Robert Lee - Uxbridge

[Michael Palmer]

Was that around the time the Yanks etc were having a bit of a tiff over slaving?

Just a bit of a tiff. Similar to your civil wars in the 1640s. Ours was fought with modern weapons, so it was wholesale slaughter of the troops marching in ranks across the fields. Lose half the soldiers in a charge, re-group, and go at it again.

Our civil war ended in 1865, about 10 years before Mr C H Lee of Bagshot offered his 20% discount to Devon beekeeper's Association members.

 

[BILL.HEARD]

Remember going to Lee's for some foundation and what stuck in my mind was a massive great vat outside in the yard for rendering down beeswax, the sides being bright yellow.

 

[alanf]

I was reminded of this thread when I saw a Robert Lee ad in a book dated 1985. The address is High St, Cowley and the logo included the date 1862. So we know when the owners at the time thought it had been founded and confirms by the 1980s they had established premises a mile or two from the original George St site. The postcode could be misleading, now an industrial estate some way from the High St. In Cowley did they have a shop separate from the works and office, or has the postcode been reassigned since?

A check on the company name shows "Dissolved" but the original incorporation was 1948 and the last address was Stevens Drove Houghton Stockbridge Hampshire S020 6LP, not the current Thornes site, but not far away. The last director Michael John Smyth Osborne was appointed in 1991. It puts some recorded dates on the moves at any rate.

 

[Arfermo]

Australia felt abandoned by us both during, and especially after the second world war - when we joined the EU (under their - the loser's terms, not ours) we were compelled to turn our backs on our former colonies who had been faithful to us through both conflicts. Terrible disloyalty in a lot of people's eyes. We don't even send them our spare convicts anymore!!

They prefer Asians these days. Riddled with 'em in every food court missus and I visited over our 3 times 3 month trips. Love the Ozzies thou. Though about being a ten pound pom back in the 60s but got cold feet. Big mistake.

 

[Arfermo]

Tom:
From the web:

BOBERT LEE (bee supplies) LIMITED
>Beehive Works
>High Street, Cowley
>Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 2BB
>England

Though oddly,the postcode doesn't match the street name.
Nick.

Google street view?

 

[Little Ash]

Saw this thread and thought I'd show you two photos of my hive... and yes that is 1960 honeycomb


EDIT: Point was... it's a Robert Lee Hive, would of been bought in the 1950's

 

[Erichalfbee]

Saw this thread and thought id show you two photos of my hive... and yes that is 1960 honeycomb

I keep my super frames till they fall apart.
1960 I was still at junior school

 

[Erichalfbee]

Google street view?

And talking of googling Street View I have a screen shot of the house I was brought up in. It was taken three years before my mother died. I can see her standing looking out of a bedroom window.

 

[JamezF]

1960 I was still at junior school

My parents were still at senior school

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

my mother was learning to drive

 

[Newbeeneil]

My parents were still at senior school

James

but you are just a child James

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Does anyone remember E H Taylor of Welwyn,

I remember picking up an EH Taylor package of Bees from the railway station with my Grand father in his split screen morris Van

Used to have Mrs McDougal (of flour fame) living opposite. Mum mentioned Mrs McDougal had the only chauffeur driven split Screen Morris Morris Minor she knew of. Dad mentioned later in life Mr Tate and Mr Lyle were customers of his shop too. It’s a small world.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Dad mentioned later in life Mr Tate and Mr Lyle were customers of his shop too.

hmm Henry Tate born and traded in Liverpool and then moved to London where he died (1819 - 1899) Abraham Lyle, born, lived and died in Greenock (1821 - 1891) the men were bitter business rivals and never met - the two companies (Henry Tate and sons and Abraham Lyle and sons) did not merge until 1921. maybe their sons made up and moved nearer to each other?

 

[JamezF]

What surprised me is that sugar became a sufficiently small part of Tate & Lyle's business that they sold off that part of the operation (and the brands to go with it) to (I think) a US sugar-processing company.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

hmm Henry Tate born and traded in Liverpool and then moved to London where he died (1819 - 1899) Abraham Lyle, born, lived and died in Greenock (1821 - 1891) the men were bitter business rivals and never met - the two companies (Henry Tate and sons and Abraham Lyle and sons) did not merge until 1921. maybe their sons made up and moved nearer to each other?

I know one of the Tates lived in Lewes. I knew a son, George. I visited in the scorching summer of ‘76. The old boy had pipes snaking from the bathrooms to water the garden.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What surprised me is that sugar became a sufficiently small part of Tate & Lyle's business that they sold off that part of the operation (and the brands to go with it) to (I think) a US sugar-processing company.

James

you're right - that's what makes the antics of the 'feed T&L cane sugar to the bees and support British business' brigade even more ridiculous

 

[Gilberdyke John]

What surprised me is that sugar became a sufficiently small part of Tate & Lyle's business that they sold off that part of the operation (and the brands to go with it) to (I think) a US sugar-processing company.

James

In the 1970s I worked for the Howden Glucose Company which was T&L's venture into alternative products. Around the same time they investigated Surfactants and even looked into making skateboards. They took over Manbre and Garton during the early days of the commissioning of the Howden Plant. Manbre were sugar producers, mostly they were shut down in an exercise to rationalize the UK sugar industry. Gartons produced Glucose from Maize starch, mostly at a plant in Battersea which at the time of the takeover was partway through a huge expansion. It was this plant development which gobbled up money and when the cost exceeded many million pounds T&L pulled the plug and bailed out of starch and glucose. Their Starch interests were sold to National Starches of America, the Glucose interests went to Cargill who had a huge maize starch mill on Tilbury Docks. National Starches entered into a deal whereby they took over part of the Cargill site and took raw starch slurry from the Cargill Mill to chemically modify using hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite, diethylaminoethyl chloride and other exotic reagents into various products such as thickeners for sauces, milk puddings etc. (You never know what you're eating). The Battersea plant no longer exists, the Cargill starch mill now shows as ADM Milling and the speciality starch plant seems to be labelled as Tilbury Green Power. I haven't been down that way for years so I'm no longer au fait with the site.