owned entirely by John Hallaran, upon whose death ownership was transferred to his nephew, William Hallaran Bennett. His son, John Hallaran Bennett, came into control of the company in 1885, changing its name to John H Bennett & Co, and greatly expanding and improving the business throughout his time at the helm, up to his death in 1935. The early period of the company’s history, prior to 1885, is documented mainly by letterbooks (B609/1/B/1-4) and some financial records (B609/3/B/1, B609/3/C/1-2). These illustrate the early and important connection between the firm and the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. McCall & Co became a commission house for Guinness about 1836, a contractual arrangement under which the firm made a specified quantity of malt for the Brewery each year, for a fixed commission 1 . The firm was not permitted to produce malt for other customers without Guinness’ authorisation. The contract also gave Guinness control over what type of seed barley was supplied to farmers. This arrangement was to

1 Trevor West, Malting the Barley: John H Bennett, the man and his firm , (Charleston 2006), p37

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remain in place throughout the firm’s existence, providing the basis for all of its activities. The Guinness commission was temporarily withdrawn in 1884, shortly before the death of William H Bennett, owing to a combination of a wet harvest and outmoded malting practices. John H Bennett faced considerable difficulties, both in getting the commission restored, and in establishing his control of the company, his father having died intestate and without making him a partner. Fortunately, Bennett managed to deal with the legal issues, renaming the firm John H Bennett & Co, while building a good relationship with WP Geoghegan, chief barley buyer for Guinness (B609/1/B/4). By the end of the century the company was malting three times what it had been in 1885, and Bennett, with Guinness assistance, had greatly improved and modernised his malting premises and equipment (B609/2/B/5). In the early twentieth century, Bennett became closely involved in efforts to improve the quality of barley and barley breeding in Ireland. In 1901 he attended a meeting with officials of Guinness and the Department of Agriculture at which it was agreed to appoint an expert to superintend experimental plots and to instruct farmers on more scientific methods of production (B609/7/C/1). This led to the creation of an experimental maltings at Guinness and a Departmental Cereal Station at Ballinacurra, on lands rented from Bennett. Bennett became director of the station, working first with HC Sheringham and later with Herbert Hunter, the scientific experts, in arranging and conducting experiments, inspections, and lectures. The Station’s first major success came in 1908, when Hunter crossed two varieties of barley, Spratt and Archer, to produce the Spratt- Archer variety, a version of which was to become the first seed barley to be sown universally in Ireland. This vindicated Guinness’ decision to finance and support the experiments, as in earlier years the superior quality and cheaper price of English barley had sorely tried their ‘liberal policy towards Irish Barley’ (B609/1/B/5). Bennett was to continue as director of the Cereal Station until his death in 1935, supervising its operations and overseeing the distribution of pedigree seed (including oats and wheat as well as barley) to farmers (see, e.g., B609/1/A/13, B609/1/A/32, B609/7/A/22, B609/7/B/6). John H Bennett & Co continued to have strong links with the Station in later years, providing it with land and accommodation, and playing a role in the distribution of seed. Guinness’ ongoing involvement meant that there was much reference to the Cereal Station’s activities in correspondence between the firm and the brewery. The improvements in barley quality led to greater consistency in the malt produced at Ballinacurra. The firm, however, had to contend with unique and difficult conditions on its home market. Unlike Guinness commission houses elsewhere in Ireland, John H Bennett & Co had to compete against two Cork-based breweries, Beamish & Crawford and Jas J Murphy & Co, as well as numerous distillers and millers, including Hallinan’s distillery in nearby Midleton (B609/1/A/17). Bennett often had to plead with Guinness to allow him to offer higher prices to meet those offered by his rivals, and often complained of the ‘opening price’ system, whereby barley buyers agreed an opening price for the season, generally thought by Bennett to be too high and under the control of Beamish &

