Anyone who has more than a passing acquaintance with Aberdeen will have heard of Ben Reid. Many of those familiar with the North East of Scotland will also have bought trees, bushes, flowers and other gardening necessities from the eponymous horticulturalist. But few will have any knowledge of the early beginnings of the business, the evolution of its activities, or when Benjamin Reid lived, except perhaps to be aware that the firm displays great longevity.
I was first
alerted to the complex and fascinating history of Ben Reid when, long after
decamping from the Granite City and quite by chance, I came across an article
in “Scottish Field” from April 2019 which suggested that the firm’s origins
date back to the 1760s, that the founder had fought at the Battle of Culloden
and that its first product was quickthorne (hawthorne), used to defend inclosures
from the predations of hungry livestock.
My curiosity aroused, I set out to see how much of this tale could be
sustained through consulting the historical record and what new gems might come
to light in the process. I was not to be
disappointed by the results of my labours. This is the story of “Ben Reid” through
its several successive iterations and business linkages.
William Reid
(1727 – 1804) becomes a gardener in or before 1759
The pursuit of
individual histories in the North east of Scotland during the 18th
and 19th centuries is greatly aided by the early establishment (in
1747) of the Aberdeen Journal (one of the predecessors of the current local
paper, the “Aberdeen Press and Journal”), which was published weekly until 1876
and thereafter daily, and its current availability, in searchable form, on-line. However, a quest for “Ben Reid”, a nurseryman,
in the period 1746, the end of the Jacobite rebellion, to the turn of the
century was fruitless. But there was a
William Reid in frequent attendance in the local print medium and he was,
indeed, a nurseryman and seedsman.
William was born in 1727, though his place of birth and parentage have
not presently been uncovered.
Could he have
been the originator of the business selling plants in Aberdeen? It seems highly likely. When William died at the end of 1804, the
Aberdeen Journal in a brief obituary said that, “He had been in business in
that line for nearly 50 years (ie from about 1754) and was the first
person that introduced the cultivation of nursery into this country.” A nursery is defined as a “place where plants are grown for
transplanting, for use as stock for budding and grafting, or for sale”, but the
noun “nursery” could also be used to refer to the produce grown in a nursery
garden. So, William Reid appears to have
been a horticultural innovator in the North East of Scotland (which is the
likely geographical intent of the term “this country”).
The Battle of Culloden
Could William Reid also have fought at the Battle of
Culloden? This conflict took place on 16
April 1746 on Culloden Moor, about eight miles east of Inverness, between the
rebel army of Charles Edward Stuart and Government forces led by the Duke of
Cumberland. Numerically, the two sides
were rather unequal (about 5,500 and about 9,000 respectively) and the rebel
army was routed after a conflict only lasting about one hour. This defeat ended the Jacobite uprising
against the British Government. The
rebel Army was of mixed composition and contained a significant contingent of
Lowlanders. About a half of the soldiers
serving Charles Edward Stuart were recruited in the North East of Scotland
(including Forfarshire), partly by Lord Lewis Gordon from the extensive estates
there belonging to his brother, the Duke of Gordon, but also containing
volunteers from Aberdeen itself. Lord
Lewis escaped to France after the Jacobite collapse, a route which was not open
to the common soldiery. Some Jacobite
fighters were tried and executed, and some transported to the colonies, but
many were released under the 1747 Act of General Pardon. In 1746 William Reid would have been about 19
years old and could have taken part in the battle, perhaps as part of Lord
Lewis Gordon’s contingent, and then made a return to civilian life
afterwards. Although several combatants
were called William Reid (or Reed, or Read) none, on present evidence, looks
likely to have been the nurseryman from Aberdeen.
In March 1751,
Thomas Simpson, “a merchant in Cruden” imported a “parcel of fine clover seed”
from London and sold it through a number of agents, one of whom was William
Reid, a merchant in Old Meldrum. But
with both the given name “William” and the surname “Reid” being frequent in the
North East, it is not proven that this individual coincides with the subject of
the current investigation. The first entry (an advertisement) in the Aberdeen
Journal which mentioned William Reid trading in Aberdeen as a seedsman/nurseryman
was on 9 January 1759. “Just imported
from London and sold by William Reid gardiner at Gilcomston. A fresh assortment (from the best hands and
warranted good) of grass and garden seeds, fruit-trees, viz. apples, pears,
cherries, plums great variety; flower seeds and flower-roots, curious and rare
kinds. Commissions carefully
obeyed.” However, the editions of the
Journal for the years 1753 – 1757 inclusive were not available for
searching. The wording of the
advertisement suggests a business already well established and by 1759 there
were several other firms in Aberdeen importing seeds and plants for sale to the
public.
Gilcomston
William Reid was “gardiner at Gilcomston” by at least 1759. The 1746 map of the town of Aberdeen, by G&W Paterson, portrays “Gilcomstoun” as an essentially rural area outside the town boundary and sitting on the road leading west to “Alfoord” on the River Don. Three separate designations were included, “Mid-Gilcumstoun”, “Nether Gilcumftoun” located on the north bank of the Den Burn and “Over Gilcumstoun”.
At that date Gilcomston appeared to possess very few houses. Feuing of the lands of Gilcomston by the Town Council began in 1748, initiating the development of the area. At the end of December 1758, “That part of the lands of Gilcomston called Belville holding feu of the town of Aberdeen and belonging to John Gordon Cumming of Pitlurg” was offered for sale by roup (auction). Belville (or Bellville), from at least 1759, was the base for William Reid’s nursery operations but he did not buy the land presented for sale. Rather, he is likely to have taken a sublet of the property from a tacksman (an intermediary between owner and subtenants) who was responsible for collecting the rent, or tack-duty. The feu-duty on Belville was £6 – 14 – 4 sterling per year and the annual rental £22 – 5 – 0 sterling, not inconsiderable sums (about £5,200 in total in 2020 money by an RPI methodology). The area of Belville was approximately five acres.
A further advertisement
placed in the Aberdeen Journal in January 1860 illustrated the maturity and
diversity of William Reid’s business by that time. “William Reid, gardener at Gilcomston has got
a large quantity garden and grass, flower and forest-tree seeds from the best
hands and properest places of growth, which he sells at the lowest rates
wholesale and retail. He has likewise
fine Riga lint-seed together with many kinds of fruit and forest trees also
asparagus and cauliflower plants. He has
fine oak plants at 4s per thousand and large Hawthorne plants of 3- or 4-years
growth. He has to dispose of a large
quantity of flower roots which belonged to the deceased Principal Pollock.”
The section of
the Old Statistical Account of Scotland dealing with Aberdeen made the point
that before 1745 the main manufacture of Aberdeen was knitted wool stockings
but in the second half of the 18th century this was largely replaced
by the spinning of linen yarn which rapidly built up to more than 100,000
spindles per annum. Most of the linseed
came from Holland, with some from the Baltic, which was largely used for coarse
manufactures. It must have been the case
that many of the customers of William Reed were farmers and large landowners,
given the nature of his offering of linseeds, forest trees and hawthorns. Belville, being located close to the Alford
Road from Donside (which had some of the best agricultural land in the North
East) was well placed for soliciting visits from farmers and landed proprietors
coming to Aberdeen from the west.
Employment
agency
From at least
1760, William Reid also played the role of employment agent, acting on behalf
of individuals looking for work and also of major landed proprietors seeking
new staff, which could only have functioned if both sides of such bargains had
confidence in the knowledge and judgement of William Reid in matters relating
to agriculture and horticulture. The
earliest advertisement of this type so far uncovered was from July 1760. “Wants a place at Martinmas next. An experienced and well qualified Gardiner
who understands and can undertake the keeping of a kitchen garden raising all
sorts of kitchen-stuffs and also hot-beds and framing work of different kinds
and raising nurseries of fruit trees and barren trees of most kinds; cutting
and dressing of apple-trees, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines,
apricocks and vines. And likewise, the
propagation and culture of most sorts of flowers and several other branches of
business. He likewise understands
farming and husbandry or looking after day-labourers and drawing out and
keeping accompts. Ample attestations of
his capacity and moral character to be shown, if desired. For particulars apply to William Reid,
Gardiner at Gilcomston.”
Hot-house at
Belville
In 1761, both
the success and the exotic nature of William Reid’s nursery business was
emphasised when he began the construction of a stone hot-house at
Belville. The event was celebrated by
the attendance of local bigwigs from the gardening fraternity and the town,
emphasising the status that William had achieved by that year. “The master and fraternity of gardiners with
several others gave their countenance and assistance at this ceremony and
afterwards drank his Majesty’s (George III) health and several others
suitable to the occasion such as the magistrates of Aberdeen and several of the
nobility and gentry of this and neighbouring counties who are patrons and
promoters of this curious and laudable undertaking: which certainly merits the
encouragement of the publick as it is intended to propagate and bring to
perfection pine-apples and several other delicious tropical fruits and valuable
exoticks which the chilling asperity of our climate will not produce in the
ordinary and natural way, even though assisted by the most favourable
circumstances of soil and situation &c &c &c.”
Forest tree
nursery
William Reid
had a forest tree nursery from the earliest days, supplying transplanted
seedlings of both native and alien species intended for timber production, for
orchards and for the creation of landscaped pleasure grounds. An October 1761 advertisement in the Aberdeen
Journal illustrated the wide diversity of his commercial offering. “… fruit trees, such as apples, pears,
cherries, plumbs &c &c. Barren
trees (not producing edible fruits or nuts), such as oaks three and a
half foot high; beech one foot high; plane one and a half foot high; elm
between three and six feet high, ash one foot high, sweet chestnut two feet
high, Rawn trees three feet high, awlnuts (walnuts?) two feet high,
Mapple two feet high, Hawthorne and Holly plants, Scotch Firs with variety of
flowering shrubs and other things too tedious to mention.” By 1863 he was also satisfying the needs of
the wealthy by providing a planting service.
“Likewise, for the encouragement of those who choose to have their
ground properly furnished, he will engage to plant firs of two years growth and
find plants at twenty pence per thousand at any place within twelve miles of
Aberdeen and in proportion at a greater distance.”
Business
practices
From the
earliest days of his seed and nursery business, William Reid advertised his
wares extensively in the Aberdeen Journal.
The wording of these entries clearly demonstrated William’s awareness of
what would now be called good business practice. He always emphasised that his seeds came from
reliable producers, were derived from the previous season’s crop and were free
from contamination by both weed seeds and by deliberate adulteration. He emphasised that he always provided value
for money and he thanked his customers for their patronage. William also stressed his assiduity in
dealing with commissions, while exhorting country gentlemen to get their new
orders placed in good time, so as to avoid disappointment. From at least 1764 William Reid had started
producing a catalogue with prices which could be “had at his house”, ie
William’s house at Belville. Seed
samples could also be obtained by his gentleman customers “on sending a line by
a carrier or servant”. By 1882 he was
pointing out that his published prices were “ready money prices”, implying that
his larger customers were buying on account.
Although it is unclear what proportions of his offering of seeds and flower roots was produced at Belville, or brought in from elsewhere in the UK, or imported by sea, it was repeatedly emphasised in his advertisements that William was a frequent importer of plants and seeds through ports such as Riga, Rotterdam and London. In the mid-18th century, there was extensive trading between Aberdeen and the above locations in sailing vessels typically of tonnages in the range 50 – 150 ton.
In April 1764 a roup of both tillage and pasture land at Broomhill near to the Bridge of Dee south of the town of Aberdeen was advertised, though, “Any person inclining a private bargain may apply to William Reid gardiner at Gilcomston.” There is no evidence that William Reid was the owner or occupier of this land and it is more likely that he was acting as agent for the proprietor, again emphasising the status in the agricultural community that he had achieved. In 1782 a Dr Livingston offered for sale both houses and ground at Nell-field just outside the town to the south-west. Again, William Reid acted as agent for the seller.
Early
development of Gilcomston
The plan of Aberdeen produced by George Taylor and published in 1773 shows that by this time “Gilcoms Town” had become a village with a ribbon development of houses and other buildings along the transecting roads, such as Jack’s Brae. A brewery belonging to “Mefs W Black & Compy” had been constructed but the settlement was still quite distinct from Aberdeen itself. It was a good location for a nursery having a sloping exposure to the south east, but the village never benefitted from planned development, growing over the years in a rather haphazard fashion. There was also a number of inclosures drawn on the 1773 plan, but they were not labelled. However, from later plans one of these could be identified as being “Mr Reid’s Garden” and the other as being used as a “Garden & Nursery”. Taken together, the two inclosures of nursery ground had an area of about 18 acres.
