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

B609/

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