From the inside
The Mill has been closed for a few years now, but about four years ago, when some work was being
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Community heritage hub
Author: heritage hub
Thomas Harold Berry
There are numerous stories of accidents and tragic deaths involving workers at Berry’s chair works. But according to Ray Walker
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The canteen
The main thing former Berry’s workers agree on (and they seem to agree on a lot!) it’s that the food
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Ernest (Ernie) Kenyon
Sergeant Ernest Kenyon K.I.A. February 2nd 1944 – Age 22 One of the stalwarts who failed to survive the war
Read moreThe Corn Mill
The Corn Mill on the site at Kirk Mill, Malt Kiln Lane, Chipping dates back to before 1544, which is
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St. Bartholomew’s Church, Chipping
A Church with many hundreds of years of history, St. Bartholomews is, of course, an integral part of Chipping’s history
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Bob Parker
I started – I went back on me old job. I used to work with me father, building. And then
Read moreTed Metcalf
I was born and bred in Chipping, but I was born at Little Blacksticks which is a little community now.
Read moreFire at Berry’s
Thankfully – there weren’t many!! Weekly fire tests at 3pm on a Friday afternoon and a fire gang ready to
Read moreColin Cookson
I would have loved to see the water wheel going. My father saw that going. But unfortunately at one stage,
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Wilf Cookson (Pinhead)
Wilf Cookson was Colin’s dad. This is what Colin had to say: My father, when he was still at school,
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Tommy Byers [2]
Tommy Byers – let’s call him ‘the younger’, so as not to confuse him with the slightly older Tommy Byers
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Jim Blezard
Jim Blezard was one of the earlier Berry’s chairmakers. He worked as a French polisher and can be seen as
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Tommy Byers [1]
Good friends with John Wells, Tommy Byers, together with Sandy Snape and Albert Walker would ‘have the bus in uproar’
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Percy Seed
Described by John Wells as ‘a great character’, Percy was always ready with a quick one liner, as John recounts:
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Bernard Gornall
Well, I’d two brother’s working there at the time and in 1962 I was baker and confectioner with our own
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Phyllis Freeman
Phyllis was a French polisher – the second lady back in this photo. According to John Wells, she could sing
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A letter from Winston Churchill
Berry’s sent a birthday card to Winston Churchill in 1947, when he was leader of the opposition. He responded soon
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Visit to Heron Mill
Here’s some pix from the trip to Heron Corn Mill. (Copying or using these images is strictly prohibited)
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Ray Walker
Ray has to be the leading contender for the prize for the Berry’s worker with the most incredible memory! He
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Dick Walmsley
(from an oral history recording by Chipping Local History Society in 1998) I went to HJ Berry’s chair factory. Well,
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Frank Whittaker
Frank is not a Chippinger by birth, having moved to the village at the age of 10 months old! As
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Agnes Hayhurst
Agnes appears in a few photos from 1940s photos at Berry’s chairworks, including the 1949 photo marking the opening of
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Andrew Dinsdale
There’s just the one picture of Andrew Dinsdale, working in the machine shop and sporting the latest groovy hairstyle!!
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Harry Berry
Harry Berry was a sawyer at Berry’s in the 40’s. He appears in three of the photos and also the
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Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby, a rushbottomer, appears in a couple of photos. Is there more information? When did he work at Berry’s?
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Berry’s workers 1904
This photo features A. Wallbank, J. Parkinson, Roger Leece, Bob Coulthurst, J. Robinson, Ned Wallbank and Bill Slater on the
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Mick Barrass
Mick Barrass, on the left of this image was a multi-skilled member of Berry’s workforce, serving as a polisher, electrician
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Bob Bamber
Bob Bamber was an upholsterer at Berry’s from ? to ? He is in the middle of this group of
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John Wells
I started work at 14. On my mother’s side and my father’s side, they were all farmers. And I was
Read morePhoto: Malt Kiln
The malt kiln at Heron Corn Mill … Hundreds of years ago, there was a corn mill where Kirk Mill
Read moreVideo: Rhubarb and Custard
John Wells recalls the humour of Percy Seed …
Read moreVideo: If you want to test a chair, take it to an old folks’ home!
Bob Davies talks about working on the sales van for Berry’s
Read moreVideo: Crackerjacks!
Anyone got a picture of an actual crackerjack?!!
Read moreVideo: Everybody had a nickname
We need to match names, nicknames and faces … Nicknames Canny – Ray Freeman Chew – Tom Wolstenholme Chips –
Read moreVideo: When Ray Walker went to the match …
… and lost his job (and then found it again!)
Read moreVideo: A Mishap on Herbert Freeman’s Foot
Ted Metcalf and Herbert Freeman were lifting logs …
Read moreVideo: John Wells & the Bobbin
John Wells tells the story about how he came upon an original bobbin from Kirk Mill’s cotton-spinning days
Read moreVideo: When Bob bumped into Frank on Ramree Island!
During the war, Bob Parker bumped into Chipping friends in the most unlikely places …
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Water Frame
There is only one original water frame still in existence and it can be found at Helmshore Textile Mill. The
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Machine Shop
Here’s a list of the people who worked in the machine shop at Berry’s: Herbert Eckton Elaine Woods (nee Cookson)
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Upholsterers
Here’s a list of all the people who worked in upholstering at Berry’s Chair works – can you think of
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