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Crawford (B609/1/B/5). The firm, as a result, was often reliant on Guinness’ assistance in obtaining supplies from elsewhere in Ireland, and abroad (e.g., B609/9/A/36). During the Great War and in subsequent years the firm also had to deal with increased wage demands from workers and the threat of industrial action (B609/5/A/4). Despite his generally unyielding stance, however, Bennett managed to avoid an all-out strike until December 1928. Even then, he and his staff, with the assistance of volunteers from the Royal Munster Yacht Club, managed to dry the crop, Bennett refusing to discuss terms with his workers until this work was completed. In his diary he noted ‘Thank God this trouble is over the only strike that has occurred here in living memory or for many years probably 100’ (B609/9/A/48). From 1919 to 1922, Bennett also had to contend with the danger to his firm, and to him and his family, arising from the War of Independence and the Civil War. In October 1921 he ‘gave a gratuity to Volunteers for protection of property and preservation of order’ (B609/9/A/41). The firm emerged from this period relatively unscathed, and continued to prosper in the years up to Bennett’s death, although he foresaw adverse consequences in Guinness’ decision to open a new brewery at Park Royal in London (opened in 1936; B609/9/A/59). Following the death of his only son, Jack, in the Great War in 1915, Bennett was much concerned with finding a partner for the firm and possible successor (see, e.g., B609/9/A/50). None of the candidates worked out however, and while Bennett did not appoint a successor before his death, he had changed the firm into a company limited by shares in 1928, with his second wife Esther Bennett, her daughter Dorothy McNeill, and his daughter from his first marriage Gwendoline Bennett all made shareholders (B609/4/A/1). Gradually, Dorothy McNeill, Bennett’s stepdaughter, who had started as his secretary in 1928, came to take control over the company, initially in close collaboration with her mother (B609/4/C/1). This transition occurred at a difficult time, with the quantity of barley grown locally in Cork in sharp decline, making the firm increasingly reliant on good relations with Guinness (B609/2/D/1). Fortunately, as her stepfather had done, Dorothy McNeill quickly forged good relationships with important figures at the brewery (B609/9/E/1-2). Another advantage was that both grain prices and maltsters’ wages were both now agreed nationally, removing the volatility of previous years (B609/1/A/37, B609/4/F/12). Mrs West maintained the strong relationship between the firm and Guinness, as well as its close involvement with the Cereal Station. In 1939, the firm began malting for the brewery at Park Royal (B609/1/A/21, B609/9/E/4). Throughout the war years she had to contend with emergency powers provisions affecting imports of coal (for drying barley) and exports of malt (B609/1/A/23-27), as well the effects of a ‘black market’ for barley in parts of Cork (B609/1/A/26; B609/9/E/6). Further successes by the Cereal Station in the 1950s in developing important new varieties of barley required close cooperation between the firm, Guinness, and the Station in the distribution of pedigree seed (B609/1/A/35, B609/7/A/22). In 1951 a further reorganisation of the company occurred, with Guinness becoming the majority shareholder, and with a board of directors and a management committee created,

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Mrs Bennett and Dorothy McNeill (now Mrs West) sitting on both (B609/4/A/2, B609/4/C/2-3). Much modernisation of equipment occurred, and the presence of leading Guinness figures on the Board and Management Committee seemed likely to ensure a bright future for the firm. By the 1960s, however, agricultural technology was developing rapidly, and Guinness was reviewing the operations of its commission houses and the efficiency of the floor malting process (B609/4/C/31). It was decided to concentrate malting in three centres, based on processing capacity. Bennett’s was to continue to buy, dry and store barley, but malting was to occur elsewhere (B609/9/F/3). Dorothy West retired in 1969, ending the Bennett interest in the firm, and the long history of malting in Ballinacurra seemed about to end with it (B609/9/F/4). In fact, the firm continued to malt barley, while also operating as a buying and storage depot for Guinness. Irish Malt Exports had been created in 1957, to handle the export sale of malt produced by Guinness commission houses (B609/4/F/1). From 1973, firms supplied malt to a new plant in Athy, and this became the principal outlet for Ballinacurra malt until 1981 (B609/4/F/7). Subsequently malt was supplied to major malting concerns in Ireland. In 1996, the management bought out the firm from Guinness 2 . In 2003, the Cereal Station at Ballinacurra closed, and in 2006 the firm finally dried its last harvest of barley (B609/7/C/12, B609/2/D/3-4). The collection amply documents this history of over 200 years of malting at Ballinacurra, as well as over 100 years of work at the Cereal Station. Letterbooks, barley buying books, harvest records, accounts, management reports and correspondence, premises control documents, and employer and employee records cover the period from 1824 to 2006, and are particularly strong for the period from 1885 to 1969, when the ‘Bennett interest’ in the firm was strongest. In addition to these business records, however, the collection also contains personal records, particularly of John H Bennett and of his stepdaughter, Dorothy West, and of their families, which supplement these records and provide insights into the personal, social, and sporting lives of members of this prominent east Cork family, which are of great interest to social and local historians. John H Bennett kept a diary from 1881, when aged 18, up to a few months before his death in 1935 (B609/9/A). These provide a fascinating insight into his personality, and into his astonishing range of sporting interests and social and political involvements. Bennett played rugby football, a sport then in its infancy in Ireland, as well as cricket and tennis. He was also an early enthusiast for cycling, carefully recording distances travelled, times achieved, and falls endured. He also skated and fished. His lifelong passions, however, were shooting and sailing. His shooting log records the formidable number of birds shot throughout his life, and his friendships with fellow shooters (B609/9/A/57). He achieved great success as a sailor, most notably at the Clyde Fortnight, which he attended annually. He became commodore of the Royal Munster Yacht Club in 1925, and vice admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club in 1928 (B609/9/A/43 & 48). His affection for his boats, especially the cutter Verve, comes through strongly from his writings (e.g., B609/9/A/52).

