Lincoln Companies - W Rainforth & Sons

William Rainforth was born in Gainsborough about 1817 to a family of sailmakers. He moved to Lincoln in 1837 working at 11 Waterside South.  In 1857 he was described as “Sail, Rope, Sack and Waterproof Cover Maker, Sailing Vessels to and from Hull, Sleaford and Horncastle”​By 1861 he was employing 19 men and 16 boys. In 1872 the firm operated from premises on Waterside North and Broadgate/St Rumbold's Lane.

​The firm's main product was corn screens. Other products offered were corn and flour dressing machines, barn machinery, seed drills, cultivators, harrows, rollers, sheep dipping equipment, wagons, carts and drays. ​

On 27th February 1884 one of Rainforth’s keels, Waterwitch, carrying lime for Richardson, Son and Doughty was lost in the Humber.  Waterwitch left Hull at about 3 a.m. towed by the steam tug Heela with several other vessels, within a short distance Waterwitch collided with a fishing smack and heeled over, the captain and mate were thrown into the water but were rescued

In 1887 the firm moved to Monks Road, the drawing in the advert is of this building, which is now part of Lincoln College.

After the death of William Rainforth in 1893 his sons continued the business, adding commercial refrigerators for dairies to the existing product range. 

Rainforths built single-decker bus bodies onto Leyland chassis for Lincolnshire Roadcar in 1932

The firm went into voluntary liquidation in 1933, the stock and other assets of the business were sold by auction on 16th August 1933.  The name W Rainforth & Son under the ownership of W. Thorne on Waterside North into the 1950s.

 By 1937 the Monks Road showroom was A R Hill's garage, J R J Mansbridge took over Hill's business in the 1950s.

Lincoln's Industrial Revolution

In The Decline and Rise of Lincoln I wrote about how Lincoln fell from its position as one of the most important cities in England to a rural backwater hardly able to support itself. Now I will cover the times when Lincoln grew in prosperity again but never regained it’s former importance. In 1821 Lincoln’s population was 11,776, while Boston’s, which gained the Staple from Lincoln in 1369, stood at 10,373.

Lincoln was about to go through immense change, Richard Ellison had purchased a 999 year lease on the Fosdyke Canal in 1740 and set about improving navigation on the canal and the river Witham east of Lincoln. Farm produce and others goods could be sent from Lincoln by barge to other parts of the country and coal and lime could be brought in. Lincoln, surrounded by agriculture, was late in embracing the Industrial Revolution.

It was the 1840s when the Industrial Revolution arrived in Lincoln.  These people made a massive contribution to the growth of prosperity of Lincoln, click on the links to learn about their companies
William Rainforth
Nathaniel Clayton and Joseph Shuttleworth
Richard Duckering
Robert Robey
William Foster
Joseph Ruston
John Cooke

... and many more

Lincoln's Waterside Industrial Area Today 

Lincoln was one of the last major centres of population in England connected to the railway, the Midland Railway arrived in Lincoln in 1846 and the Great Northern in 1848, bringing with them traffic delays on Lincoln’s High Street.

In the period 1841 to 1861 Lincoln’s population grew by over 50% to almost 21,000, the population of St Swithin’s and St Peter at Gowts parishes, where most of the engineering firms were based, almost doubled.  At the end of the 19th century the population of Lincoln was 48,784 more than three times that of Boston.

Clayton & Shuttleworth's Iron Works in 1869

Lincoln Companies - Penney & Porter Ltd

Penney & Porter Ltd was formed out of two companies after World War One;

Penney & Co of Lincoln were wireworkers who made principally screens for cleaning and grading corn, malt and other produce. John & William Penney started their business at 16 Broadgate in 1855, as general agricultural merchants.

John carried on with the business after William died in 1866. The company was renamed Penney & Co and carried on business as wireworkers, relocated at about this time to City Iron and Wire Works, 6 Broadgate.

John Penney died in 1871.  In the 1880s the workforce grew to over 120.

In the 1890s the firm expanded to 37 Waterside North as iron and steelworks.

Their range of products extended to wheelbarrows and garden furniture, but the screens were dominant into the twentieth century.

J T B Porter was an iron founder at Gowts Bridge Engineering Works, Gowts Bridge, Peel Street south of Little Gowts Drain and next to the Upper Witham, from 1855.  Peel Street was extended from no 4 to no 57 when the engineering works closed.

The firm specialised in installing gas works at country houses and became one of the largest gas installers in Great Britain installing around 600 units. Among the Houses where their systems were installed was Holkham Hall in Norfolk and Hartsholme Hall south-west of Lincoln. They also made structural and wrought ironwork, including for the roof of the Drill Hall in Broadgate and Montague Street Bridge.

Penney & Co and JTB Porter & Co merged about 1919 to create Penney & Porter (Engineers) Ltd.