William
Reid’s business develops
By 1781,
William Reid had acquired a shop in the centre of Aberdeen town “in the
Broadgate facing Queen Street (roughly mid-way between Marischal College and
the Tollbooth) where orders from the country are received and carefully
attended to.” He must have realised that
Gilcomston was not a convenient location for some country visitors to attend
and that a town centre presence was essential to the further development of his
business. From at least 1782 this retail
outlet also sold “garden tools on the best manufactory” and “bass matts” (made of bast - coarse straw or rushes,
for example to use as door mats). William Reid acted as agent for other seed
producers through his shop. In 1792, Mr
Stephen of Pitmedden advertised, “Seed oats for sale. – There is a quantity of
fine seed oats to be sold by Mr Stephen, Pitmedden, perfectly clean and all got
in before the rains in harvest.” “A
sample to those about Aberdeen to be seen at Wm. Reid’s shop, seedsman.”
At the end of
the 18th century business was going well for William Reid. There was widespread planting of new crops
and new plant varieties by farmers, for example turnips for use in the winter
feeding of cattle as an alternative to sending them with drovers to the cattle
trysts in Central Scotland, which caused the animals to lose body mass on the
journey. There was also widespread
planting of new forage species with enhanced growth and nutritional
characteristics, such as rye grass and clover, which supplanted native grasses. At the end of 1798, William Reid was clearly
short of stocks of rye grass seeds and placed an urgent notice the Aberdeen
Journal in an attempt to rectify the deficiency. “Wanted in the course of this week a quantity
of fine rye grass seed. It must weigh
20lbs the bushel must be of good colour well cleaned and free of sturdy
grass. If any shall be produced weighing
from 24 to 26lbs per bushel an additional price will be given – apply without
loss of time to William Reid at his seed shop Broadgate.” Four years later a good growing season led to
plentiful fodder and a reduced demand for turnips. As a result, some turnip crops were not
harvested and went to seed. William Reid
sought to exploit this situation by advertising for turnip seed inadvertently produced
locally. “William Reid gardener and
nurseryman Aberdeen gives notice that in order to encourage such as have saved
the (turnip) seed properly and well cleaned he will purchase the same at
a reasonable price ready money. None
need apply except such as can give vouchers not only that it is this year’s
seed but that it is free of mixture of any other species of turnip seed.” However, William Reid’s turnip seed was
usually brought in from abroad, typically from Holland.
A family
tragedy
Little has been
discovered about the life of William Reid away from his business, though he
does appear to have been an active Freemason, a William Reid being listed as an
Assessor in the St Luke’s Lodge, Gilcomston, of the brotherhood. William was tentatively
identified as having married Ann Davidson in Dufftown, Banffshire in 1763. The couple is known to have had four
children, Ann in 1766, Thomas in 1767, William junior in 1769 and James in
1776. Tragedy overtook the family in
1802. There had been chronic ill-feeling
between William junior and his brother James.
On the least provocation the former would resort to violence against the
latter. Matters came to a head in
February of that year. During an attack
by William junior upon James, when the younger brother apparently retreated,
holding up a knife in self-defence, William junior, attempting to strike his
brother, was stabbed in the hand and subsequently died, presumably from a
serious haemorrhage. James was charged
with murder and tried but was found “not guilty” unanimously by the jury. Their conclusion was that the fatal wound was
self-inflicted. “The Chancellor stated
that the jury were perfectly satisfied that James Reid had acted with great
moderation and propriety on every occasion before and at the time the accident
unfortunately happened.” These shocking
events must have had some impact upon the composure of William senior,
especially in the period between February 1802, when William junior died and
the following April when James stood trial.
Perhaps to
signal to the public that his business would carry on despite this family
upheaval, William Reid senior placed the following advertisement in the local
newspaper in mid-May 1802. “William Reid
gardener and nurseryman Gilcomston near Aberdeen begs to leave to intimate to
his friends and the public that he continues to sell all sorts of seeds and
nursery as formerly and has on hand a large quantity of red and field turnip
seed at 8d per lb, also fine yellow turnip all which can be depended upon. Red cabbage seed genuine and unmixed at 1s 6d
per lb. Commissions addressed to his
seed shop, Broadgate, will be carefully attended to.” However, William Reid senior only survived
for another two and a half years, before dying in December 1804, aged 77.
James A.
Reid (1776 – 1857) takes over his father’s firm in 1804
James Reid took
over the running of the seed and nursery business, with the Belville land at
Gilcomston and the shop in Broadgate, Aberdeen in 1804. He was 29 years old. A month after the demise of his father, in
January 1805 James placed the following announcement-cum-advertisement in the
Aberdeen Journal.
“James Reid
nurseryman and seedsman Gilcomston near Aberdeen (son and successor to the late
William Reid) begs leave to intimate to the friends and customers of his late
father and to the public in general that the business will be continued in the
same manner as formerly and that every attention will be paid to the execution
of such orders as he may be favoured with.
He has still
left on hand fit for this season’s planting out a few fine larches, two years
old, Scotch firs the same age, as well as oaks, beeches, birches, allars, elms,
Scotch and English silver and balm of Gilead firs, common spruce, white and
black American ditto, limes, planes, ashes, laburnums, poplars of sorts, holly,
hornbeam, thorn and sweet briar plants for hedges, with a variety of ornamental
trees, common and American shrubs, green house plants, also a good collection
of pear, apple, cherry and a few maiden peach trees, all of this country’s
produce, besides a general assortment of gooseberry and currant bushes.
His annual
supply of kitchen garden, flower seeds and flower roots are just come to hand
and have a fine appearance, particularly the different kinds of cabbage seeds,
which may be depended on as new and true to their kinds as they are all direct
from the Yorkshire growers. Has also a
proper assortment of garden tools, mats and every other article connected with
the above lines and not here mentioned.
Clover and
other grass seeds in their season.
NB. He is
exceedingly sorry that there should have been any cause of complaint on last
year’s Strasburgh onion seed, the badness of which as has since been discovered
was owing to the seed having been heated on the passage; but he will warrant
the present year’s to be of good quality and of crop 1804.
Orders may be
addressed to the seed shop, Broad Street.”
It was patently
James Reid’s intention to carry on in the mould created by his late parent,
with the same range of products and the same business practices. Wisely, he had immediately made a public
apology for the deficiencies of the onion seed sold by the firm in 1804. A further, similar advertisement to the
January 1805 example given above, followed in February 1806. This indicated that his father’s customers
were, indeed, being supportive. “JR has
to acknowledge with much gratitude the encouragement he has met with both in
the seed and nursery lines from his friends and the customers of his late
father since his commencement in business and hopes that they and the public in
general will believe that no exertion will be wanting on his part to merit
their approbation.” There is no doubt
that James Reid’s new position was a prestigious one. Not only was the business successful but,
after half a century of cultivation of the nursery ground at Gilcomston, the
environment had become recognised as one of the finest in the area. In 1809 two houses were advertised for sale
at Rose-hill (present-day Rosemount) and their proximity to the gardening
operations of James Reid was used in their promotion. “The houses are well finished and in good
repair and the largest one fit to accommodate a genteel family. The garden contains almost an acre of ground
properly inclosed with stone and brick walls and stocked with fruit trees and
berry bushes and being now situated in the middle of Mr Reid’s nursery ground a
pleasanter situation is not in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen.”
Despite the
tragic death of his brother, which had threatened to ensnare his liberty, James
was clearly ambitious to continue the success of the Reid seed and nursery
business and a change in the location of the Reid shop was soon
accomplished. The original shop was in
Broadgate (later called Broad Street) but by 1806 a minor relocation to nearby
Upper Kirkgate had been made, followed by a further move in October 1807 to
“that shop in Gallowgate opposite Littlejohn Street lately possessed by Mr
James Simpson jun. haberdasher.” The
reason for the moves is unclear but may have been to achieve more retail space.
An early
partnership?
Once he took
charge of the nursery and seed business, James Reid started to refer to himself
as “James Reid junior”, usually followed by “Nurseryman and Seedsman”, which
was curious since his father’s name was not James. In 1816, while James Reid had a shop in Queen
Street, a firm of nurserymen called Adams and Reid also occupied premises in
the same road. No direct evidence has
been found linking Adams and Reid to James Reid, though the wording of the
Adams and Reid advertisement in the Aberdeen Journal did bear a strong
resemblance to similar advertisements which emanated from James Reid. Subsequent to 1816, “James Reid Nurseryman
and Seedsman” continued in Queen Street.
Presently, it is an open question whether James Reid briefly went into
partnership with someone by the name of Adams about 1816. From 1826 James’ appellation changed to
“James Reid & Co”, which corresponded with him certainly taking a partner,
George Reid, into the firm (see below).
James Reid’s
life away from the business
Whereas his
father was a Freemason, James appeared to have been a member of Old Adam’s
Operative Gardener Lodge of Aberdeen.
Gardeners, like stonemasons, began to organise themselves in the 17th
century for the promotion and regulation of the gardening profession. In time they took on the role more of Friendly
Societies, providing for members who had retired, or fallen on hard times. The Gardeners were organised in lodges and
were associated with extensive ritual, similar in many ways to the
Freemasons. Each year they allocated
their members to various official roles within the lodge. In 1808, a James Reid was appointed as a
Steward. However, the members did not
lose sight of their profession and held competitions for best flowers, fruit,
etc, at their annual meetings. As with
the Freemasons, “free” gardeners (ie non-practising) could join most lodges. James Reid’s membership of Old Adam’s Operative
Gardener Lodge of Aberdeen appeared to continue for several years, though
confusion was created by the contemporary existence of another James Reid, also
a nurseryman, whose nursery ground was located at Springbank and who had a shop
in The Green.
James Reid’s
1809 offer
The extent of
the business offer from James Reid’s garden and nursery was well summarised in
an advertisement placed in the Aberdeen Journal in March 1809, the time of the
year when gardeners and farmers were gearing up for the planting season. As was typical of the times, the wording of
the entry was both unctuous and convoluted.
“James Reid jr
nurseryman and seedsman most respectfully returns his grateful thanks to his
friends and those who have had the goodness to favour him with their
countenance in the way of his business.
He trusts he shall continue to receive from them his wonted share of
their patronage and begs leave to inform them of having received his stock of
kitchen garden and flower seeds &c which will be found on trial of very
superior qualities since they have been procured from the most respectable
growers and collected with the utmost care.
Of them he would much recommend his early cabbage (the finest sort in
the kingdom) a new large broccoli and a new early turnip as well worthy the
attention of the public. He has always
on hand a proper assortment of garden tools and will soon have a full supply of
clover and other agricultural seeds in particular an improved breed of the
globe turnip. His stock of nursery is
mostly sold off but still has a considerable quantity of transplanted trees in
the most healthy condition, such as ashes, elms, oaks, planes, spruces, Scotch
firs and beeches, a good collection of greenhouse plants, flowering shrubs,
fruit trees, gooseberry and currant bushes, all of which will be sold on the
most moderate terms. Also, of the early
potatoes which he introduced about two years ago and which now meet with such
general approbation. Please to observe
that his seed shop is in the Gallowgate opposite Littlejohn Street.”
The
development of Union Street, Aberdeen
At the start of
the 19th century a major plan for the redevelopment of the centre of
Aberdeen was created. The medieval town
had followed the undulating contours of the land including, the banks of a
small river, the Denburn, which flowed east from Rubislaw Den, through Gilcomston
and then south across the middle of what is now the city centre, before
discharging into the River Dee. The plan
involved the creation of a major road running east – west essentially on one
level which allowed easy flow of traffic into and through Aberdeen from all
directions. This road was named “Union
Street”, eventually grew to a mile in length and became bounded by many
prestigious granite buildings. The
crowns of Scotland and England had been united in 1803 and the parliaments of
the two countries in 1807, but the new road was actually named after the 1801
Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland, which created the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
One of the most important structural works in the creation of Union
Street on one level was the building of Union Bridge over the Den Burn between
1801 and 1805. A consequence of the new
layout was that the centre of retail and commercial activities moved from the
Broad Street – Gallowgate – Upper Kirkgate area, where the first shops of
William, then James, Reid were located, to Union Street, especially between
Castle Street and Union Bridge. By 1814,
James Reid had made two further shop moves, from Gallowgate to Queen Street,
which runs east from Broad Street and then to 66 Broad Street, before making
the inevitable relocation to Union Street about 1827.
John Smith was
appointed city architect in Aberdeen in 1807 and, in parallel with competing
architect Archibald Simpson, he was responsible for many of the prominent
granite buildings which came to line Union Street. Smith also created an accurate plan of
Aberdeen, published in 1810, which included the significant streets and roads joining
Union Street. The plan also included
Gilcomston, where the area previously labelled “Mr Reid’s Nursery” was now
identified as “Belville Nursery”. The
second, larger inclosure occupied by the Reids was simply labelled “Nursery
Ground”.
