Reference
HF41/8
Title
Powers & Sons and Albion Mills near Kings Cross, York Road, London N.
Scope and Content
Albion Mills were situated in York Road. It was built in 1869 on property of The Great Northern Railway Company, as part of their Kings Cross site. The tenant was George Powers of Broom Hall, Southill and a partner in Powers & Sons. George Powers was interested in exploiting the London market, using the good communications provided by the railway and the Regents Canal. Powers was a Corn Merchant in Mark Lane and so could keep a close eye on the Mills.
When the Milling trade became depressed in the 1880s, Powers and his brother Edmund Frederick Powers sought new sources of profit for their businesses. Albion Mills was used for storing American oil cake in a disastrous speculation, which crippled both Powers & Sons and their cousins' Company, C.Powers & Co. (See HF41/2)
At the same time G.Powers was trying to set up The Metropolitan Bread & Flour Company on part of the site. Powers attracted a number of Directors, including partners of Wells, Hogge & Lindsell Bank of Biggleswade, to whom both the Powers family and their companies were already heavily indebted. Cornelius Thompson, the Chairman of Civil Service Supply Association was the big name among the Directors. The breadmaking side was to be conducted according to the principles of a celebrated Parisian baker called M.Mounie. George's brother, E.F.Powers was to supervise the preparation of the flour at the milling end of the business.
Unfortunately E.F.Powers's accumulated debts bankrupted him. The Order in Bankruptcy was made on 3 July 1884. George was spared a similar fate because, if he had been declared bankrupt the lease of the Ham Farm Brickyard (HF41/9/1) would have reverted automatically to the Ground Landlord. Thus the creditors in general and Wells, Hogge & Lindsell in particular would have been deprived of this valuable asset.
As a result Wells, Hogge & Lindsell decided to take over Albion Mills with a view of letting it until prospects improved in the Milling trade to make a sale worthwhile. The Mills were therefore let to Goode Bros, who had previously been based at Headley Steam Mills, Ravensbourne Street, Greenwich. The Mills were finally sold by Wells etc in 1891
Legal Cases about the moveables in the Mills occurred when firstly George Powers and then Goode Bros left. (See HF41/8/3 & /4 repectively). Evidence gathered includes detailed reports and inventories, which give a considerable amount about the Mills & their equipment.
Level of description
sub-series