Manors & Estates

Olney manor had been in the ownership of the Legge family or the Earls of Dartmouth from 1755. The Dartmouth inheritance continued into the 20th century until the death of the 8th Earl of Dartmouth, William Viscount Lewisham, (Page 1927). The rights of fair and market had belonged to the Manor of Olney including receipt of rents from the market although in 1941 these rights were acquired by the then Parish Council.

Industry in the 19th Century (see Appendix 4 for details)

Lace making

By the beginning of the 19th century lacemaking in Olney was already in decline. The development of cheaper manufactured lace in Nottingham had reduced the demand for handmade lace (Sheahan, 1862: 578). Despite these industrial innovations lacemaking continued in the town and by outworkers in the surrounding villages albeit at reduced level. Attempts were made to revive the fortunes of lacemaking in the 20th century, Harry Armstrong, a local entrepreneur, had a lace making factory on the corner of Newton Street and Midland Road. In 1928 operations transferred to the Bucks Lace Industry warehouse on the High Street. The building was used to assemble the lace onto articles such as handkerchiefs and table linen, but its more important function was to market and pack the lace for shipment within the UK and abroad. The Lace Factory continued to operate until the death of Armstrong in 1943, thereafter the building was left empty and in the 1950’s it re-emerged as a lampshade factory before being converted to apartments in 1988. (ODHS )

Hipwell & Co Brewery, High Street (demolished)

There had been records of a brewery or malting to the rear of the Bull pub since the 18th century but the site developed to become Olney’s main commercial brewery. The story begins in 1849 when William Hipwell, a grocer took over the business with his father, a brewer from Newport Pagnell. In 1854 Hipwell formed a partnership with Charles & John Coling to form the Coling, Hipwell and Coling, brewers, wholesale wine and spirit merchants. The brewery underwent a number of name changes, but by 1868 the brewery was known as Hipwell & Co. William Hipwell built up something of a brewing empire, owning a number of pubs/maltings in Newport Pagnell as well as pubs in Bedfordshire and Northampton. This acquisition also extended to Olney when in 1867 the company bought up the malting to the rear of the Cock Inn on East Street, and in 1871 it opened up the Queen pub on Midland Road to cater for the rail traffic (Brown 2007). The business was owned by a succession of Hipwells until it was bought by Phipps of Northampton in 1920 (Phipps NBC). The brewery ceased production soon after in 1927. In 1948 the brewery site was sold and the premises were temporarily used as a storage for furniture before being demolished. The site is now a supermarket, restaurants and shops.

Olney Mills or Cowper Mills

Olney mill was long established, the site is thought to have antecedents dating to medieval period and Domesday (Page 1927). By the 19th century the mill still operated as a corn mill and was in the ownership of Messrs Harrold & Gee in 1823 one of the oldest recorded businesses in Olney. However, the successive owners (A Gudgin & Son) were the victims of a disastrous fire in 1878 which partially destroyed the mill building the destruction being completed by another fire in 1964. The mill house survived and is now a private residence; the granaries have been converted to living accommodation. In 1907 it was described as having two undershot wheels, capable of driving twelve and forty to fifty horse power respectively (Freese 2007).

Tannery

Olney possessed a successful tanning industry which was active for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Located next to the river Ouse, the tannery was probably established in the 18th century and provided leather to the local cordwainers and to the growing shoe industry in Northampton. The tanning works passed to Joseph Palmer in 1840 although after his death in 1870 the site closed and had become derelict. The works was eventually purchased by Messrs W.E. & J Pebody Ltd of Northampton in 1898; under their ownership the business became one of the first to adopt a new tanning process – using salts of chromium rather than the traditional

bark and leaves in the conversion from raw skin to leather. This proved to be a popular with the military in the First World War as the process withstood the conditions in the trenches better than leather produced by other methods. As a consequence the output of the tannery increased and in 1915 the tannery buildings were extended.