Turnips and
winter feeding of cattle
By 1811, the significance
that turnips and other imported crops had assumed in beef production in the
North East was evident in the seeds offered by James Reid. “Has on hand a good stock of globe, yellow,
white and green round turnip seeds for field sowing and will soon have a large
supply of clovers and other agricultural seeds in particular of Pacey’s rye
grass which has given in the South such general satisfaction as an early grass
and which he would therefore much recommend to the attention of the
public.” At that time, James also seems
to have been building a network of agents across the region. “Good encouragement will be given to country
dealers.”
Quickthorn
One of the
claims made in the Scottish Field article, quoted above, about the origins of “Ben
Reid” was that early on he provided quickthorne (hawthorne) for farmers to
defend inclosures with cattle-proof hedges.
Hawthornes were advertised in 1760, 1761, 1762, 1763, 1764, 1765, 1767
and 1782 by William Reid and in 1805, 1814, 1816, 1827, 1833 and 1845 by his
son, James. Subsequently, hawthorns
became much less important due to the development of fencing systems to corral,
or exclude, cattle and other stock. In
due course (see below) the firm of Ben Reid & Co would become a major
manufacturer of fencing systems.
The growing
status of James Reid and his business
After taking
over from his father in 1805 at the age of 28, James Reid had a long period of
confident business, featuring regular communication with clients through
substantial advertisements in the local press.
Occasionally, these communications hinted at his growing expertise,
widening product range and pre-eminence in the horticultural world.
1816. “… he has
now on hand a very choice and extensive stock of kitchen garden and flower
seeds including all the new and useful varieties adapted to this climate. These articles have all been procured through
the growers themselves and may be depended on as superior in quality to common
market seeds which his customers have now become very sensible of.
1821. “Also
fruit trees trained and untrained …”
1823. “His
stock of nursery is well known to be of the largest scale …”
1826.
“Gentlemen supplied with experienced gardeners, foresters and overseers.”
Also, in “Vide,
London’s Encyclopaedia of Gardening (5th ed published 1827)”, the
business was described as follows. “The
Aberdeen nursery Messrs Reid an old and respectable establishment chiefly
devoted to the culture of forest trees and especially the seedlings of Scotch
Pine, Larch, Fir and Thorns”.
James A.
Reid (1776 – 1857) forms James Reid & Co in 1826 by admitting Benjamin Reid
to a partnership
In October
1826, when he was 50 years old and perhaps feeling the need for additional help
in managing the business, James Reid made the following announcement in the
Aberdeen Journal. “James Reid jr Nursery
and Seedsman begs leave respectfully to intimate to his customers and the
public in general that he has admitted as a partner in said business Mr
Benjamin Reid, late gardener at Dunnottar and that the business will in future
be carried on in all its branches under the firm of James Reid & Co.”
Was Benjamin
Reid a relative? James Reid did not say,
though when he took over from his father, he had paraded his family connection
in the press. A genealogical search of
the lines leading back from James Reid and Benjamin Reid has failed so far to
find a common ancestor, but it cannot be excluded, due to the patchy nature of
the surviving records, that a family connection, even a close connection,
existed. Benjamin Reid was born in 1791,
the son of a farmer, Robert Reid and was about 35 when he joined James Reid in
partnership. “Late gardener at
Dunnottar” implies that his previous employer was Lord Kennedy, who had married
the wealthy Eleanor Allardyce of the Dunnottar House estate. The house was built in 1786 for Alexander
Allardyce, the father of Eleanor. He was
a slave owner and possibly a slave trader who had made a fortune in
Jamaica. He spent lavishly on the
gardens at Dunnottar House, including a large walled garden. The house was demolished in 1959 but the
walled garden survives. It must have
been a prestigious position working at Dunnottar House. This was likely the workplace, until 1826, of the
“Ben. Reid”, who would subsequently be immortalised in the annals of North East
horticulture.
In the 1827 –
1828 edition of the Scottish Post Office Directory, both James Reid and
Benjamin Reid appeared, the former living at Belville, Gilcomston and the
latter at Rhind’s Court, 64 Gallowgate, Aberdeen, perhaps suggesting that James
managed the nursery while Ben looked after the shop. As usual, in early 1827 an advertisement in
the Aberdeen Journal detailed the firm’s offer for the coming season. “… onion, leek, cabbage, pease and carrot
seeds &c will be found particularly fine.
They (customers) may also notice that it is of the most general
description including all the new varieties of culinary vegetables and above
forty new and beautiful ornamental flower seeds which never have been sold in
this quarter before. They have also got
to hand a first supply of clover seeds, likewise Pacey, Devonshire and common
rye grass, spring tares, mangel wurzel, turnip and lintseeds and every article
connected with the seed business.” Was
Ben Reid responsible for the inclusion of “new varieties of culinary vegetables
and above forty new and beautiful ornamental flower seeds which never have been
sold in this quarter before”? It would
have been consistent with his recent experience at Dunnottar, with its large
walled garden and wealthy owner.
The year 1827
saw the first move, on 4th June, of the James Reid & Co shop to
33 Union Street, an outlet previously occupied by a grocer. Further innovations which marked the first
year of partnership with Ben Reid were “all new and curious varieties” of
turnip seeds, “scythes, scythe stones, sneads” (scythe shafts), “handsomely
wall-trained shrubs”, “Ribston and Golden Poppins and Nonpareil Apples and a
few pears”. The following year, 1828,
saw the shop stock expand even further to include … “all the new varieties (of
flower seed) which have lately been introduced from France and Germany”,
“oil cake and all sorts of horticultural and agricultural implements connected
with the seed business”. Although it
cannot be claimed with certainty that Ben Reid had been responsible for these
innovations, the company did seem to be proceeding with renewed vigour.
Business
philosophy
The
advertisements placed in 1827 also set out clearly the business philosophy of
the new partnership between James Reid and Ben Reid. “They beg also particularly to say that they
are resolved to do business on the most liberal principles, therefore every
article will be sold on the lowest terms possible but at the same time they do
not profess to be cheap dealers, since that can only be done by either selling
old seeds or a spurious article and it is to be lamented that this may be too
easily done without detection.”
Further. “Their nursery now
having been established for more than 60 years (ie before 1867) and one
of the oldest in Scotland, they hope the quality of their articles and extent
of their dealings are better known, not only in this neighbourhood but
generally over the kingdom, than any boast by a newspaper advertisement could
possibly do – a mode of setting off their ware to which they have hitherto had
little occasion to resort. They pledge
themselves however that no one shall sell a good article at a cheaper
rate.” Quality, value for money and
straight-dealing were their professed governing principles.
Employment
agency expands
In 1826, the
firm had advertised its willingness to act as a sort of
agricultural/horticultural employment agency and in the following years this
activity was increasingly prevalent, as measured by positions both wanted and offered,
in the local press. Typical examples of
the two types of enquiry follow from 1828 and 1832 respectively. “Farm overseer. Wants a situation at Whitsunday first as Farm
Overseer a married man who can be well recommended as to abilities and character
by his present master and who only parts with him on account of having no
further use for him.” “Wanted. A gardener who understands the cultivation of
grapes, peaches and melons and who has some knowledge of plants and flowers.” Responses to these advertisements were
handled by James Reid & Co via its shop in Union Street.
Occasionally,
advertisements for property were placed on behalf of others by James Reid &
Co, so it occasionally acted as an estate agent too. The following example appeared in 1828. “Large new building in Market Square,
Stonehaven belonging to Mr Talkes is for sale.
For particulars apply to James Burness writer Stonehaven or to Mr
Benjamin Reid, Seedsman, Union Street, Aberdeen. Presumably, Ben Reid was handling responses
in this case because he was familiar with Stonehaven, having worked at Dunnottar.
Location of
homes and business premises
By 1829,
Benjamin Reid had moved his home from 64 Gallowgate to 8 Chapel Street, off the
western end of the developing Union Street.
Further moves soon followed, presumably due to his accommodation being
rented. In 1831 Ben moved to 10 Chapel
Street and in 1832 to 35 Chapel Street, where he remained for the next ten
years. The year 1843 saw Benjamin living
at 43 Chapel Street, the following year he moved a short distance to number 49
in the same street and he remained there until 1846. James Reid’s home was at Belville, Gilcomston
throughout this period. The James Reid
& Co shop, having moved to 33 Union Street in 1827, was moved again, in
1829, to 42 Union Street and remained at that location until 1838. The following year the firm was ensconced at
60 Union Street, which remained its retail outlet until 1846.
Further
innovation in the seeds and nursery business
Throughout the
period to 1843, the nursery and seed business of the two Reid partners
continued to thrive. It did not stand
still with its product offer but regularly tried new product lines. In 1833 the firm introduced “Haneau and Mugho
Pines two varieties of the Scots pine (often called “fir” in those days)
which deserve extensive cultivation since they afford a superior quality of
timber” and the following year James Reid & Co became agent for “Messrs
Cormack, Son & Sinclair seedsmen London for the sale of their well-known
combinations of grass seeds for permanent pastures and lawns. These combinations or mixtures are made up of
different varieties of grass seeds early and late so as to suit every
description of soil and climate and to yield a regular supply of rich and
vigorous pasture throughout the whole season and as they have already been sown
on more than 10,000 acres of land in different parts of the kingdom with the
greatest success they feel no difficulty in recommending them to the public in
general with the greatest confidence.”
By 1843 the Reids had added “Florists” to their description of the
business and were offering, “forest, fruit and ornamental trees, flowering and
evergreen shrubs, dwarf and standard roses, dahlias, carnations”. Additionally, they stocked “above 500 sorts”
of flower seeds.
Family of
James Reid
In October
1814, James Reid had married Wilhelmina Jane Duncan and between 1816 and 1825
the couple produced seven known children, including four boys, in birth order,
William, James, Thomas Robert and William Duncan. In 1841 William Duncan was a student of
medicine and is known, later, to have become a surgeon in Aberdeen, James
junior became a seedsman but the fate of the other two sons has not been
discovered. Perhaps they died
prematurely as they were not found in the 1841 or 1851 censuses? In 1843 James junior was admitted as a member
of the newly formed Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine Agricultural Society. The following year he had an entry in the
Post Office Directory for Aberdeen which identified his home address as
Belville, Gilcomston. It is likely that
he was working for James Reid & Co.
The
partnership between James Reid and Ben Reid is dissolved
In 1842. Ben
Reid’s business affiliation in the Scottish Post Office Directory for Aberdeen
was still given as James Reid & Co but, by early in the following year, Benjamin
Reid had left his partnership in James Reid & Co to establish his own firm
of nurserymen and seedsmen, Benjamin Reid & Co. The firm’s nursery was located at Albyn
Place, he acquired a shop at 104 Union Street and his home was at 49 Chapel
Street, not far distant from either business site. The reason for Ben’s departure can only be speculated
upon. Presumably, he had disagreed with
James Reid over some aspect of the business.
Could there have been a difference of opinion concerning succession
(James Reid was then 66)? His son, James
junior, was an employee by that time and may have been James’ choice as his successor
in the business. If so, it would be
understandable if the ambitious Ben Reid had chosen to strike out on his own. The firm of James Reid & Co continued in
existence after Ben Reid’s departure and as a competitor to his horticultural
fledgeling.
Succession
at James Reid & Co
James Reid
& Co continued as before for a short while.
In February 1843, the firm put out its usual newspaper advertisement in
preparation for the coming season and the style and content of this
notification closely resembled those of recent years. The same pattern was repeated at the start of
the following year, 1844. However, if
James Reid senior had planned for James junior to succeed him, those plans were
dashed in the autumn of 1844, when his son James expired at the family home, Belville,
at the tragically early age of 25.
James Reid
senior had already taken another seedman and nurseryman, William Smith, into
the management of the firm in 1842. He
was the son of a gardener, William senior and had been gardener at Grandholme, a
major woollen mill site on the north bank of the River Don, for several years,
though nothing has been uncovered concerning his employer. William Smith, as will be found in what
follows, was to play a major role in the development of the seeds and nursery
industry of Aberdeen, with reverberations which extend down to the present day.
In 1843, 1844
and 1845, the James Reid’s business seemed to continue much as it had done for some
years past. However, in November of 1845
he indicated his partial retirement (he was 69) from business in a notice
placed in the Aberdeen Journal. “Nursery
and Seeds. The subscriber begs leave
respectfully to intimate to his customers and to the public in general that in
future he means to confine himself to the nursery department of his business
which he has so long carried on and for some years past under the firm of
“James Reid & Co” and that he has disposed of the stock-in-trade and good-will
of the seed department to Mr William Smith who has for the last three years
been connected with its management and to whom he begs leave to recommend the
customers. The accounts due to the
company will, for a short period be collected by Mr Smith at the shop No 60
Union Street as formerly to which he requests particular notice will be
paid. He also begs leave particularly to
intimate that he intends continuing the nursery department with renewed energy
and that as usual he has a large stock consisting of forest trees at all ages
(including strong thorns) fruit and ornamental trees flowering and evergreen
shrubs in the greatest perfection gooseberry and currant bushes in a bearing
state and all the articles connected with other business which he is determined
to sell on the most moderate terms possible.