2 Malting the Barley , p147

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Bennett’s diaries and letters also document the lives of his family. Early diaries discreetly record his closeness to his father and sisters, and his developing relationship with Brida Williams, his sister’s companion, who became his first wife in 1887. They had two children, Jack and Gwen, regarding whom a small number of records survive (B609/9/C). After school in England, Jack had begun his training as a maltster and seemed set to join and succeed his father in the business. Tragically, however, Jack was killed on 13 October 1915, in action with the Royal Munster Fusiliers. Bennett was deeply moved by the loss, recalling it for the remainder of his life on Jack’s birthday and anniversary. He was to suffer further loss when Brida, heartbroken by Jack’s death, died on 10 April 1916. Happiness was to return, however, following his remarriage in June 1918 to Esther McNeill, a widow (B609/9/A/35-37). While his daughter Gwen settled in England, he came to form a very high opinion of his stepdaughter Dorothy, writing in 1925 that she is ‘a wonderful young woman’ with ‘views of life both Oxonian and National – It is inspiring to listen to her conversation’ (B609/9/A/45). John H Bennett was also actively involved in public and religious life in east Cork. He served on the Board of Guardians and the Grand Jury, and was a justice of the peace. He also served as a governor of Midleton College. He was a member of the vestry for Midleton parish, and also sat on the diocesan board of education. A member of the Church of Ireland, and politically Unionist in outlook, his observations on the great political developments of his lifetime are of much interest. In 1899 he records his concern at Boer successes against the British army, while in 1916 he welcomes the imposition of martial law following the Easter rising. He was greatly saddened and angered at the death of friends during the War of Independence, and at the emigration of others, often following the destruction of property. He became a supporter of the Cumann na Gaedheal party, but in early 1932 he noticed the lack of canvassing on behalf of the party which was to lead to its loss of power in that year’s election (B609/9/A/52). A tone of resigned acceptance at these great political changes is evident in later diaries, no doubt much influenced by his personal losses in the 1910s and 1920s. Bennett’s diaries also contain much comment on his business, and in many ways supplement the information found in the firm’s formal records. Similarly, company letter books, especially for the nineteenth century, contain many personal letters, often relating to estate and legal matters. There is much reference in diaries and letters to tenants on his estate at Corbally, near Fermoy, the sale of which to his tenants under the Ashbourne Act was completed in 1906 (B609/1/B/4-5; B609/9/A/26). Bennett was also a prominent landlord in and around Ballinacurra. He sought to provide labourers’ cottages in the village, offering both to build them and to supply land to the County Council at different times (B609/1/B/5; B609/9/A/20, 27). He also gave financial assistance to the Ballinacurra Workmen’s Club, most of whose members were his employees, and the dairy at his farm supplied milk and butter for the village (B609/5/E/2, B609/3/C/18-19, B609/6/D/6). The esteem in which Bennett was held by his employees and tenants is shown in their participation in his funeral in 1935, as described by Dorothy McNeill (B609/9/B/6).

