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 Origin
The
tall building near the corner of Merchants Road and Llanthony
Road was built in 1894 to establish a new corn mill. The site
was owned by the Stroud Brewery Co who had acquired it in the
course of purchasing the nearby Llanthony Bridge Inn (since
demolised). The adjoining corner building had been used as a
sail loft, but the tenant had recently moved out and the site
was available for a new use.
John Allen & Son
The
proposal for the mill came from Joseph Allen, supported by his
elderly father John, who were trading as John Allen & Son,
corn and meal merchants. Both men had had experience in running
corn mills, but neither had been very successful. Plans prepared
by Medland & Son proposed reducing the width of the existing
two storey corner building to make space for a new four storey
mill building alongside. The Allens were evidently short of
capital, and they persuaded the Brewery Company to finance the
building work on the promise to pay six per cent on the money
expended - in addition to the rent of the corner building. Construction
work was carried out by local builder E Clutterbuck during 1894.
Joseph Allen fitted out the new building with milling machinery
powered by a gas engine, but he soon found himself in financial
difficulties, and within a year he was seeking a buyer for his
lease.
Subsequent Uses
Unfortunately,
no one came forward, and after two years of accumulating debts,
in 1897 he was obliged to surrender his lease and assign the
machinery in the mill to the Brewery Company. The Company tried
to sell the mill, and eventually in 1900 it was purchased by
Edgar Hamlin. He traded as a grain and flour merchant for a
few years, but in 1904 the building was sold to builders merchants
Lansley & Cullis and was then used for their business for
many years. Subsequently, the building had many uses until it
was restored as part of the Gloucester Quays redevelopment of
the area c2010.
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