His customers will please to be particular in the address namely James
Reid nurseryman Aberdeen. JA Reid
Belleville Aberdeen Nov 19 1845.”
The firm of
James Reid & Co had run its course and the seed shop at 60 Union Street was
offered for let from Whitsunday 1846.
James Reid continued to be listed in the Aberdeen business directories
for another 11 years simply as a “nurseryman”.
At the time of the census in 1851 James Reid was employing one man and
three boys at the Gilcomston site. In
his semi-retirement, James took a little interest in matters other than the
growing of horticultural stock, such as issues of civic concern and charitable
causes. In 1847 he donated to the
Highland Destitution Fund, which was a response to the devastation caused by the
potato blight. The same year he was a
member of the Election Committee of Captain Dingwall Fordyce, the Whig
candidate for Aberdeen at the General Election.
James Reid died of a diseased heart at “Belville, Leadside”, Aberdeen on
28 July 1857 and was buried in the St Nicholas churchyard adjacent to Union
Street. He was 81 years old. His business of growing and selling
horticultural products had been his consuming passion and he never sought civic
prominence during his long life.
What
happened to the Gilcomston nurseries?
At the time of
the First Statistical Account of Scotland, relating to the mid-1790s,
Gilcomston was reported to have a population of 2,234. By 1841 and the publication of the Second
Statistical Account, the population had almost doubled. The area was progressively being built up and
the village’s separation from the town of Aberdeen was steadily being eroded. An advertisement in the Aberdeen Journal in
October 1845 illustrated this evolution well.
“Property at Gilcomston for sale.
Upon Friday the 10th day of October next there will be
exposed for sale by public roup within the office of Alex and John Webster
Advocates at 2 o’clock afternoon that large piece of ground at Short Loanings
belonging to John Walker, wright, measuring about 1/8th part of an
acre and bounded on the east by Mr Reid’s nursery-ground. Upon the west and fronting the street is a
substantial dwelling house and at the back are weaving shops containing 32
loom-stances.”
Two years
later, further land sales at Gilcomston by Mr James Ferrar, a proprietor,
included some nursery ground, which may have been part of the land under James
Reid’s occupation. “Ground for
sale. That piece of ground lying along
Leadside of Gilcomston containing about ½ acre – well stocked with fruit-trees,
gooseberry-bushes and flower-roots in great variety – and is enclosed with
stone walls. It is bounded by ground in
the possession of Mr James Reid and by houses built on the property.” (The Leadside was a road parallel to a
channel passing through Gilcomston, taking water from the Denburn to provide a domestic
supply to Aberdeen.)
Reference to
the Settlement and Codicils of James Reid, who died in 1857, reveals that at
some stage he had bought two tracts of land at Gilcomston on which his nursery
activities were located. The more
northerly area contained 13 ½ acres. The
acreage of the second area, Belville, was not recorded but is thought to have
been about five acres. Most of James
Reid’s assets were left to his known surviving son, the surgeon William Duncan
Reid, who was also one of the trustees of the estate. It is presumed that the trustees
progressively sold off the Gilcomston land for development, as Smith &
Cardno (see below) had their nursery elsewhere.
A plan of Aberdeen published in 1871 showed that both nursery areas had
by this date been developed to some extent, with a variety of new buildings,
including the Bellville Hospital, and roads.
William
Smith and George Cardno enter partnership as Smith and Cardno in 1845
In a notice
following James Reid’s announcement on 19 November 1845, William Smith made his
future intentions clear to the Aberdeen public.
“In reference to the above the subscriber begs to return his sincere
thanks to those friends who so liberally supported the late firm and to
intimate that he has assumed as partner Mr George Cardno gardener, Cornhill
with whom he intends to carry on the seed and florist business in all its
branches under the firm of Smith & Cardno.
The new firm most respectfully solicits the support of their friends and
the public. William Smith, Aberdeen,
November 19 1845.
George Cardno
had been a gardener at “Cornhill” since at least 1834. “Cornhill” is presumed to refer to the Royal
Cornhill Hospital which was opened in 1800 as the Aberdeen Lunatic Asylum and
had extensive grounds. In 1843, George
Cardno’s home address was “Cornhill Lodge”.
The new partnership advertised itself as “seedsmen, nurserymen and
florists”, with a shop initially at 60 Union Street, the former shop of James
Reid & Co. Smith & Cardno’s
business offer in that year, advertised in the Aberdeen Journal, was “Beg leave
to return their sincere thanks to their friends for their very liberal support
since they succeeded the late firm of James Reid & Co. They have laid in a carefully selected stock
of agricultural seeds for the season, namely clovers of the very best quality
Scotch and English rye grasses of the heaviest description and saved from first
and second year’s crop, tares &c to all of which they respectfully invite
the inspection of their agricultural friends and the public.” Smith & Cardno quickly became a direct
competitor of Ben Reid & Co and the two firms copied each other’s activities. From 1846, both sought to benefit from the
growing popularity of horticultural societies springing up in the North East.
Each would regularly donate prizes, either of money or an in-kind benefit for
various horticultural categories of vegetables, fruits and flowers. The principals of the firms also stood as
judges at these exhibitions. A listing
of the show locations in the period 1846 – 1853, when the Smith and Cardno
partnership was dissolved, gives a good indication of the geographical region
over which they sought to compete.
Smith &
Cardno – Upper Banchory;
Strathbogie; Inverurie; Aberdeenshire Horticultural Society; Stoneywood,
Aberdeen; Fintray; Vale of Alford; Meldrum; Ellon; Turriff.
Ben Reid
& Co -
Aberdeenshire Banff Kincardine and East Forfarshire Agricultural Society; Upper
Banchory; Aberdeenshire Horticultural Society; Inverurie; Ellon Horticultural
Society (where Dr James Reid, later Physician to Queen Victoria, was an active
member); Vale of Alford; Turriff; Strathbogie; Stoneywood, Aberdeen.
There was an
almost exact coincidence between the exhibitions covered by the two firms,
proof if any were needed, that they saw each other as direct competitors.
Smith &
Cardno retained their shop at 60 Union Street until June 1846 when they moved
to 15 Market Street, where they remained until 1851. After that time, they returned to Union
Street (no. 76). This remained their
retail outlet until the demise of the partnership in 1853. The termination was announced through a
notice in the press in November. “The
partnership hitherto subsisting between William Smith and George Cardno under
the firm of Smith and Cardno, nurserymen and seedsmen, Aberdeen, was dissolved
on 1st inst by mutual consent.”
The partnership had subsisted for eight years, but no reason for the two
men going their separate ways has so far been discovered.
William
Smith / William Smith & Son (1853 – present)
At this point a
significant digression will be made from Ben Reid and his successors to deal
with William Smith and the seeds and nursery business to which he indelibly
attached his name.
William
Smith
After the
split, William Smith, George Cardo’s erstwhile partner, continued to be listed
in the Post Office Directory for Aberdeen as a Seedsman, with a shop at 53 St
Nicholas Street. In 1854 he made a
direct appeal to the former customers of Smith & Cardno to inspect the
seeds he had on offer. This business,
which appeared to be a sole partnership, continued under William’s name until
1863. Initially, the firm was described
as “Seedsman and General Merchant”.
William Smith
married for the first time in 1823. His
wife was Elizabeth Brown and together they produced a family of five, though
Elizabeth seems to have died about 1834, or soon afterwards. The eldest child, Farquharson, was born a
year after the wedding. About 1853,
Farquharson Smith, who had trained as a seedsman and nurseryman, presumably
with his father, emigrated to Australia.
In March 1855 he wrote two long letters to the editor of “The Age” a
leading Melbourne newspaper, mainly on the cultivation of vegetables in the
colony and the same month he entered a partnership with William Adamson selling
seeds though a shop at 63 Collins Street in the capital of Victoria. This
partnership subsisted until October 1862.
In 1856 Farquharson imported four cases of seeds from the UK via the “Marco
Polo”, then one of the fastest clipper ships afloat.
William
Smith & Son
During January 1863,
Farquharson and his family sold their household goods in Melbourne and then returned
to Aberdeenshire and the Smith family business, possibly because his father was
approaching retirement age. Farquharson
Smith became a partner in his father’s business by 1865 and the firm was then
renamed “William Smith & Son”, with the tag line “Nurserymen and Seedsmen”. The two Smiths could not have guessed at that
juncture that the name would endure for at least another 155 years. Although
this firm’s business offer seemed little different from its competitors, it did
appear to specialise in turnip seeds, some of which they had selected and bred
themselves. In 1867, turnip seeds sourced “by saving them carefully from picked
bulbs” were offered. The firm’s 1871
offer was even more interesting.
“William Smith & Son 35 Market Street offer the following as the
finest varieties of turnip seeds in cultivation for weight of crop, rich
feeding properties and successional supplies.
Smith’s improved extra-large purple-top Swede. Sheppard’s improved extra-large green-top
Swede. Smith’s improved extra-large
golden-yellow turnip. Aberdeen green-top
yellow bullock turnip. Fosterton hybrid
extra-large green top turnip. Smith’s
early orange jelly turnip.”
Death of
William Smith
It is thought
that William Smith hailed from Kintore, located about 11 miles north-west of
Aberdeen and by at least 1868 and possibly much earlier, the Smiths had a
nursery in this small Aberdeenshire town.
The following year, the firm’s Aberdeen shop was moved to “more
commodious” premises at 35 Market Street.
Sadly, William did not survive long to see progress in the new
location. In October 1869, William Smith
expired at his Kintore nursery at the age of 71 years. He had suffered a stroke about six weeks
previously and had been treated by William Pirrie the august professor of
surgery at Aberdeen’s Marischal College.
So, William Smith, or his family, could afford Pirrie’s fees! William’s testament and inventory tell much
more about the state of his firm, William Smith & Son and about the role
played by Farquharson Smith.
The trustees
and executors named in William’s will were his second wife, Mary Forbes and his
surviving children Farquharson, Elizabeth and Isabella. His personal estate did not amount to a large
sum, just over £646 (about £74,290 in 2020 money), including £450 owed by
Farquharson to acquiring his father’s share in the joint business. The assets were essentially divided between
the three women and William explained the reason for excluding his son. “As my son Farquharson has been fortunate in
saving a little money, I consider him less in need of my small amount than the
rest of my family, but I leave him my eight-day clock and I leave my watch to
his oldest boy William and in doing so wish to record my sense of my son’s
kindness to me.” The family had
obviously striven hard to establish the business, William’s daughters,
Elizabeth and Isabella, working in the nursery without wages. Farquharson Smith continued to trade under
the subsisting name of the firm, though as a single partner. He would soon prove that he was an astute
businessman.
William
Smith & Son expansion
By 1880,
business had expanded significantly, and another nursery was acquired at
Polmuir, then on the southern edge of Aberdeen.
It was retained until 1894 when it was lost to development. The Kintore nursery was in operation until
1898 when it too was consumed by its growing town. To replace the lost nursery grounds, a new,
large nursery was acquired from Cardno and Darling at Burnside on the north
western edge of the town and close to Cornhill House. The firm remained there until 1918. In 1915 this nursery extended “to over 60
acres, mostly devoted to seedling and transplanted forest trees, ornamental,
flowering and foliage trees and shrubs, herbaceous and other border plants,
fruit trees and bushes.” Young forest
trees occupied about 2/3 of the nursery’s area.
There were also 45,000 roses and a large collection of small palms and
ferns.” By 1906 a further nursery was bought
from Cardo and Darling at Silverhillock, at one time a small farm on Westburn
Road, close by Burnside. Smith & Son
had moved to their present nursery and garden centre site at Hazlehead by 1930. At the time it was said that it “can be
reached by tramway leaving Market Street every few minutes”.
The central
Aberdeen shop of William Smith & Son remained at 35 Market street until 1878. Shortly before that year the firm had bought
the Hadden Street – Market Street corner block (1 Hadden Street and 18 Market
Street). At some stage, a shop was also
opened in Forres, Moray. By 1888 Smiths
had also acquired 3 Hadden Street and by 1905 they had taken over 5 Hadden
Street. A further expansion at Hadden
Street had occurred by 1916, by the inclusion of number 7 in their estate. The business retained a presence at this site
until 1966 when all operations were moved to the Hazlehead site. When the move was made from the centre of
Aberdeen, Smith’s holding was 18 – 22 Market Street and 1 – 9 Hadden Street. The progressive acquisition of property
underlines the steady growth of this firm over many decades.
