Taken from "The Times" newspaper dated December 1787. My research does not go back as far as the 1700`s, but this does confirm that a Maltings was active in the village, albeit not very successful for Mr Barnard.

Malting in Bures was an important industry in the 19th century. No less than six maltings produced ten tons of malt per day to supply local pubs ( which supplied their own beer) breweries and even the export trade to the continent via Colchester ports.
(source Suffolk County Council)

There are known to have been six malt houses in the parish, the three oldest of them in the High Street which were producing malt up until 1939. There was the malt house in Church Square where it joins Nayland Road, now replaced by the disused textile factory on its site, and across the bridge in Bures Hamlet close by the river was the 1836 malt house put up by John Garrad who also put up the larger 1851 malt house beside the railway line. John Garrad was also a proprietor by this time of the three malt houses put up around 1750 in the High Street.
(Source Dr Brown)

Description of the Building
(source ECC)

Mid-19th century malthouse, the building has a ‘H’ shape plan with 2 storey crosswings and a 3 storey, 15 bay central range.
Built of red brick with yellow brick pilasters and a Welsh slate roof; the crosswings have taking-in doors on both floors of the west elevation. The slate covered pyramidal kiln lies at the south end of the central range.
A stone on the south face of the south wing is dated 1851, but some of the tie plates carry the inscription ‘Nicklin and Harford Birmingham 1824’; the latter may have been reused.
Additional doors and windows have been inserted as part of the conversion. The steeping pit lay at the north end of the building and could hold 4 tons of barley in 2500 gallons of water.
After five days on the drying floors the barley was taken to the kiln; access was provided by a door at second floor level and the barley was lifted from the lower floors by bucket elevators.
The drying floors were supported on slender cast iron columns and the kiln had a wedge wire floor. Malt could be stored in the south wing.

Bury and Norwich Post February 11th 1890     >>>>>> These maltings are not those by the Railway as it quotes a "Mr Pratt nearby ajoins" Mr Pratt is listed as a Grocer in 1892 in the High Street

Framlingham Weekly News February 15th 1890

History of Maltings pre 1900
The Maltings was the most important non--agricultural source of work in Bures. This one was built in 1851, two years after the railway opened. The Garrad family were the owners. The block at the left end had doors where the barley grain went in, carried up 10-12 steps on cat-ladders in 16 stone sacks and also a large tank for soaking. The Maltings had low ceilinged floors where the grain was turned over with metal ploughs as it sprouted. Small louvered windows controlled the critical temperature needed for the malting process. A beehive shaped kiln dried the barley with a chute to the right where the barley came out. Bures maltsters finished work about March/April when the barley was finished and switched to the land, local builders or the mill for the summer months returning in September at harvest time.

Kelly`s Directory recorded these Maltsters in Bures Hamlet:-
Garrad 1844 (recorded as Maltster before the Maltings was built in 1851)
Garrad and Grimston Partnership 1868
Walter Edward Grimston 1874, 1884, 1887, 1890, 1892, 1895, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1906.
Cross and Garrad 1910 1912 1917 1925 1929
Garrad 1937
Trumans:- start date unknown

Originally the Maltings were owned by the Garrad family, but the majority of the malt produced was purchased by Truman, Hanbury & Buxton. Trumans had a vast 6 acre brewery complex in London.

In 1868 Garrad went into partnership with Walter Grimston (Garrad and Grimston Brewery) which proved very successful.

By 1899 Grimston owned 16 pubs in the Colchester area which were all purchased by Trumans. Grimston was the local Justice of the Peace, perhaps he considered that his service to the community was incompatible with his ownership of public houses where maybe, so many of his customers might have been brought before him in the dock! Grimston still owned the Maltings some 40 years later until approx 1910. <<<<Writing on wooden plank between workers states:- "GRIMSTON OF BURES"

Soon after 1937, Garrad handed over control of the Bures Maltings to Trumans.
No brewing or bottling was ever carried out at Bures, the majority of the malt was transported to the Brick Lane, London depot of Trumans for processing.

Locally there was also the Daniells Brewery (1830>) at West Bergholt who were finally taken over by Truman Hanbury in 1958.
Some malt may well have finished up going to Bergholt. In its latter years it was only used as a bottling plant.

Truman`s eventually ceased all production at Bures on August 22nd 1980. After all the equipment was removed the doors finally shut on July 10th 1981.

The two other Maltings at Sudbury and Long Melford closed shortly afterwards in 1985/6

	Circa 1983/84, conversion to residential property
Mid-19th century malthouse converted to residential use in 1984. The conversion retains the features of the original building with its H’ shape plan and 2 storey crosswings. Built of red brick with yellow brick pilasters and a Welsh slate roof; the crosswings have taking-in doors on both floors of the west elevation. The slate covered pyramidal kiln lies at the south end of the central range. A stone on the south face of the south wing is dated 1851, but some of the tie plates carry the inscription ‘Nicklin & Harford Birmingham 1824’; the latter may have been reused. Additional doors and windows have been inserted as part of the conversion.
	2003:- The maltings tower can still be clearly seen behind the main building.

Updated
29/05/2015
updated 23/02/2017 Newspaper Cuttings