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Bennett’s ‘patriarchal’ view of his responsibilities as head of the main industry in Ballinacurra is reflected in the manner in which personal and social concerns may be traced in business records, and, conversely, business interests in his personal diaries and letters. His creation of a weather station at Ballinacurra, and his diligent reporting of readings to the meteorological services, is a further example of the convergence of his personal, scientific, and business interests (B609/2/B). Dorothy McNeill commenced to keep a diary in 1936, apparently in continuation of those kept by her stepfather. Again, they provide much information on her involvements in local society, her social interactions with Guinness officers, Cereal Station Officers, and old friends of her mother and Mr Bennett. After her marriage in 1937, to Timothy West, principal of Midleton College, her diaries contain less personal information, although those for the war years, for instance, provide an insight into the effects of the ‘Emergency’ on the ground for a business such as Bennett’s. Her diaries end in 1951, and there are few personal items in the collection beyond this date. Letters regarding McNeill’s involvement in the Church of Ireland youth movement, however, shed light on the state of that Church locally and nationally at that time (B609/9/F/1). A small number of other personal items, not in any way related to the business, occur in the collection, and have been placed at the end of it. These include a diary of Edward Hallaran Bennett, uncle of John H Bennett and professor of Surgery at Trinity College Dublin. Also present are a number of personal letters by various Bennett and Hallaran antecedents from throughout the nineteenth century. Taken all together, the present collection is of immense research interest, containing much valuable raw material for economic, scientific, social, and local historians. It charts the activities of one of the most prominent firms in county Cork over a period of almost 200 years. It contains information on tillage farming and on barley growers in east Cork, with the names of growers especially well documented since 1951 (B609/2/A). There are also many records of employees, including malt house men and farm workers. It records the work of the Cereal Station at Ballinacurra, and the close interrelation between the firm, Guinness, and the Department of Agriculture in its successful operation. The management of Bennett’s farms and of his estate and premises is also well documented. A different perspective on all of this activity is provided by the personal records, which also provide social, sporting, and cultural information on a period covering from before the Famine to after the Second World War. The collection is a worthy monument to the immense contribution of the firm of John H Bennett & Co, and of Bennett and West family members and antecedents, to the history of county Cork, and to the history of malting in Ireland. Content & Structure

Scope and Content The Bennett’s of Ballinacurra collection is comprised primarily of the records of John H Bennett & Co Ltd, a malting firm which for most of its existence acted as a commission

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house making malt for the brewing firm of Arthur Guinness and Son. Also present in the collection are many records of the involvement of the firm, and in particular of John H Bennett, in the creation and operation of the Department of Agriculture Cereal Station at Ballinacurra. In addition, the collection contains personal and estate records of John H Bennett and his family, and of the West family, which came to represent the Bennett interest in the firm. The close interrelation between business, agricultural and scientific, and family records has greatly influenced the arrangement of the collection, and has led to the decision not to attempt to separate Cereal Station and family records from the business records. The first section, B609/1, consists of correspondence series, that is, sets of letters to and from the company filed as correspondence. This includes the ‘General Letters’ series, which contains letters and letterbooks from 1824 up to 1989. The earliest items in this series include letters to Guinness and to the Department of Agriculture, for the years before distinct series for correspondence with these bodies were created. Owing to the close relationship between the firm and Guinness, items relating to that firm occur throughout the collection. Correspondence with the malt department of Guinness, however, seems always to have been filed separately, so that series is placed in this correspondence section. As Department of Agriculture correspondence generally relates to the Cereal Station, that series has been placed in section B609/7, which relates to the station. Other correspondence present is of a general nature (B609/1/C-E). Despite the similarity of the letters contained, it was thought best to leave them in the series in which they were filed by the firm. There is much overlap between these later correspondence series and the ‘General Letters’ series (B609/1/B), so they have been placed directly after it, with Guinness correspondence placed at the start of the section (B609/1/A), reflecting its greater coherence as a series. Correspondence is followed by B609/2, which relates to the harvesting, drying and storing of barley and the manufacture of malt, as well as buying and selling of barley, arrangements with growers, and related weather reports and other records. These are records of the core activity of the firm as a malting concern. B609/3 contains financial records, including cash books, journals, and ledgers, as well as bank statements and receipts. Share, taxation, and rates records have also been placed in this section. Present are cash books for the period from 1898 to 1971, and ledgers from 1867 on, as well as a ledger for 1824-1827. Printouts for more recent years are also present. There is some overlap between these records and barley sale and purchase records in the previous section, and many volumes refer to farm and estate accounts and charges, and private accounts, as well as business costs. Company management is documented in section B609/4, which includes articles of association, Directors’ and Management Committee minutes, and management and company secretary correspondence. Audited statements of account are also placed here, as it was felt their function as management records was more significant than their financial function. Records of the firm’s involvement in other companies and organisations, such as Irish Malt Exports, are also placed here. It should be noted that the