Death of
Farquharson Smith
Farquharson
Smith did not long outlive his father, dying at The Lodge, Kintore in the
summer of 1875 and, like his father, having been felled by a stroke at the
early age of 51. The inventory of his
personal estate amounted to just over £10,443 (about £1,190,502 in 2020 money) and
included an enormous list of debtors to the two shops in Aberdeen and Forres,
indicating the extent of the business which had been under Farquharson’s
control since 1869. He was also the
owner of several houses which were rented out. The personal wealth of Farquharson at death
was substantially higher than that bequeathed by William, his father. Of course, some of this wealth was possibly
derived from his decade in business in Australia, but any such monies must have
been sensibly invested on his return to Scotland.
The trustees
and executors of his estate, named by Farquharson Smith, were John Duguid
Milne, advocate, Aberdeen; Mrs Jessie Kynoch or Smith, Farquharson’s widow;
Alexander Brown, late shoemaker, Aberdeen; Charles Smith of the firm of Gordon
& Smith, Grocers, Aberdeen. The last
two named are thought to have been uncles.
The trustees took control of the business, but they needed help with its
management. Farquharson Smith had
indicated in his Deed of Settlement that if any member of family wanted to run
the business the trustees were empowered to facilitate such a change, even
though the purchasing party might not have means to pay for assets immediately. Payment by instalments would be acceptable. Apparently, no relative stepped forward to
offer themselves as the new owner of the firm, so the trustees appointed James
Morgan and Alexander Robson, both experienced seedsmen and nurserymen as new partners
with them in the firm. Who were the new
partners?
Alexander
Robson (1848 – 1931)
Alexander was
born at Grange near Keith, Banffshire into a farming family and by 1869, but
likely a few years earlier, he had moved to Aberdeen and been engaged by the
seedsmen and nurserymen Cardno and Darling (see below). Between 1869 and 1875 he was listed in the
Post Office Directory for Aberdeen as a seedsman with that firm, indicating he
had reached a significant position with his employers, George Cardno and Thomas
Darling. From 1876 his listing was with
William Smith & Son.
Alexander Robson
James Morgan
(1840 – 1896)
James Morgan
was born at Auchterless, Aberdeenshire, the son of a master blacksmith and part
time farmer. At some stage he moved to
Aberdeen, was recruited by William Smith and served as his principal assistant
for many years. By 1871 he had reached a
sufficiently elevated position within the firm to have his own entry in the
Post Office Directory for Aberdeen, when he was identified as a seedsman living
at 32 Belmont Street.
The
Alexander Robson – James Morgan Partnership ends
The managing
partnership of Alexander Robson and James Morgan at William Smith & Son did
not have great longevity. The last
mention of James with an affiliation to William Smith & Son was in 1878,
though the following year he had a further entry identifying him as a seedsman
but only with a home address of 25 Henry Street. James Morgan then disappeared from the
business scene in Aberdeen, only to reappear in 1893 as a seedsman running his
own shop in Paisley, Renfrewshire. James
Morgan died at a relatively young age, 55.
He had been suffering for some time from pyelitis (inflammation of the
renal pelvis caused by infection). After
his death, James Morgan’s business was merged with that of John MacFee,
operating out of the same premises, 3 Moss Street, Paisley.
William
Wyllie (1856 – 1932)
Another
important recruit to the firm of William Smith & Son was William Wyllie who
was born in 1856 into a farming family at Borrowfield near Stonehaven,
Kincardineshire. At the census of 1871
he was a 14-year-old apprentice seedsman, found staying in Aberdeen with his
brother-in-law, James Cooper, who lived at Prospect Terrace. His employer is not known with certainty but
is likely to have been William Smith & Son whose seeds shop was located at
35 Market Street at the time, not far from William’s lodgings. In the Press and Journal obituary of William,
published in 1931, it was claimed that he had been “a managing director” of
Smiths for 54 years, implying that the year of his elevation was 1872, but this
would seem to have been an unduly rapid elevation. He did not have his own entry in the Post
Office Directory for Aberdeen until1879, a more likely date for his accession
to a senior management role. That would
also fit neatly with the exit from the firm of James Morgan, leaving Alexander
Robson and William Wyllie in managerial control.
William Begg
(1834 – 1923)
William Begg
was another employee of William Smith & Son who made a major contribution
to the success of the firm. He was born
into a farming family in New Deer, Aberdeenshire in 1834. By the census of 1851 he had moved to the
county town and was working as a porter dealer’s porter. William Begg married Isabella Duncan in 1858,
though not before the couple had first produced a son, also William. Subsequently the family increased to six
boys, the last, George being born in 1869 at Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire.
Sometime in the
decade 1851 – 1861, William’s occupation changed to that of gardener and he
served at several prominent establishments, starting with Woodhill House,
Aberdeen and including Cullen House, Fasque Castle, Belhelvie Lodge (there in
1869) and Knockando House (he was there in 1861) before being appointed as the
manager of Cardno & Darling’s nurseries at Burnside and Silverhillock,
Westburn Road, Aberdeen about 1878.
Curiously, at the 1881 Census, William was living at Kintore and, since
William Smith & Son’s nursery was located in that town, it is likely that
William Begg was working for Smiths at the time. The Beggs’ second son, James Clark Duncan
Begg was also a nursery worker living in the parental home in 1881, probably
also a Smiths employee at Kintore. This
was confirmed in 1886, when he appeared in the Post Office Directory for
Aberdeen, apparently in charge of the new Polmuir nursery and remained there
for about three years before moving on.
In 1889 he was working in Elgin and in 1891 and 1901 his family was
located in Aberdeen but without a directory entry identifying his employer. About 1904, James Begg emigrated to Ontario,
Canada and continued his gardening career there, dying in 1930.
By 1893, the
Burnside and Silverhillock nurseries had been acquired by William Smith &
Son and William Begg was installed as manager.
However, William never had an entry in the Aberdeen Post Office
Directory while he was a Cardno & Darling employee, or after he joined
William Smith & Son, until 1896, when his entry identified him as
“Nurseryman (William Smith & Son) Burnside Nursery, Westburn Road.” He retained the same entry until at least
1912 and was still in employment in 1915 at the age of 81. The date of William Begg’s retirement from
his position at Burnside has not so far been uncovered, but he remained in
residence at Burnside Cottage for the rest of his life. He attained a remarkably long span, dying in
1923 in his 90th year. It was
said of him that he was Scotland’s oldest gardener and that he had supervised
the planting of more forest trees than any other nurseryman in Scotland.
W Smith
& Son (1875 – present)
Alexander
Robson and William Wyllie have been credited with the sound management and
development of William Smith and Son over the period between 1875 and about
1920, gaining both a national and an international reputation for the firm. Alexander had a special interest in grass
seed mixtures, publishing a pamphlet on the subject and was often a judge of
grasses at agricultural shows. He had three
sons in the business who joined after WW1.
Alexander did not retire until January1931, when he reached the age of
75, only three months before his death. His
personal estate was valued at £79,074 (about £5,203,069 in 2020 money).
William Wyllie
died aged 76 two years after his long-time business partner, in 1932. William rose from message boy to partner in a
distinguished career spent entirely with the same firm. His son too joined the firm after WW1 and his
grandson was subsequently managing director of the then limited company. William Smith & Son Co Ltd was bought by
another nursery company, Findlay Clark in 1984 but retained its name and still
thrives on the Hazlehead site to this day, 147 years after the partnership
between William Smith and George Cardno was dissolved.
Cardno &
Darling (1854 - 1904)
George Cardno
immediately formed a new partnership, with Thomas Darling, when his association
with William Smith had terminated in 1853.
Both Cardno and Darling were professional gardeners and had been members
of the Aberdeenshire Horticultural Society for many years. Their business offer was close to that of the
progenitor firm from which the partnership sprang – they called themselves
“Seedsmen Nurserymen and Florists - and they retained the Smith & Cardno
shop at 76 Union Street, with a nursery at Westfield (north west of Aberdeen
Grammar School), where George Cardno occupied a cottage. Cardno & Darling also competed directly
with Ben Reid & Co.
George Cardno’s
new firm was very active at the summer horticultural shows but the amateur
retail market was not where the greatest profits could be made. In the 1860s Cardo and Darling copied Ben
Reid & Co (see below) in starting to deal in agricultural machinery but,
unlike Ben Reid, it appeared only to have acted as an agent for manufacturers
elsewhere and did not develop a design and construction capability of its
own. George Cardno died of influenza in
1873, but the firm bearing his name continued in existence. Its business
remained essentially that of seedsmen and nurserymen. Thomas Darling died in 1896 and was succeeded
by his son David C Darling who continued to manage the firm until 1911 when it
is thought he emigrated to Canada.
Benjamin
Reid (1791 – 1872) founds Ben Reid & Co in 1842
Ben had been
born in 1791 at Forbes, Aberdeenshire.
He was baptised at Tullynessle and Forbes, near Alford. Ben Reid’s father was Robert Reid, a farmer
and Benjamin had at least two brothers and two sisters, but little else is
currently known about his family origins.
Notably, as pointed out above, it is unclear if he was related to James
Reid, with whom he had been in partnership.
In 1856 Benjamin Reid attended a meeting of MA graduates of Kings
College, Aberdeen, so it is presumed that part of his education took place
there. Prior to university, it is possible
that Ben also attended Aberdeen Grammar School, since in 1861 he donated 5gns
to the fund for the rebuilding and reorganisation of that school. At the time that he branched out in business
on his own account, Ben was about 52 years old.
The name “Ben Reid & Co” hints that there may have been another
partner in the firm from its foundation, but no evidence has been discovered for
such a person in the period 1842 – 1850.
More likely, Ben Reid was the sole partner at the firm’s inception.
Throughout its
19th century history, the name of the firm founded by Ben Reid was
represented in a number of forms, “Benjamin Reid & Co”, “Benj. Reid &
Co”, “Ben. Reid & Co”, “Ben Reid & Co”, “B. Reid & Co” and B
R & Co, in a haphazard fashion. It
does not appear that much significance can be attributed to these variants,
other than that they sometimes seemed to have been selected to fit a limited
publishing space. “Ben Reid & Co” is
the version used here, unless the name appears in a direct quotation.
Ben Reid’s new enterprise
took little time to announce its presence to the Aberdeen and district public. Perhaps this was not surprising, since its
principal had accumulated great experience of the trade. The firm had secured a shop, no. 104, in the
middle of Union Street and a nursery at Albyn Place, less than a mile distant. In early 1843, the firm announced its offer
for the coming planting season in the local newspaper.
“Benjamin Reid
& Co beg respectfully to intimate to their friends and the public in
general that they have now got to hand a full assortment of kitchen garden and
flower seeds, selected with great care from the best places of growth and being
ripened in the favourable season of 1842 are generally of fine quality.
Several sorts
of onion, early scarlet and short-horn carrot and other seeds they have
imported from Holland and have got seeds of a number of new and valuable
varieties of vegetables. Their stock of
flower seeds is extensive, comprehending the new varieties of imported German
stocks and asters and many new and rare varieties of flower seeds worthy the
attention of the florist.
They have got
to hand a first supply of Dutch red and white clover and will soon have a full
supply of English with cow-grass, English Pacey’s and Scotch Rye-grass, natural
grasses, tares and other agricultural seeds in their season.
BR & Co
cannot omit this opportunity of expressing their most grateful acknowledgements
for the very liberal support they have experienced since they commenced
business and trust that by strict personal attention and their determination to
keep a carefully selected stock of the best seeds &c, they will merit a
continuation of public patronage.
104 Union
Street Aberdeen 8th February 1843.”
This business
offer was essentially a continuation of the range of horticultural and
agricultural seeds and plants previously proffered by James Reid & Co, as
might be expected from the former partnership between the two Reids. James Reid & Co published its (very
similar) new season offer in the same edition of the Aberdeen Journal.
George Reid
(1826 – 1881) joins Ben Reid in partnership
George Reid
junior was the son of Ben’s brother, George, the schoolmaster at Tornaveen
School, Kincardine O’Neil, Aberdeenshire for several decades. George junior was born in 1826 and his first
job after completing his education was as an apprentice grocer in
Aberdeen. In 1845, two years after
founding his firm, uncle Ben Reid offered George junior the position of shopman
in Ben Reid & Co’s outlet at 94 Union Street. The post was accepted and for six years,
until 1851 (according to the Aberdeen Journal obituary) George worked both hard
and successfully and was rewarded with an invitation to become a partner in Ben
Reid & Co. The 1850 edition of the
Post Office Directory for Aberdeen was the first in which George Reid junior
was listed, “George Reid (B Reid & Co) home 11 Bon-Accord Street”,
indicating that he had reached a significant position in the firm by that
year.