The tannery managed to endure the economic slump of the 1920s and 1930s, output was cut but leather was still in demand. The Olney tannery continued to adapt its practices and in 1938 a system of wells was installed on an island in the Ouse to supply water which would be a more consistent quality than the river water.

During the Second World War production at the tannery was under state control; although tanning was disrupted in 1944 when a fire destroyed the main building but much of the infrastructure survived. Given the wartime demand for leather, a new single storey building soon replaced the lost one. After the war the tannery continued to innovate, specialising in Aniline leather – high quality Italian skins without blemishes. Olney’s leather was much in demand; by 1990 75% of sales were for export. Despite its long and productive history the tannery closed in 1999 and the business was relocated to Billing in Northamptonshire. The tannery site has now been redeveloped for housing (Prosser 1998).

Hinde and Mann Shoe Factory/Lodge Plugs factory, Wellingborough & Station Road

Olney’s Hinde and Mann shoe factory was built in 1891 on the corner of Station Road and Wellingborough Road. The factory started with a one storey building on Wellingborough Road which expanded to the other; the factory was redeveloped to the three storey building that survives today, this opened in May 1894. At its peak the factory was employing over 364 staff and producing over 16,000 pairs of shoes per week. However, after the First World War came the economic slump, when cheap shoes were being produced for £1 a pair. Shoe production was no longer viable and the factory closed in 1932. The building was eventually bought by Lodge Plugs, suppliers of components to the aircraft industry, who were looking for a place in the country that was not likely to be bombed. The factory produced plugs until the end of the war 1945. The building remained unoccupied until it was bought by developers who converted the factory into luxury apartments in 1990.

Olney Railways

Olney became part of the railway between Bedford and Northampton built by the Midland Railway Company in 1872. The line was located to the north of the town where a station and spacious goods yards were built. The coming of the railways to Olney had a direct impact upon the town benefiting the shoe and boot industry which reached its zenith in the early 20th century. The railways meant that Bedford and Northampton were only 20 minutes away and a journey to London took only 1 ¾ hours. Another catalyst of the railway was the increase in housing around the station; Midland Road, Newton Street and Station Road were built to accommodate factory workers. Unfortunately the railway started to wane in mid 20th century and the Beeching review meant the end for the Bedford Northampton line; the station was closed and demolished in 1962.

Newport Pagnell to Olney branch line

In addition to the Midland Railway Company line, originally there were plans for an extension for a line to go from Newport Pagnell to Olney through to Wellingborough where it would have joined the Northampton to Peterborough railway. The plans were approved in 1866 but these plans were finally abandoned in 1875 due to Company’s continuing financial problems, which resulted in it being taken over by the LNWR. Olney got a rail link in 1872, but via the Bedford and Northampton Railway (Hunt and Mynard 1995).

Newport Pagnell to Olney Tramway

In the 1870s there were plans to introduce a tram service from Newport Pagnell to Olney; tramlines were laid along the length of Newport Pagnell High Street in preparation. However the project failed as land required to bypass Emberton, which was fundamental for completing the route, could not be purchased. (Mynard & Hunt 1995).

Civic and modern religious structures

Olney Bridge

A bridge with five segmental arches was built over the south stream of the Great Ouse in 1832 Olney Bridge is now designated as a scheduled ancient monument (Pevsner N, 1993: 590).

Olney Gas Works

The Olney Gas Light and Coal Company Ltd was established in 1854, and set up a gas works and gasometer at Silver End. The company was eventually amalgamated into the Northampton Gaslight company in 1937. The gasworks ceased to work in 1964 and the gasometers were dismantled in 1990, part of the area is now a public car park (Markham 1973).

Olney War Memorial, Market Place

Olney’s war memorial commemorates the loss of 61 men in the First World War and 19 from the Second World War. The memorial, unveiled in 1921 by General Lord Horne of Sirkoke, is a cenotaph style memorial surrounded by a lawned garden (Edwards 2003, website).

Cowper Memorial chapel

This chapel was located on the east side of the High Street and erected in 1879 built of local limestone and fronted in Bath stone (Pevesner & Williamson 1993).