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management of the company for much of the period up to 1951, when the Board and Management Committee were first created, is documented in correspondence, mainly B609/1/A & B. Management records are followed by records of employees, section B609/5 covering farm employees as well as workers for the firm. Records include workers’ agreements, records of service, union correspondence, wages and salaries information, and other items such as an account book of the Ballinacurra Workmen’s Club, 1912-26 (B609/5/E/2). Wages books cover most of the years from 1868 to 2000. Some of the firm’s longest serving employees are recorded as receiving assistance from Mr Bennett’s Workmen’s Trust Fund (B609/5/E/1). Section B609/6 covers the management of the physical property and premises of the firm, owned by the Bennett family, and of the farm. As noted, farm records occur elsewhere in the collection (for instance, farm accounts occur in financial ledgers). B609/6/D consists of records relating solely to the farm. These include correspondence with the Department of Agriculture regarding livestock and non-cereal crops, although there is some overlap between these letters and those in B609/7/A. This section also includes inventory, valuation, and insurance records (B609/6/A), architectural drawings of premises and fittings (B609/6/B), and some legal correspondence regarding property matters (B609/6/C). Records relating to the Cereal Station, as noted, occur throughout the collection, and B609/7 is given over only to records specifically relating to the Station and its work. A distinction is made between letters from the firm to the Department of Agriculture, and letters received from the Department, which were filed in a ‘Letters Received’ series containing letters from other sources (B609/7/A & B). Records of a more purely scientific nature also seem to have been filed separately, and are given their own sub- section here (B609/7/D). Administrative records are placed in sub-section B609/7/C. B609/8 consists of photographs and images of company premises, officers, and staff. This section contains all photographs not specifically identifiable as personal records. They include many images of Ballinacurra and the firm’s malt houses, portraits of John H Bennett and pictures of Dorothy West, and group photographs of management and employees, and of malt house men. The final section, B609/9, is comprised of personal records, although, as has been stressed throughout, simple distinctions between personal and business realms may not always be made. The diaries of John H Bennett and Dorothy West contain much additional and supplemental information on the business, as well as recording their familial, social, sporting, and cultural activities. The records of John H Bennett’s children and of Bennett antecedents provide family context and colour (B609/9/C), while the few distinct records present of Esther Bennett, second wife of John H Bennett and mother of Dorothy McNeill, serve to underline her important role in the business, and her friendly relations with leading Guinness officers (B609/9/D). This richly-documented personal

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element provides a dimension to the Bennett’s of Ballinacurra collection often lacking from business collections, and greatly expands its research value and interest. Conditions Of Access And Use Access: Open by appointment to those holding a current readers ticket. Access to records less than 30 years old or containing sensitive personal information is restricted. Language : English Finding Aid: Descriptive List Allied Materials Cork City and County Archives : PR16 Trevor West Deposit, March 2008 Guinness Archives, Diageo Ireland : GDB/RM04 Malt, Maltings, and Barley Research Records, 1824-1996 National Archives of Ireland : Department of Agriculture Records, 1899-2006 Publication Note: West, Trevor; Malting the Barley: John H Bennett, the man and his firm, 200 years of malting barley in Ballinacurra (Charleston, 2006).

Archivist’s Note Timmy O’Connor Local Government Archivist Cork City and County Archives March 2008 Online ISADG version edited by: Brian McGee Archivist, CCCA August 2010

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Note on Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used throughout this descriptive list for commonly recurring corporate names:

AGS:

Arthur Guinness & Sons, Brewers, St James’s Gate, Dublin

DoA:

Department of Agriculture

DATI:

Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. The name of the above Department from its creation in 1899 up to 1922.

IFA:

Irish Farmers’ Association. Representative body for Irish farmers.

IMA:

Irish Maltsters’ Association. Representative body for the malting industry, one function of which was to negotiate wage rates on behalf of the malting firms. Irish Malt Exports Limited. A company set up to manage the overseas sales of malt produced by Guinness commission houses. Irish Malt Products Limited. A similar company, based at the same address, which purchased barley for sale to other companies. Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. Trade union which came to represent most industrial workers of John H Bennett and Co, and which negotiated wages on behalf of malting workers nationally.

IME:

IMP:

ITGWU:

JHB:

John H Bennett and Company

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B609/1

CORRESPONDENCE

Business correspondence relating to the running of the malting firm of John H Bennett and Company, including correspondence with Arthur Guinness & Son, Brewers, for which the firm was a commission house for most of its existence, and with customers, suppliers, scientific laboratories, and other correspondence filed as such. B609/1/A provides the fullest continuous record of the relationship between JHB and AGS, covering 1901 to 1990. General correspondence also includes AGS letters, especially letterbooks for the years 1826-29, 1851-1901 (B609/1/B). These letterbooks also contain some personal and estate letters, and Cereal Station-related correspondence. Some series of correspondence have been placed in other sections to which they relate specifically; e.g., Department of Agriculture (B609/6/D, 7/A-B) and Management Committee correspondence (B609/4/C). Owing to the close involvement of AGS in the Department’s experimental work, and its representation on the Management Committee of JHB, many AGS letters also occur in these sub-sections. The correspondence series filed in the present section frequently touch on aspects of JHB and Cereal Station operations documented elsewhere in the collection. For example, there are many letters documenting scientific work and dealings with DoA, which augment the record as presented in Section 7 below. In order to preserve records, as far as possible, in the context in which they were originally filed, ‘mixed’ and ‘general’ files and series have been left intact and placed in the present section. Researchers are advised, however, that an aspect of the business covered elsewhere in the collection may also be partly documented here.

