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June 10, 2007
Metheringham Flax Factory
Recently we were asked why we didn't mention Metheringham Heath much on our website. The basic answer given was that not much goes on there….well not since the Quarry up there stopped hosting its all night parties a few years back.
After extensive research on the internet, guess what? Not much goes on there!
We did however find some images of the old Flax Factory on the Heath, taken by some 'Urban Explorers' whose idea of a good time is to spend their spare time rooting around in England's industrial past and photographing the experience The images are quite atmospheric as befitting an old industrial building in decay and can be viewed on their urban Exploration website www.28dayslater.co.uk
Rumour suggest that the Flax Factory was built during WW2 in order to meet the War Department's insatiable demand for flax. Flax seeds were used to produce linseed oil and the fibre was used to produce rope. Post war when the demand for flax declined the mill was closed and in recent time used for processing pea vines.
We'd be grateful to hear from anyone with any memories of working there or has old photographs of their times there. Just get in touch with the Editor.
Addition - Oct 07:
Philip Baumer of Scopwick has kindly sent his reminiscences of times at the Flax factory.
"It was built early in W W 2 the brick buildings housed the machinery, and the ten dutch barns to store the flax. This was a new crop to Lincolnshire, the reason being that war was on the way. Much more home grown food would be needed, so many acres of old rough grass would come under the plough, and the chief menace was the "wire worm" grub to corn crops. With no sprays on the market to kill them, a recommendation form the Ministry of Agriculture was one or two crops of flax would clear the soil of the grubs, if the land was to be used for potatoes then a thick lush crop of mustard was ploughed in.
The first drilling of flax was March 1940 while the factory was being built. Given good weather it grew quickly, and by late June it was ready for harvesting, thus being out of the way before the corn harvest. Long strong green storks were pulled by a machine just when the flowers had fallen, pulling the roots because they held fibre it was made into sheaves. Stooking the same as corn it was left to dry until the sheaves were brown, then stacked and thatched.
At the factory the dry sheaves were elevated to the top of the building, so the process began, words like "retted" "scutching" and "green-scutched" were used by the ladies who worked there, sorry these words mean nothing to me, but why not ask around some of the older people in the Metheringham area may have worked there. In the process some parts were awash with water, and others dry with plenty of dust. Buses conveyed the workers from the surrounding villages, mostly women, who in 1941 processed 8,000 tons from 3,000 acres from the 1941 crop.
Mr William Dalton was the manager, he came from Cottingham near Hull, and was awarded the B E M for his services to flax, he lived at Dunston Pillar
Mrs Ellis of Digby was overseer of the carting and came to the farms with helpers to load the lorries.
The late Mr Eric Parker was chairman of the company, One of the secretaries was Eileen Kew daughter of the Metheringham Station master."
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