Memorial Title

Employees of Tutbury Condensery (Nestlé)

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a WW1 war memorial plaque to the employees of the Tutbury Condensery (Nestlé) at Hatton, Derbyshire.

Images

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Further images may be available on request.

Locations

Last known location: Roadside Nestlé UK Ltd Marston La Hatton Derbyshire	Nearest postcode: DE13 9LY NGR: SK 21575 29702 ±5m (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The plaque is mounted on a brick wall on the south side of the road near the entrance to the factory.

Previous location: Tutbury Condensery (Demolished) Marston La Hatton Derbyshire	Nearest postcode: DE13 9LY NGR: SK 21827 29743 (Estimated) (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The plaque was mounted in an unidentified location within the old factory buildings.

Type

Overall type: Plaque.

Overall condition: Good. The inscription is legible and the memorial is cared for.

Description:

Originally a bronze plaque mounted on a wall inside the factory but now mounted on a purpose-built decorative screen wall with supplementary tablets bearing explanatory details.

The nowy-headed plaque has a plain cornice at the top, above a further horizontal cornice creating a tympanum which contains crossed laurel sprigs in relief at the centre together with the dedication and dates on scrolls in raised lettering. Below that an oblong panel has a raised border and names in two columns, with further crossed laurel sprigs in relief at the foot. The tympanum and name panel are linked by a curled scroll with further text, and a raised block at the foot has the factory name. The inscriptions and names are in raised upright capital block lettering.

The screen wall is of blue brickwork with cast concrete cill and copings. The central bay has stepped shoulders with a recessed niche at the centre containing the plaque and with inset grey granite tablets to each side bearing the dates. Below the plaque is a large inset grey granite tablet bearing a modern dedication. To each side low projecting piers complement the stepped shoulders producing a pleasing balanced appearance. The inscriptions on the tablets are in white sentence case lettering.

See the Comments section below regarding the company and the links with Tutbury.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Plaque	Bronze	715	505	45	Good
Small tablet x 2	Grey granite	150	380	-	Good
Large tablet	Grey granite	750	1350	-	Good
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

Plaque:

Conflicts and people named:
Conflict	First World War (1914-1919)	Totals
Action	Unspecified
Number died	15	15
Number served and returned	0	0
Total names	15	15

IN MEMORIAM
1914	1918
OUR FALLEN
ALLSOP. H. BENNETT. F. BENTLEY. G. W. BENTLEY. W. BLOOD. A. J. FEARN. G. FOSTER. H. J.	HILL. W. H. HOOD. F. E. LEEDHAM. S. MORETON. J. MATTHEWS. F. A. UPTON. W. J. WHEAT. S.
WOOLLEY. W. TUTBURY CONDENSERY

Wall:

1914	1918
This Memorial was erected by Nestlé to remember those from the Tutbury Factory who gave their lives for their country in the Great War 1914 - 1918

Administration

Custodian: Nestlé UK Ltd.

Local authorities:
From WW1: Hatton Parish Council, Repton Rural District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1974: Hatton Parish Council, South Derbyshire District Council; Derbyshire County Council.

History and Conservation

c1920: The plaque was installed in the Tutbury Condensery Factory.

c2010: The plaque was removed and put into storage while rebuilding took place.

c2016: The screen wall was constructed by Nestlé UK Ltd and the plaque re-installed.

14th February, 2018: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson and Alan Willmot. It was in good condition and cared for.

References

Derby Telegraph: 6th July, 2012; p10 col1: a report on research being carried out by the Marston History Group.

Ibid: 9th July, 2012; Bygones p7 col1: a further report on the research.

Comments

In the early twentieth century Hatton was just a few scattered cottages and farms in an area of rural Derbyshire just north of the River Dove which forms the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The North Staffordshire Railway had been constructed on the Derbyshire side of the river and a station had been constructed next to the bridge carrying the road to Tutbury in Staffordshire, which was then a small market town. Intended to serve Tutbury, and only 1.3km from its centre, it was obvous to call it Tutbury Station but it also served nearby dairy farms in both counties. Because of the availability of a reliable supply of milk the Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company built a condensed milk factory next to the station and called it the Tutbury Condensery. Despite the name the factory has always been in Hatton in Derbyshire. Following WW2 the factory changed its production from condensed milk to instant coffee and it now produces half of all the Nescafé consumed in the UK.

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