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B609/1/A

Correspondence with Arthur Guinness & Sons (AGS), 1901-1990

Correspondence with Arthur Guinness & Sons, Brewers, St James’s Gate Dublin, for which JHB acted as a Commission Malt House, preparing malt barley under contract as per AGS instructions. Correspondence was generally with the Malt Department, with AGS letters usually signed by the Brewer-in- charge. The letters relate to a variety of topics, but the preparation and supply of malting barley is the main subject. AGS was closely involved in all aspects of the malting process, from advising on planting and growing, kiln-drying, analysis and steeping, monitoring of experiments, arranging transport, and issuing annual instructions to commission maltsters. AGS’s participation in the Board and Management Committee of JHB is documented in section B609/4 below. B609/1/A documents the general correspondence between the two companies, beginning with letters from AGS to JHB (B609/1/A/1-59). Letters from JHB to AGS follow (B609/1/A/60-107). Points of interest from the letters are included in descriptions to give a flavour of their content and of the relationship between the two companies. As the letters from JHB to AGS cover the same years and relate to the same topics, the same level of description is not generally applied. B609/1/A/1 Letters from AGS, 1901-32. File consisting mainly of letters from AGS to JHB, with copies of some replies and reports also present. The file also contains a small number of personal letters to John H Bennett from AGS officers. For example, in a letter of 28 August 1926, FC Ryder thanks Bennett for his present and congratulations on the occasion of the former’s marriage. Items sent by JHB to AGS include a Statement of Wages for 1919-20 and 1920-21, a report on Charleston Maltings Barley Supply for 1913, a return showing coal burnt in the years 1907-11, and a report on the 3 day system of malting, adopted in February 1913. Also present are typed replies of John H Bennett to questions raised by AGS directors at an interview on 30 August 1906. The letters from AGS to JHB which form the bulk of the file mainly relate to malting operations, with subjects including barley prices and buying, and coal purchases. A number of letters relating to clerkships at AGS are also present (e.g., 8 October 1931). The earliest item present is a copy of an AGS insurance policy covering Commission Malt Houses (1901). Most of the letters from AGS are similar in nature to those occurring on other files in this section, and might have been integrated with them. Owing, however, to the presence of some replies, reports, and personal items, it was decided to leave the present file intact. See also files B609/1/A/2-15.

B609/1/A/2 AGS Letters and Instructions, 1902-16. Includes ‘Instructions to

Commission Maltsters’ for each season, and correspondence on planting, growing, preparation, and supply of malting barley. There are many letters

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from 1902 to 1907, but the period 1908 to 1916 is mainly represented by instructions and reports.

B609/1/A/3 Letters from AGS, 1919-20. Letters from the Brewer-in-charge, Malt Department, AGS, with related reports. Includes a report (25 July 1919) on the increased difficulty in obtaining local supplies of barley owing to competition from other growers and dealers. Letters also refer to supplies of barley for malting from Ferns and other parts of Wexford. A letter of 10 March 1920 thanks Bennett for sending on DATI reports on experimental plots. AW Mullen, Brewer, states ‘I hope you will succeed in getting another plot [on the experimental farm] near Birr, and I also think that it would be a good thing to have a plot in the New Ross district’. Mullen also notes the prevailing ‘excellent conditions’ for sowing barley, but adds ‘I suppose as usual the Irish farmer will not take advantage of the opportunity and very little barley will be sown before St Patrick’s Day’. B609/1/A/4 Letters from AGS, 1921. Includes a letter (7 January 1921) requesting information on the cost of kiln-drying ‘in this exceptionally wet year’. A letter of 30 August covers a circular entitled ‘Conditions attaching to the sale of Spratt-Archer barley and re-purchasing of the produce for seed purposes’. JHB is referred to in a letter (19 September) as one of a number of AGS ‘Commission Houses’. Another letter (21 April 1921) requests that JHB stop malting this season, and adds that the Board of AGS are ‘bearing in mind a shorter season will entail smaller profits, and will give this matter favourable consideration’.

B609/1/A/5 Letters from AGS, 1922. Includes a letter (24 May 1922) regarding the lack of screening of barley, with a note stating ‘new screen beds were put in as a result of this letter’.

B609/1/A/6 Letters from AGS, 1923. Includes ‘Notes for Commission Maltsters (8 September 1923). Also contains many letters regarding malting coal.