In the period
1843 to 1865, that is, between the firm of Ben Reid & Co being founded and
Ben Reid’s retirement, the principal initially lived at 49 Chapel Street but,
by 1848, he had relocated to 24 Union Place, which gave way to 19 Albyn Place
in 1852 and 31 Albyn Place in 1858. All
these homes were grouped in the area at the western end of Union Street. This was also the area where the nursery
activities of the firm took place. The
address of Ben Reid & Co’s first nursery was also Albyn Place, though
reference to an 1871 plan of Aberdeen shows it to have been located behind the
houses, then recently built, on the south side of that thoroughfare and bounded
on its western side by St Swithin Street.
This nursery was retained throughout the period of Ben Reid’s
partnership in Ben Reid & Co. A
second nursery was acquired by 1851 at Union Vale. Although the exact location of this facility has
not been pinned down it is thought to have been in the same general area as the
Albyn Place facility. It too was
retained until 1865. The Ben Reid &
Co shop was located at 104 Union Street in 1844, 94 Union Street in 1847 and
132 Union Street in 1855. This last
location was on the corner of Union Street and Belmont Street, which was close
to Union Bridge. From 1856, 2 Belmont
Street was joined to this address, but it is not clear if this was part of the
same accommodation or an expansion of Ben Reid & Co’s premises around the
corner into Belmont Street.
Two marketing
activities, the involvement with local horticultural societies and the
advertising of the firm’s regular offers and product innovations, continued the
trend set by James Reid & Co, though both presentation types now appeared
to be more frequent than in former times. Involvement with summer horticultural shows
could proceed by donating prizes, acting as judges or entering products in
professional categories. Show attendance
by Ben Reid & Co was usually in penny numbers each year but in the period
between 1853 and 1856, when competition with Cardno and Darling was at its
fiercest, the firm attended an average of almost ten exhibitions per summer
season. The shows around Aberdeenshire
covered by Ben Reid & Co and other seedsmen/nurserymen, were very similar
to those established by James Reid and the outer limit seems to have been set
by the distance of the return journey that could be accomplished in one day,
consistent with fulfilling the duties to be undertaken. One innovation introduced by George Reid at
the Royal Northern Agricultural Society Annual Meeting in 1861 was to offer a
prize for the best specimens of turnip displayed along with the seeds from
which the roots were grown. This was a
practice borrowed from England.
Advertisements
in the Aberdeen Journal increased in frequency, not just dealing with seeds
early in each year, flower roots in early spring and bulbs in the autumn but
also covering new introductions, whenever they occurred. Peruvian, or skinless, barley (now called
hulless barley) was such an innovation, first offered by Ben Reid & Co in
1852. The advantageous properties of
this grain were enumerated in February 1853.
“Peruvian or skinless bere. To
agriculturalists and maltsters. The
Honourable the Commissioners of Inland Revenue having granted permission to manufacture
this grain into malt under the low duty, a document for which the subscribers
have obtained and hold in their possession, they have made arrangements with (the
appropriately named) Mr Eddie Brewer, Virginia Street to have a quantity
malted. Those interested are now invited
to examine it during the process and satisfy themselves of its excellence and
suitableness. The subscribers have on
sale for seed a large quantity of this valuable bere. It is early and remarkably productive, easily
thrashed and dressed and is superior to the common bere for milling
purposes. Orders will be executed in
rotation.” This advertisement was
followed by a letter to the editor the following month (in effect a long, free
advertisement). The missive claimed the
noble aim of attempting to improve the cereal products of the district and also
pointing out that the test malting of this new variety gave an estimate that it
was 16% better than common barley for brewing purposes and, further, that it
made excellent bread.
Printed
catalogues had first been introduced by William Reid in 1764 but were only used
sporadically until Ben Reid’s time. He
used them routinely and also produced them at different times of the year for
different categories of product. A
typical advertisement from 1861 mentioned the catalogues. “Ben Reid & Co,
132 Union Street, supply every requisite in seeds, plants, and implements for
the farm, the garden and the forest.
Separate catalogues referring to each department free on application.” Some catalogues were highly specialised, such
as an 1863 catalogue dealing only with turnip seeds and an 1862 catalogue
enumerating “seedling and transplanted forest trees, choice and rare conifers
and other ornamental trees for pleasure grounds, flowering and evergreen
shrubs, fruit trees &c.”.
Ben Reid &
Co continued the practice of their predecessors of importing both seeds and
roots from Continental Europe. Rotterdam
was the principal port through which Dutch horticultural products were obtained
but other cities, including Riga, Hamburg, Konigsburg and Pillau also featured. Remarkably, on at least one occasion, in 1851,
the firm also exported “1 box live plants, and 1 bag seeds to Quebec”. But a growing trend could also be detected in
sourcing plants and seeds from much closer to home. Thom’s seedling strawberry (1851); “An early
variety of spring wheat equal to any Autumn (can be sown in March or April) …
Grown by Mr Carnegie Fithie by Brechin” (1852); “Mr Milne of Kinaldie’s purple
top yellow turnip seed”; “Glenbervie potatoes” (1853); “Excellent spring white
wheat … Deeside produced” (1855); turnip seed “of their own raising” (1856);
“Perennial ryegrass 4 varieties, Clovers 6 varieties, Turnips -all the best
sorts chiefly of our own growth” (1857), were all examples of local sourcing.
The firm of Ben
Reid & Co was constantly looking for opportunities to sell new products to
its existing customers, not only new varieties of seeds or plants but related
items which those customers might also need.
Examples included “Marke and Ward’s vermin-killing powder. A shilling packet is sufficient to kill a
thousand.”; “Feeding linseed at reduced prices wholesale and retail”; “Linseed
Boll meal advertised manufactured at the Westhall Flax Works Oyne” (1856);
“Bone and horn powder from McDuff Mills” (1857); “Verel’s patent bone manures”
(1858 – such fertilisers were applied to the turnip crop in particular); “McDougall’s patent disinfecting soap”, (1865 – the time of the Rinderpest (cattle plague)
epidemic, both in the North East and generally throughout Britain and Ireland).
From at least 1760,
William Reid had offered a service to his customers as, in effect, an
agricultural/horticultural employment agency.
Initially this activity was small beer but increased in prominence under
James Reid. However, in the time of Ben
Reid, the service greatly increased in prominence. Presumably, a fee was charged for the
service. Several trends were clear in
the data relating to job advertising.
Notices offering positions predominated over employment being
sought. Increasingly with job vacancies,
especially for apprentice gardeners, these positions appeared to be for work
with Ben Reid & Co in their nurseries, though that was not usually
specified directly. A description such
as “Wanted at Whitsunday a steady active married man without family or a widow
with daughter to work on a small farm.
House garden and liberal wages will be given and a preference to anyone
whose wife or daughter will undertake outdoor work of a light kind during the
summer”, was clearly not for employment with Ben Reid & Co. However, “Wanted 8 journeyman gardeners whose
character and abilities are unexceptionable” was likely for employment within
the firm. With apprentice gardeners,
clear preferences were often stated, such as “17 to 19 years”, “stout young
man” and “Young men from the country would be preferred”. Perhaps town-dwellers were less likely to be
physically robust and less capable of the hard, manual labour of a nursery? Most positions related to gardening, but
foresters, cattlemen and even clerks, cooks and dairy maids were occasionally
sought.
This employment
service sometimes extended to advertising goods wanted, or offered, and to
property agency. Examples were, “A small
sized green-house wanted”, “Second-hand garden frames wanted but in good order”
– this one appeared to be for Ben Reid & Co, “Cottage for sale” and “Summer
Lodgings”.
The shop window
in Union Street was occasionally used to draw attention to the business by
displaying items of general interest but not directly related to the shop’s
merchandise. In 1848 “a magnificent
plant of Russian Kale measuring in height upwards of 9 ½ ft” was exhibited and
the local newspaper urged citizens to go to see this giant botanical specimen. Two years later a similar stunt employed “Two
large turnips” grown by “Mr Alexander Watt of Skene”. Eighteen fifty-one was the year of the Great
Exhibition in the Crystal Palace, London, which attracted exhibits from all
over the world. Peter Emslie, gamekeeper
at Castle Fraser had made a collection of butterflies and moths, hoping for
prominence in London, but his effort was rejected. Ben Reid & Co then took the opportunity
to give Peter a display venue for his Lepidoptera in the middle of Union
Street.
Engineering,
a new business venture
The most
significant innovation introduced by Ben Reid & Co in the period 1843 -
1865, which was largely due to the recruitment of George Reid as a partner, was
the expansion into tools, agricultural machines and other agricultural,
horticultural and garden goods. The
first indication that this move was underway was at the Royal Northern
Agricultural Society annual show in Aberdeen in 1856. “Benjamin Reid & Co demonstrated fencing
and Mr Reid’s well-known patent mangle” and “An assortment of machines,
ornamental wire works for garden purposes, vases &c”. There was a rapid growth in this new area of
business, and this led, about 1858, to the founding of a whole new department
within Ben Reid & Co. This led to
their tag line being expanded to “seedsmen, nurserymen, florists and dealers in
implements” and the shop at 132 Union Street being described as a “Seed and Implement
warehouse”.
Initially, as
the new tag line suggested, the engineering branch of Ben Reid & Co
concentrated on acting as agent for other manufacturers, for example, “Howard’s
Prize harrows on hand for sale” in 1858 (J&F Howard, Britannia Iron Works,
Bedford). Howard’s horse rakes and
ploughs were also offered. Other
agencies were for Gardiner and Lindsay of Stirling’s reaper, Samuelson of
Banbury’s reaper and Reeves of Wiltshire’s manure distributor. Agencies for many other manufacturers of
agricultural implements followed, mostly from England, including such famous
firms as Ransomes, Sims & Head of Ipswich and
Massey Harris Co Ltd, based in London.
The full development of Ben Reid & Co’s engineering capabilities is
dealt with below.
Ben
Reid, like his predecessor, James Reid, seems to have been largely consumed by
the process of managing his business, but perhaps departed from the norms
established by James Reid through a greater involvement in civic and charitable
issues, though Ben, too, did not seek to play a prominent public representative
role. In civic matters, Ben Reid was a signatory of a round-robin
letter to Provost Blaikie from Aberdeen merchants in 1844, urging him to call a
public meeting to promote the extension of the railways to Aberdeen. Ben also added his name to a similar letter
in 1851 requesting a further public meeting to discuss irregularities in the
postal service. Further actions
concerned with promoting local business were his investment in the North of
Scotland Banking Company, a directorship of the North of Scotland Trade Protection
Society and his support for a reform of the system of selling grain, by moving
to sale by weight, rather than by volume.
William McCombie of Tillyfour, near Alford, became internationally known
as one of the most prominent and successful breeders and feeders of the local
black hornless cattle, which were later called the Aberdeen Angus breed (see William
McCombie (1805 – 1880), “creator of a peculiarly excellent sort of bullocks”
on this blogsite). To give public
recognition to McCombie’s success, in 1862 the Royal Northern Agricultural
Society held a celebratory dinner in Aberdeen.
Four hundred people attended, including Ben and George Reid. McCombie was instrumental in exciting the
idea in the monarch of acquiring a herd of such animals herself. Prince Albert was also an enthusiast for the
“Doddies” of Aberdeenshire, but he expired prematurely in late 1861. A fund was then initiated to raise a monument
to his memory in Aberdeen and Ben Reid & Co subscribed five guineas to this
appeal.
Charitable
donations were frequently made by Ben Reid.
He gave to the Patriotic Fund for the relief of widows and orphans of
the Crimean War and was a repeated subscriber to the West Aberdeen Coal Fund,
to help keep the poor warm in winter. He
was also a member of the committee of the Public News Room and also the
committee for the Preservation of the Aberdeen Links. Without doubt, although dedicated to
promoting his business, he also found time to be a good and concerned citizen.
Ben Reid’s
family life
Ben Reid
married for the first time in 1832, to Margaret Milne when she was about 39 and
her husband was perhaps two years older than his bride. Little is known of her family background,
other than that she was born about 1793. Unsurprisingly for a late marriage,
their family seems to have been limited to two girls, Janet Duncan Reid and
Margaret Reid, thus lacking a son and heir to the business. Margaret Milne died at the family home, 19
Albyn Place in 1856 at the age of 63.
Remarkably, Ben Reid married for a second time in 1864, when he was 73
and his new spouse, spinster Margaret Cadenhead, the daughter of another
gardener, was of the same age. She was a
near neighbour of Ben Reid, occupying Diamond Cottage, Holburn Place, which was
the venue for the couple’s nuptials.
Perhaps his second marriage brought on thoughts of retirement for Ben
Reid, or perhaps it was the other way around?
The end of Ben
Reid’s involvement in the firm he founded and to which he gave his name, came in
late1865 when he had reached 74 years of age.
The Edinburgh Gazette announced the change in mid-January 1866. “Intimation is hereby given that the
subscriber Benjamin Reid, Nurseryman and Seedsman in Aberdeen ceased upon the
11th day of November 1865 to be a partner of the firm of Benjamin
Reid and Company, Nurserymen and Seedsmen in Aberdeen and that the said
business as well as that of Agricultural Implement Makers carried on by said
firm has since that date been and will in future be continued by the subscriber
George Reid, Nurserymen and Seedsmen, Aberdeen, the remaining partner under the
said firm of Benjamin Reid and Co. Ben
Reid, George Reid.”