In 1932 the company was still working from the Broadgate and Waterside North site of Penney & Co. Penney & Porter (Engineers) Ltd. was wound up in 1932 and a new company Penney & Porter (1932) Ltd was incorporated. ​By 1941 they were based at Riverside Works, Waterside South and listed in Lincoln Trades Directory as "mechanical, constructional, electrical & welding engineers, electric signs (neon), & corn screening & dressing machinery makers".

In 1955 Penney & Porter celebrated its 100th year in business, there was a celebration dinner, guests were entertained by an up and coming comedian and singer called Rolf Harris (I wonder what happened to him).  Recognise anyone in the image above?

Nicholson's Trentside Ironworks

In the early 1960s the company moved from their Waterside South factory to a new purpose-built factory on Outer Circle Road. Merged with Nicholsons of Newark in 1966 in an effort to save the struggling companies, the new umbrella company was named Penney Porter Nicholson.  Despite the merger redundancies in both companies continued.  

Some years before the merger Nicholsons sold the land surrounding their ironworks and leased it, the lease expired in 1968 and wasn't renewed by the owners, and all production was moved to Lincoln.  This was a major blow to both companies and all production ended the same year, all employees were redundant.

The history of two of the East Midlands oldest companies ended; Nicholson's in 1809 and Penney & Porter in 1855.

Do you have memories or other information about "Penneys" or Nicholsons of Newark?  Would love to hear them.

See Also:

Lincoln Companies - Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co.
Lincoln Companies - Clayton & Shuttleworth
Lincoln Companies - H Newsum & Sons Ltd
Lincoln Companies - Henry Poppleton & Sons Ltd
Lincoln Companies - W Rainforth & Sons
Lincoln Companies - James Dawson & Son Ltd.
Lincoln's Industrial Revolution

Lincoln Companies - James Dawson & Son Ltd.

James Dawson was born in Welton near Lincoln in 1836. He moved to Sheffield in the mid-1850s and was making boots and shoes, employing 4 men. James married Mary Skelton at St George's, Sheffield in 1858. By 1868 he was back in Lincoln selling boots and shoes at 15 Sincil Street. 

1880 he recognised the need for leather belts for all the machinery that was being manufactured in Lincoln and other places in the UK. He formed a company with Walter, his son, and William Posnett, the belting works opened at Unity Square in the same year. The company grew rapidly.  In 1881 a Dawson belt was shown at the Lincolnshire Show 2ft 4in (0.71 metres) by 60 ft (18.3 metres), weighing 3 cwt (152 Kg)

Dawsons gained a "First Order of Merit" in 1887 at the Adelaide Jubilee Exhibition for Leather machine belting, over the years there were many other awards for their belting. The Belting works moved from Unity Square to New Boultham about 1890.

Posnett left the company in 1892 and the company was incorporated as a private limited company on 10th March 1896 with a capital of £70,000 in £10 shares, becoming James Dawson & Son Ltd.

The Lincona V belt for motorcycles was introduced in 1902 and in 1908 Balata belting was introduced using the sap from the South American Balata tree.  James, the son of the founder, invented the Balata rubber process.

Walter left the company and became a farmer, and another son, George, became managing director.  James Dawson senior retire in 1902 and died on 24th April 1912, Sadly George died in March 1912. Following the deaths of his father and brother, James became managing director, he was chairman of the company from 1922.  James, his son and a grandson of the founder, became managing director.

Dawsons had large contracts during World War One for infantry equipment and other war material.

The Lincona laminated V belt was introduced in 1920 for use with industrial machinery. V Rubber ropes were made available from 1931 as a modern version of the Balata belt.  The Speedona V transmission rope was added to the range of products in 1934 for use with centre drives.

Dawsons expanded the size of their factory with the purchase of the Poppleton's sweet factory from the company's receivers in July 1936  

James Dawson (born 1872) died at Sutton on Sea on 13th October 1936, his home was Welbourn Manor.  He left £81,852.

In 1978 Dawson's became part of Fenner plc and are at the forefront of hose and ducting manufacture with manufacturing facilities in the UK and China. On 31st May 2018 the Fenner Group became part of Compagnie Generale Des Etablissements Michelin Sca the owners of the Michelin Tyre Company.

Dawsons have always been a major employer in Lincoln and today are Lincoln's second-largest employer. Of all the manufacturing companies established in Lincoln in the 19th century, Dawson's is the only one that retains its original name.

Click here to read about Poppleton's confectionery factory.

More Lincoln Companies:

Lincoln Companies - Lincoln Gas, Light and Coke Co.
Lincoln Companies - Clayton & Shuttleworth
Lincoln Companies - H Newsum & Sons Ltd
Lincoln Companies - W Rainforth & Sons
Lincoln Companies - James Dawson & Son Ltd.
Lincoln Companies - Penney & Porter Ltd