B609/1/A/7 Letters from AGS, 1924. Includes a letter (18 November 1924) approving acceptance of an offer for sale of barley by Mr Latchford, Tralee, with the comment that while the price seems ‘a very stiff figure…the Board, I think, like to take a little barley from Tralee’. A letter of 24 October gives the estimate that JHB will require 30,600 barrels of raw barley to manufacture the 28,500 barrels of malt allotted to them this season. A letter of 30 September discusses the problem of smut inheritance in barley. The file also includes a charter party for the ship Brooklands, of Grimsby, to convey 106 tonnes of barley from Ballinacurra to AGS in Dublin.

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B609/1/A/8 Letters from AGS, 1925. Includes a letter (11 December 1925) forwarding a blank form of agreement for sales of barley to AGS by farmers/growers. Also present is a detailed letter of 24 November regarding malting results. A letter of 11 November concerns ‘a most remarkable case’ of mutation in oats. Attached to a letter of 20 October is a list of farmers ‘who having sold barley in 1925 failed to deliver any with records of their transactions in 1924 and 1923’. Several letters from July refer to damage to malting coal transported on the ship, the Gaelic. December 1926 discuss malting results in detail. A copy of a screen test result for Charleston Malting House is also present (10 November). Many letters from September relate to seed barley. A letter of 9 August explains the meaning of the word ‘puck’ in relation to grain stocks. In a letter of 13 April, Brewer-in-charge A Jackson states ‘there has, as you know, been a great deal of talk about Sugar Beet recently. I suppose there is none being grown in your district. If there is, I should like to know about it’. Many letters from February and March relate to the use of chartered steamer ships. A letter of 11 February includes a note of ‘Rate of wage paid in the South of Ireland 1870-1925 inclusive’. B609/1/A/9 Letters from AGS, January 1926 to December 1926. Letters from B609/1/A/10 Letters from AGS, 1927. A letter of 15 November 1927 includes “Brewers’ Valuation of barleys produced on the ‘Large Scale Variety Experiments’, 1917”. A letter of 10 October thanks Bennett for his expression of sympathy on the death of AGS chairman, the earl of Iveagh. The file contains several letters relating to a road census of growing crops (e.g., 24 August). B609/1/A/11 Letters from AGS, 1 January 1928 to 31 December 1928. Attached to the file is a tabular report of ‘Particulars of Malting Barley Purchases Season 1928/38’ [refers only to 1928]. Letters of 7 and 8 December relate to a strike by JHB staff [see B609/9/A/48). Among November letters is a typescript ‘Summarised report on inspections of Spratt-Archer barley, 1928’. Several letters from October are concerned with the barley market; that is, the buying of barley on the open market, not simply from customers/suppliers. In a letter of 7 August the brewer-in-charge notes he has been told by a government representative that the area of tillage had ceased to decrease in Ireland. A letter of 28 June includes a report on small-scale estimation of yield. A form letter of 23 October is an example of the type of letter which accompanies AGS cheques. Also present in this file is a post card with a Free State half-penny stamp (November).

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B609/1/A/12 Letters from AGS, 1 January 1929 to 1 September 1929. A letter of 28 May presents results obtained in experimental maltings from barley representative of that received by JHB from AGS. A letter of 1 May from A Jackson, brewer-in-charge, is directed to Miss NcNeill, regarding her malt analyses at JHB. A letter of 23 March estimates the quantity of barley required by JHB to complete its steepings for this season. A letter of 7 March refers to Spratt-Archer 37/6 as ‘the standard variety recommended by the Department of Agriculture for cultivation in Ireland’. A letter of 4 March concerns supply of barley to JHB by Mr Roche of Enniscorthy [who operates an AGS commission house there]. B609/1/A/13 Letters from AGS, 1 September 1929 to 31 August 1930. A letter of 25 July 1930 regarding the road census of crops states ‘a further heavy decrease of barley acreage in your area is rather a blow’. A letter of 22 May concerns purchase of Pontyberem coal for JHB, as preferred by that company, despite its costing 12s 6d a tonne more than scotch coal. In a letter of 14 April, A Jackson promises to ask about spare barley from the Wexford houses, but adds ‘the Cork farmers did not do so well by us last season, so there is really no reason we should go to much trouble on their behalf’. A letter of 31 March encloses a report on malting in bags at JHB’s Charleston malting house. A letter of 7 February approves the sending of a small quantity of seed as requested by the Yorkshire Council for Agricultural Education. A letter of 30 January concerns the distinction between the seed barley which Mr Bennett holds ‘in your capacity as a commission maltster and what you hold as an official of the Department of Agriculture’ [Bennett operated the Cereal Station at Ballinacurra as an official of the Department]. A letter of 25 January includes experimental maltings results obtained from Thurles and Rathdowney barleys, and also gives Birr and Cork results. A form of 8 January notes barrels received and delivered by JHB for the 1929-30 season, for audit purposes. A letter of 20 December 1929 relates to a visit to the Guinness laboratory by Miss McNeill ‘to perfect herself in malt analysis’. A letter of 14 November discusses reduction of smut infection; a recurring subject. Treatment of barley with the product ‘Abavit’ is one approach used. subject]. Present is a report [May 1931] entitled ‘Seed barley owned by Messrs Guinness, nominally controlled by the Department at Charleston Maltings’. A letter of 19 March is accompanied by a report of ‘Rainfall, mean temperature, and hours of bright sunshine at Ballinacurra, Co Cork. August 1930 to February 1931’. A letter of 5 March encloses a draft of a letter to be sent to two farmers outlining the scheme for distribution of pedigree barley. A letter of 6 February concerns the possibility of supplying barley to a maltster in Northern Ireland; that is, outside the Free State. A January 1931 letter concerns treatment of seed barley at Charleston with ‘Abavit’, to reduce smut. A letter of 5 November 1930 relates to the writing off of some barrels owing to defaulting by some farmers [on their contracts with JHB]. A letter of 27 October contains a copy of a label for barley samples B609/1/A/14 Letters from AGS, 1 September 1930 to 31 August 1931. A letter of 30 July 1931 concerns the annual visit to Ballinacurra by AGS Malt Department officials, as part of their annual Barley Tour [a recurring