In retirement,
Ben Reid continued to live at 31 Albyn Place, Aberdeen. He died in 1872 at Lasswade near Edinburgh,
while visiting his daughter, Janet, who had married silk mercer Alexander Reid. Ben’s widow, Margaret Cadenhead, survived him,
moving to 2 Union Place, Aberdeen after his passing, where she expired aged 88
in 1877. In Ben Reid’s trust deposition
and deed of settlement she received the liferent of the 31 Albyn Place house
and ground, and £100 per annum. The
residue of Ben Reid’s estate passed to his daughter, Janet Duncan Reid and her
children. The value of his moveable
estate was £3,404 (about £405,076 in 2020 money).
In late 1865
George Reid (1826 – 1881) became the sole partner in Ben Reid & Co
As pointed out
above, the firm of Ben Reid & Co first got involved in agricultural
engineering about 1856, mainly as agents for other manufacturers, but a
separate engineering department had been established by 1858. Ben Reid & Co then developed its own
design and manufacturing capability and started describing itself as
“nurserymen and implement makers”, though soon this changed to “agricultural
implement makers”. George Reid, although
lacking any mechanical training, was largely responsible for developing the
firm’s engineering capabilities. In its
obituary of George Reid in 1881, the Aberdeen Journal said of him, “Though
lacking practical knowledge of mechanics Mr Reid possessed considerable
inventive genius which helped to bring to perfection many of the machines that
have brought fame to the firm.”
In addition to
its Aberdeen showroom, the main way in which Ben Reid & Co advertised its
machines (self-manufactured or brought-in) and engineered products was through
the big agricultural shows, such as those of the Royal Highland and
Agricultural Society and the Royal Northern Agricultural Society. During the 19th century, these
societies quickly embraced the idea of exhibiting and judging agricultural
machines for money prizes, medals and commendations, in the way that they had
long done with farm animals and plant crops. At the 1858 summer show of the
RHAS, Ben Reid & Co was to the fore.
“Messrs B Reid & Co Aberdeen exhibited a miscellaneous collection of
implements and manufactures in iron and wire for farm and garden purposes
including straw cutters of various sizes, oat and oil-cake bruisers, grain
mowing machines, turnip cutters, carriage and field gates, wire flower stands,
in numerous patterns, Clunes’ patent garden engines and of the best and
cheapest implements of the kind, Howard’s celebrated ploughs and harrows, corn
stack pillars, garden seats and camp stools in great variety, wire netting for
various fencing purposes &c &c.
They also obtained the premium for the best collection of hand
implements for the farm and had their machine for the conveyance of milk
“commended” by the judges. “We are of
opinion this will be found a very useful machine and will tend much to lessen
the labour of bringing milk into towns.”
Often, as in the case of this report, it is difficult to distinguish
between own manufactures and agency products.
Advertisements placed in the local press became more specialised and
often dealt exclusively with the mechanical manufactures offered for sale.
At the summer
show of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society, held in Aberdeen in 1859, Ben
Reid & Co had a large display of products which was exhibited both
collectively and in individual product classes.
The firm won many awards. “Double
mould board plough B Reid & Co commended.
Harrows B Reid & Co highly commended. Turnip cutter for sheep B Reid & Co
highly commended. Turnip cutter for
cattle B Reid & Co highly commended.
Oil cake bruiser B Reid & Co highly commended. Churn worked by hand B Reid & Co highly
commended. Field gate B Reid & Co
commended. The following implements, etc,
in Messrs B Reid’s general collection received special commendation from the
judges. Howard’s improved horse hoe, An
improved wrought iron sledge, a set of diamond iron harrows, a patent wheel
hand rake, a set of corn stack pillars, a chaff or straw cutter (highly
commended) a strong iron garden seat, an iron camp stool, a wicket gate, a
wrought iron hand cart for the conveyance of milk, an ornamental step stage or
flower stand, a collection of suspending wire baskets for flowers.” The firm continued its rapid progress as an
agricultural and horticultural manufacturer and progressively became one of
three leading manufacturers in the North East of Scotland. The other two were Murray of Banff and Sellar
of Huntly.
In 1860, at the
time of the RNAS spring show, the agricultural correspondent of the Aberdeen
Journal, perhaps a bit flummoxed by the plethora of implements on display,
proposed the idea that, “Introduction of machinery to farms in the district
would be improved if there was a place in Aberdeen where such machines could be
exhibited. “A foundation for something
of the kind has already to some small extent been laid by the enterprise and intelligence of one of
our townsmen and we have no doubt but that Messrs B Reid & Co would readily
give their aid in extending the limited collection which they have already made
if cooperation and encouragement were offered by those who are mainly concerned
and whose interest is chiefly involved in having a collection of implements and
machines formed in some degree worthy of the centre of so important an
agricultural district. Few perhaps will
feel inclined to order a somewhat expensive machine simply on the faith of a
recommendation of it but every intelligent farmer will be able to form a
tolerably accurate opinion of the utility of a machine which he has an
opportunity of examining or seeing at work.”
Now, it was a bit fanciful to think that commercial competitors would
collaborate in this way, but the two major agricultural societies did a great
service to buyers by introducing field trials of new machinery, in addition to
the static displays at the showground. At
the 1863 RNAS Spring Show, field trials of implements were held on land off
King Street, Aberdeen, not far from the main show site on the Links. “A two-horse plough exhibited by B Reid was
highly commended.” Ben Reid & Co’s
own design and manufacture chain harrows were available by the same year. These were used for the preparation of turnip
land “by separating from the soil couch grass and other weeds, leaving them on
the surface fit for collection by the horse rake.”
A year later,
in March 1864, the Aberdeen Journal was moved to the following comment on Ben
Reid & Co’s latest mechanical device.
“An excellent drill-sowing machine specially adapted for the sowing of
oats is being manufactured by Messrs B Reid & Co, Aberdeen. We have the best reason to know that Messrs
Reid’s machines have been found the very best of their class and that they have
given the utmost satisfaction whenever they have been used. They are made both for one horse and for two
horses. The former will do from 7 to 10
acres a day and the latter from 12 to 15 acres. No doubt some will bogle at the
heavy expense involved in buying a “Crosskill” (£12 to £14) and a drill sowing
machine (£13 to £17). But we must either
incur the necessary expense of preventative measures or run the risk of losing
the entire crop. These are the
alternatives.” The RNAS show held in the
autumn of the same year saw a further field trial, this time of reapers, when
Ben Reid & Co demonstrated two reapers by Samuelson, for whom they were
agents, one-horse and two-horse variants.
The former machine was awarded first prize. “This machine wrought very beautifully. The grain was closely and regularly cut and
the work of laying off the sheaves was admirable. Among the competing machines this one took
the least time to the work, but the horse was overwrought. Apart from this however, the spectators were
free in expressing the opinion that this was of all the machines the one best
adapted for the North of Scotland.”
Ben Reid &
Co’s implement offering was succinctly summarised in an advertisement in the
Aberdeen People’s Journal. “Farm Machinery. Turnip cutters and pulpers, oat bruisers,
straw cutters, cake breakers, corn dressing machines, barley hummellers,
weighing machines and measures for grain, ploughs, lever and other grubbers,
harrows, land rollers, pressers and clod crushers, prize drill sowing machines
for grain, prize reaping and mowing machines, &c &c. Catalogue free. Inspection invited.”
George Reid
and the Bon-Accord Works
It has not so
far been discovered where the firm was carrying out its, by now, substantial
manufacturing activities, but the resource had probably become limiting for
this growing business activity. When
George Reid became sole partner in Ben Reid & Co in 1865, he took a
decision to build a new engineering facility.
The firm sought to feu ground at Justice Mill Croft, not far from their
nursery at Albyn Place, from Aberdeen Town Council, but the sale was postponed
while a letter of objection from local residents was considered. Basically, the well-to-do there abouts simply
did not want a factory near their houses in what was then the green,
under-developed fringe on the west of the town.
This was a case of NIMBY-ism before the acronym “NIMBY” had even been
invented! However, the Town Council
overruled the objection and agreed the let could go ahead on the terms
previously concluded with Ben Reid & Co.
The upset price on the land had been £29 – 5s, but Ben Reid & Co
agreed to pay £40 – 10s! The firm, it
appeared, had been determined to secure that particular site. By the end of 1865, the factory had been
completed and had been named the “Bon-Accord” Works, this term, which means
“good fellowship”, being the town motto of Aberdeen.
Bon-Accord Works 1867
The Aberdeen Journal was moved
to acknowledge the role played by George Reid in Ben Reid & Co’s
success. “We
are indebted to Messrs B Reid & Co of Aberdeen and especially to the
intelligent energy and perseverance of Mr George Reid the junior member of that
firm for the introduction of a drill-sowing machine which after trial by a
considerable number of the most intelligent agriculturalists of the country has
been found admirably adapted for the sowing of oats and barley, or wheat in
rows 4in apart”. At the end of
1865, Ben Reid & Co listed the show successes of its “Aberdeen” corn
drill. “1863
Kincardineshire Farmers’ Club Stonehaven 1st prize. 1863 Royal Northern Agricultural Society
Aberdeen 1st prize. 1865
Royal Northern Agricultural Society Aberdeen 1st prize. 1865 International exhibition Cologne Prussia
Medal. 1865 International Exhibition
Dublin Ireland Honourable mention. In
one season on a farm of ordinary extent the price of a corn drill may be saved
in seed alone. See illustrated circular
and testimonials. Orders for next season
requested early to prevent disappointment.
The subscribers produce these drills under experienced and skilled
superintendence having lately erected large works for the purpose. Inspection invited at the works – Justice
Mills. Benjamin Reid & Co 132 Union
Street.” The awards listed show that the
firm’s (ie George Reid’s) ambitions had, by this time, extended well beyond
Scotland’s borders.
Ben Reid &
Co’s businesses under George Reid
George Reid was
now effectively in charge of two separate businesses, one being nursery and
seeds and the other being agricultural engineering and three different sites,
the shop at 132 Union Street, the nursery at Albyn Place and the manufactory at
Justice Mill. He must have set himself a
punishing schedule to keep on top of this complex of operations.
How big was the
business of Ben Reid & Co about the time of George Reid’s accession to the
sole partnership? There are some data on
employee numbers for the period 1868 – 1871.
However, the data are not exactly comparable, applying to different
employment categories (temporary versus permanent), different times of the year
(variable number of temporary employees, especially in the seed and nursery
departments) and different years (at a time of substantial expansion). Nonetheless, they give an indication of the
firm’s magnitude. In 1867 the Bon-Accord
Works employed “upwards of 50 people” and the nursery “upwards of 100 staff”
and the following year the nursery business had 50 permanent employees,
suggesting that perhaps half the nursery staff could be temporary
employees. The 1871 Census, taken six
years after the opening of the Justice Mill factory, gives a snapshot of the
state of the business on 2 April of that year concerning Ben Reid & Co’s employee
numbers. George Reid was self-described
as “Seedsman,
Nurseryman, Implement-maker, employing 9 men, 3 boys, 1 woman in seed shop, 48
men 104 boys 12 girls in nursery. Total
203.” Of course, 9+3+1+48+104+12 equals
177 so, does the difference of 26 represent employees in the engineering works? Whatever the true
explanation of these numbers, 203 staff in 1871 made Ben Reid & Co a very
substantial enterprise, in Aberdeen terms.
In the 1860s several
staff were recruited to Ben Reid & Co who rose to prominent positions and
played a major part in the continuing success of the various lines of business
trading under that name.
Joseph Henry
Sams (1843 – 1927)
It must have
soon become clear to George Reid that he could not manage these two substantial
enterprises on his own and that he needed to recruit additional executive help
and his first recruit to the engineering business was a young Londoner, Joseph
Sams. He was a mechanical engineer who
had been born in East London but had received his education at a variety of
locations in England, Germany and Switzerland.
In 1860, at the age of 17 he entered on an apprenticeship with Thomson,
Catto, Buchanan & Co, a London-based firm of bridge and ship builders. They had a shipyard in Aberdeen and Joseph
was despatched there. At the 1861 Census
he was lodging in Wales Street, Aberdeen and described himself as a “practical
engineer”. In 1864, the co-partnery of
his sponsors was dissolved and a new firm, Hall, Russell came into existence,
where Joseph continued his training. On
completion of his apprenticeship, he moved to the prominent firm of
agricultural engineers, Ransomes & Sims of Ipswich, where he travelled out
with a steam plough to Asia Minor (the Asian part of modern Turkey) and both
erected and worked the machine there.
