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William Church the founder was born in
Birch, near Colchester in 1878. In 1902 William moved to Specks Farm,
Lamarsh where he started farming and after producing a surplus of seed,
he decided to sell it to his neighbours.
This was the birth of the seed company which today still bears his name.
Business flourished and it was inevitable he would soon require larger
buildings in which to trade from.
W. A. Church finally moved into the village
on April 13th 1913, when he purchased the Old Tannery (adjacent to the
Angel Inn) in the High Street for £500. This was the beginning of
their long association with Bures.
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This invoice was discovered during
2011 by Tony Page of Pebmarsh, while sorting through old farm documents.
It was subsequently donated to Robert Church and it`s the oldest
invoice currently held on record at Head Office.
Click on image to
enlarge
01.10.11
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Sometime during the 1910, William
invested in the agricultural business of Brands (Bures) which had
fallen on hard times.
The new company was then known as
"Brand and Church Ltd" until 1921 when it was dissolved.
Brands continued to trade in the High Street well into the 1950`s
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William died in 1919, but the business
passed on to other family members where it continued to flourish.
With the change from sack to Bulk handling it soon became apparent that
the Warehouse in the High Street could not keep up with demand. Fortunately
in 1969, a riding stable and bungalow came up for sale at Arger Fen which
was suitable for relocation.
This is now their main storage and bulk delivery centre transporting seeds
across the UK and overseas.
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Administration
Office,
High Street
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Yard Entrance,
High Street.
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Their main Warehouse is now located
adjacent to Arger Fen.
This storage facility allows for the bulk transport of seeds. |
For a more detailed information
on W. A. Church (Bures) Ltd, visit their own web site at www.churchofbures.co.uk
Click
here for a selection of historical photographs.
Click here for information on the drying cowl
09.01.08
History reproduced courtesy of W. A. Church (Bures) Ltd
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