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[to be sent from JHB to AGS for analysis and classification]. Among letters for October is a report on seed barley deliveries. In a letter of 20 September, A Jackson gives his views on a possible change in policy on the pricing of seed barley. A letter of 19 September includes a report on results of nitrogen experiments. B609/1/A/15 Letters from AGS, 1 September 1931 to 31 August 1932. A letter of 4 May 1932 has a card attached signed by GS Philpotts (AGS Malt Dept) giving results of kiln-drying in JHB malt houses Nos I, II, and III. Among the letters for March is a report on malt deliveries in relation to steepings for Charleston Maltings. A letter of 17 December 1931 refers to preservation of pure lines of barley to prevent spontaneous variation, or ‘changelings’. A letter of 25 September refers to successful smut tests on samples and adds ‘I think we may congratulate ourselves on the results so far this season’. A letter of 21 September concerns correcting a perceived ‘most dreadful mistake’ in adopting a new method of sampling. Samples to date will have to be rejected, and new ones taken. per acre at Charleston, Castlebridge, and Enniscorthy, as part of an experiment. In a letter of 17 June 1933, GS Philpotts asks about yields and whether, in Mr Bennett’s view, farmers over- or under-estimate it: ‘the former in order to show how badly off they are and the latter to show that anyhow they are the best farmers in their district’. In a letter of 28 May, A Jackson mentions that his official connection with the Malt Dept has ceased. In a letter of 7 April Mr Philpotts enquires about barley bought by millers in Cork and Kerry. In a letter of 14 March, he suggests use of the new scotch coal ‘Rankinston’ rather than the more expensive Pontyberem preferred by Mr Bennett, as malting coal. A letter of 23 February forwards a copy of the Illustrated History of the Brewery. Several February letters relate to seed barley and smut tests. A letter of 24 January concerns the definition of ‘tailings’ (‘very small grains, small seeds, dust and other extraneous matter’) and B609/1/A/16 Letters from AGS, 1 September 1932 to 31 August 1933. A letter of 19 August 1933 concerns buying of barley on the market at once ‘in view of the earliness of the season’. A letter of 28 August compares average yield whether they should be included in official figures. A table [December 1932] for Charleston Maltings gives comparative temperature readings for kiln-drying of barley, 1932-33. A letter of 17 November includes a list of valuations of plot barley. A letter of 25 October concerns sending of 6/7000 barrels of Louth barley to JHB by sea. A table dated 29 September gives farmers’ names and addresses, with yields of barley grown for seed, 1932. B609/1/A/17 Letters from AGS, 1 September 1933 to 31 August 1934. In an ms letter dated 15 August 1934, WS Gossett, Malt Dept, writes to Miss McNeill regarding the forthcoming visit by Dr Neyman to see field experiments in Ireland. He refers to the recovery from injury of Mr McMullen and Mr Jackson, as well as himself, noting ‘how extremely inconvenient it has been to have all three of us out of the Brewery altogether’. [Mr Jackson lost a leg in a road accident- see letter dated 19

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