Wesleyan Chapel, built 1902 (Page W, 1927).

Society of Friends, Silver End

A small building located at Silver End was used by the Quakers as a chapel who lived in the neighbourhood. It is believed that a small cemetery was located nearby in which is buried Ann Hopkins Smith who founded the almshouse and school on Weston Road (Page W, 1927).

Church of our Lady and St Lawrence, West Street

A Roman Catholic Church together with a residence for the priest was built in 1903 from local limestone with Wheldon stone dressing (Kelly 1935). The church was extended in 1990 to accommodate the growing Catholic community in Olney and the surrounding villages (Pevsner 1993: 588).

St Joseph Convent, West Street

St Joseph’s was established in 1901 by the Sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost French Carmelite nuns, it is a plain classical five bay house of the mid 19th century. A wing was added in the 1990s (Pevsner N, 1993: 588)

Sutcliffe Baptist Chapel, Market Place

The original Independent Baptist chapel in Olney dated from 1694 when it was adapted from use as a barn and was enlarged in 1763 after becoming very dilapidated. It was eventually rebuilt in 1893 and chapel named after the Reverend John Sutcliffe who was a former pastor in the 18th century. (Pevsner N, 1993: 587)

Hospitals & Schools pre 1945

British School & Almshouses, Weston Road

The almshouses on Weston Road were established in 1819 by a Quaker, Miss Ann Hopkins Smith, to accommodate elderly widows of the town. (Sheahan, 1862: 589) Not content to provide poor relief for some of Olney’s residents, Hopkins Smith built a British school in 1835 (Pevsner N, 1993: 590)

British and Foreign Society School, 23-27 Church Street (HER 709200000)

From local accounts Church Street is believed to be the location of a British School, where a monitor system of elder children taught the younger pupils. The building is a terrace of three small houses to the east of the church originally a single brick built building with the centre section projecting slightly. This section is dominated by a large arch which is filled-in and incorporates a door and window (MK HER).

Board School, High Street

The Board school was built in 1872 with Gothic style windows and bell-turret. The school was eventually modernised and converted to community centre in 1991, (Pevsner N, 1993: 587)

St Josephs Convent School, West Street mid 19th century (Pevsner N, 1993: 587)

Established in the mid 19th century, yellow brick

Hospitals & Schools post 1945

There are two main schools in Olney which are Olney Middle School, Yardley Road, a junior school that was first established in the 1950s and Olney First School at Spinney Hill Road which opened in the 1960s.

Olney Fires

In addition to the 18th century fires, Olney was unfortunate to endure a series of destructive fires in the 19th century, the first occurring on the 9th August 1851, a second and third in January and April 1853. Although the fire of 1854 was one of the most damaging, a blaze broke out at northeast end of the town, c.50 houses destroyed, 30 more damaged (Page W, 1927)

Secular Buildings – the impact of modern infill

Settlement growth in Olney began in earnest in the 1890s; the development of the adjacent Northampton Bedfordshire Railway provided the stimulus for trade and in particular Hindes’ shoe factory on Wellingborough Road. Redbrick terraced houses built in Station, Midland and Newton Road date to the late 19th/early 20th century were intended as housing for workers engaged in the shoe and leather working industry. The uniform housing is laid out along the straight surveyed roads and gives this area of Olney a distinctive character and homogeneity. Another area of interest is the inter-war semi-detached red brick housing at Moores Hill. The buildings, secluded in a hedge lined close and are constructed in a neo-vernacular style: brick diapering on the front walls with quoins and hipped roofs.

Olney developed dramatically after the Second World War, and some of the first does contain some of the first housing to be built in this period was Council housing at Dagnall Road in the 1950s. However, the majority of Olney’s housing built after the 1950s, is constructed in the familiar modern style found in the suburbs of nearly every English town. There have been some recent attempts by developers to design new housing to fit in with Olney’s vernacular style. Houses at Lime Street (Figure 24) have been constructed using limestone which is characteristic of Olney’s historic High Street; although the plan forms do not vary and are often identical.