Presumably,
while an apprentice in Aberdeen, Joseph had become aware of the engineering
activities of Ben Reid & Co. He is
likely also to have become acquainted with George Reid, because in 1866 Joseph
was recruited to the firm, not as an employee but as a joint partner at the
remarkably young age of 23. He must have
made a strong impression on the principal, as Joseph took responsibility for
the “entire
management of works” and may have been quite close
to George Reid. In 1870, Joseph’s home
address, briefly, was given as 23 Justice Mill Lane, which was George Reid’s
house. The partnership between George
Reid and Joseph Sams lasted until 1876 or 1877, when the latter left to become
London manager of Whitley Partners Ltd, a steam valve manufacturer.
During his
co-partnery at Ben Reid & Co, Joseph Sams invented and patented a straining
pillar for wire fences. It allowed wires
to be tensioned in opposite directions from the pillar, over about 1,000
yards. This pillar was manufactured for
many years by Ben Reid & Co, as part of its fencing offer.
Another employee
of the engineering department in the early days, who was important in
controlling the functioning of the operation, was John Grant. He had joined the firm at the start of
engineering activities in 1856 or 1857 and rose to become foreman, retiring in
1869. Joseph Sams made the presentation
of a mahogany sofa to John Grant at the social occasion organised to mark his exit
from the firm.
Alexander Hay
(1839 – 1923)
Alexander Hay
was born at Marnoch, Banffshire in 1839, the son of a mason. As a young man he travelled to Aberdeen
before 1861, where he joined the seeds and nursery business of Ben Reid &
Co. The firm was thus his employer
before the sole partnership of George Reid began and Alexander continued to
work for the firm throughout George’s remaining association with the
business. At the census of 1871
Alexander was described as a “shopman seedsman”, so at that time he appears to
have been in charge of the shop at Guild Street (see below), where it moved
from 132 Union Street. Alexander
continued his progress in the business, eventually becoming a partner in the
seeds and nursery operation (see below).
William Yates
Gibson (1829 - 1909)
William was the
son of a master wheelwright and sometime house carpenter and was born in
Lonmay, between Peterhead and Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in 1829. William became a Ben Reid & Co employee
and, in due course, a key figure in the seeds and nursery business. By the time of the 1861 Census (he has not
been discovered in the 1851 Census returns) William was living with his
brother, Thomas, who had a house in Crown Street, Aberdeen. Thomas was a grocer and wine merchant
(partner in Lumsden and Gibson) with 11
employees. William had no job attributed
to him, so it is not possible to say if he was working for Ben Reid & Co by
that year. However, at the next Census
in 1871 he was described as a seedsman.
The same year he was cited in the Post Office Directory for Aberdeen as
an employee of Ben Reid & Co, such a listing indicating that he had reached
a position of importance in the firm and thus that he had probably been
employed there for several or even many years. In 1873, at the rather late age of 44, William
Gibson married for the first time. His
bride was a local dressmaker, Sarah Allen, who sadly did not enjoy good health. She died in 1877. William did not remarry.
Stephen Wilson
(1842 – 1918)
Stephen Wilson
was the son of a hand loom linen weaver and was born in Aberdeen. By the Census of 1861 he had become a
gardener and by the following census a decade later he was the manager of one
of Ben Reid & Co’s nurseries, at the time located at Albyn Place, and at Burnieboozle. In 1873 he was titled “foreman nurseryman”. It is not known when his employment with Ben
Reid & Co began but two facts suggest that it may have been nearer to 1861
than to 1871. Firstly, he would have
needed some years of experience before being elevated to the role of nursery
manager. Secondly, after his marriage in
1865 to Mary Ann Addison, his first child, born a year later, was given the
name “Benjamin Reid Wilson”. Ben Reid
retired at the end of 1865 but this naming of a child after the famous
gardener, likely indicates that Stephen knew and admired Ben Reid and had
perhaps been given employment by him.
Ill health
strikes George Reid
The period 1876
– 1877 was one of disruption for Ben Reid & Co with a series of momentous
events, though the exact order in which they occurred is unclear. Joseph Sams and George Reid ended their
partnership and George Reid was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which must have
made him realise that his time, especially his mentally alert time, was limited
and that he needed to recruit additional help with running Ben Reid & Co. The extent of George’s involvement in the
business after his terminal diagnosis is unclear, though the North British
Agriculturalist wrote that in this period he had “been
laid aside from active work”. George’s judgement appears to have been that
the seeds and nursery operations were secure in the hands of Alexander Hay, William
Gibson and Stephen Wilson but that the engineering works, which George had
largely created, which he probably regarded as a monument to his life’s
achievements and which the departing Joseph Sams had managed for the past
decade, badly needed new management personnel.
There did not appear to be employees rising through the ranks at the Bon-Accord
Works, who could make the step up to senior management, which necessitated
George Reid looking outside his organisation.
He naturally turned to contacts in other North East firms whom he knew
and admired.
William Anderson
(1838 – 1895)
William was born
in 1838 at Gamrie, Banffshire, the son of a blacksmith-cum-farmer, John
Anderson. William followed in his
father’s footsteps and at the 1861 Census he was a journeyman blacksmith, still
living in the family home at Gamrie. The
following year he married his first wife, Margaret Milne and two sons were born
in 1864 and 1865. But Margaret had
tragically contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and died at Macduff in 1869. At the time William was still a blacksmith but
by the time of the 1871 Census he had made the transition to agricultural
engineer’s traveller. Perhaps spending
time out on the road gave him some relief from the tragedy he has just lived
through at home in Macduff?
William
Anderson’s employer was almost certainly the firm of Murray of Banff, which had
been founded by GW Murray and was fully in operation by 1868, manufacturing and
exhibiting a wide range of agricultural machinery, as well as providing
services as an iron founder,
mechanical engineer, iron merchant, pump manufacturer and smith. This firm continued in business until 1897
and, along with Ben Reid & Co and Sellar of Huntly dominated the
agricultural equipment market in the North East during the last 30 years of the
19th century. William
Anderson was one of the people to whom George Reid turned to manage the future
of Ben Reid & Co and he joined the ranks of the engineers, mechanics and
blacksmiths at the Bon-Accord Works at Justice Mill.
Robert
Glegg Garvie (1843 – 1921)
Robert Glegg
Garvie was born in 1843, the son of James Garvie, the given name “Glegg” being
his mother’s maiden surname, a popular Scottish naming practice. James Garvie started working life as a
carpenter but by 1835 he had moved from Inverbervie, south of Stonehaven, to
Aberdeen. Sons William and Robert
followed their father into the building business. About 1855, James Garvie set up the firm of J
Garvie & Sons. It became very
successful and had premises in Union Street Aberdeen, as well as a showroom in
London. It was an interesting firm
because it provided integrated services from design, to build, to manufacturing
furniture for the finished premises.
In 1875, Robert
Garvie was still listed in the Aberdeen Post Office Directory as being
associated with J Garvie & Sons but by 1877 he was listed as “engineer
(of B Reid & Co Bon-Accord Works)”.
It is likely that in 1876 Robert Garvie was approached by George Reid to
join Ben Reid & Co’s Bon-Accord Works.
Robert’s brother, William Garvie, then became the sole partner in J
Garvie & Sons.
James Stuart Duncan (1856 –
1925)
William Duncan,
the father of James was probably born in Banffshire about 1826 but emigrated to
Australia as a young man. He was a
builder and married Agnes Stuart in Melbourne in 1855. James Stuart Duncan was the only child of
that marriage, Agnes dying three weeks after the birth. William Duncan remarried in 1861 and a son,
George Murray Duncan, was born at Sandhurst, a few miles south-east of
Melbourne the following year. Soon
afterwards, the family returned to Scotland and a further three children were
born there, the first of the trio in 1866.
William Duncan died in 1870. At
the census of the following year, his widow Christian was a farmer at
Aymerhurst Farm (250 acres) near Ashburnham in Sussex. Three of her four children and her step-son
James were present. By the time of the
following census in 1881, the family had left England and moved to Banff. One son, George Murray Duncan was by then an
agricultural engineer, as was George’s cousin John B Duncan. The employer of both George and John Duncan
was almost certainly Murray of Banff.
James Stuart Duncan was not in the family home in 1871 but he too had
become an agricultural engineer and is known to have been employed by Murrays.
The
Second French Empire, ruled by Napoleon III, lasted from 1852 to 1870 and was
terminated by France’s capitulation in the Franco-Prussian war. It was followed by the Third Republic which
sought to relieve the national depression caused by the humiliation of defeat
and rebuild the country’s spirit by organising a world fair, the Exposition Universelle, in Paris between May and
November,1878. Manufactures from many
industrialised nations were on display and included agricultural implements. Nine Aberdeen firms exhibited their wares,
including Ben Reid & Co, but none of the other major agricultural implement
makers from the North-East took part.
Ben Reid had the following items on display, a patent “disc” corn drill,
a patent “disc” broadcast grain sower, a patent silent winnowing machine, a
sack weighing machine, a thrashing machine, a hand and foot thrashing machine,
a small ridging plough, models of wire straining pillars, a wire bridge and a
new design of drain rods. The Aberdeen
implement maker gained an
honourable mention for its thrashing machines.
Sometime
before the Exposition Universelle, George Reid recruited James Duncan to travel
to Paris and represent Ben Reid & Co at the 1878 exhibition. Following
the exhibition, Ben Reid & Co set
up a new branch of its business in the French capital, which was led by James
Duncan. It has not been discovered for
how long James remained in this post, but he subsequently established his own
business in France and according to the Aberdeen Journal in 1896, “is
one of the largest importers of machinery in France”.
He must have made a good impression because in 1896 he was awarded the Chevalier
of the Order of Merite Agricole by the French Government. According to the Aberdeen Journal, “This
order is reserved to those who have rendered service to the cause of
agriculture and is rarely awarded to foreigners.”
Business scope during George
Reid’s reign, 1865 - 1881
George Reid was mainly
responsible for the founding and growth of the implement department and the
setting up of the Bon-Accord Works and it is clear from the plethora of
newspaper reports in the decade after 1865 that George continued to drive the
success of the engineering department.
Meanwhile the seeds and nursery branch maintained its position as one of
the leading such firms in the North-East but without the lavish publicity which
seemed always to accompany the announcement of a new or improved agricultural
implement. In 1867 the three nurseries
then in use (see below) extended to 70 acres and gave employment to more than
100 people.
There were
other major changes to Ben Reid & Co’s business premises during the period
that George Reid was senior partner. Between
1865 and 1868, the firm’s shop and showroom were located at 132 Union Street
and 2 Belmont Street in the middle of the town.
Ben Reid & Co occupied a further house in Belmont Street, no. 4,
about this time but then gave it up. The
firm seemed to be struggling to acquire suitable business premises. This led to a major decision by George Reid
to bring all non-nursery operations of Ben Reid & Co together in one
purpose-built accommodation complex near the centre of Aberdeen, the Guild
Street – Exchange Street – Stirling Street project.
New premises
in Guild Street
In August 1869,
the Aberdeen Journal announced that, “a large piece of ground fronting Guild
Street and Exchange and Stirling Streets was exposed for sale in the office of
Messrs Webster advocates. The upset
price was offered by Mr George Reid of Benjamin Reid & Co and there being
no other bid the ground was knocked down to that gentleman.” The newspaper went on to describe the
purchase in enthusiastic terms. “Messrs
B Reid & Co have just secured the finest and most central unbuilt block of
ground in town for the purpose of warehouses.
It extends from nearly opposite Mr Stevenson’s new hotel in Stirling
Street now in course of erection to Guild Street and the handsome structure
immediately to be put up will be one of the first objects to strike the eye
from the railway station.” The Aberdeen
Joint Station had been completed in 1867, allowing passengers from the north
and south to travel on without the need to transfer between the two stations in
central Aberdeen. Ben Reid’s new
premises on Guild Street would be very handy for visitors by rail, from any
direction, to see the firm’s products and conduct business. Planning permission for the site was quickly
obtained for warehousing but with shops and offices also included in the
development. Ben Reid & Co announced
the move to its new quarters in the Aberdeen Journal in December 1870. “Notice of Removal. Benjamin Reid & Co intend removing after
ensuing New Year’s Day to their new premises in Guild, Exchange and Stirling
Streets; built expressly to meet the requirements of their extended
business.” However, a year later, some
of the new accommodation for let was still awaiting tenants.
Guild Street area 1883
Aberdeen Joint Station (left, looking north)
The seeds
and nursery business continues under George Reid
In 1865, Ben Reid & Co operated two nursery sites, at Albyn Place (where it had been since about 1844) and Union Vale (since 1851). These sites progressively became surrounded by housing developments in the 1860s and the growing town necessitated a move to new nursery sites further away from Aberdeen, which would be granted the status of a city in 1891. A new nursery at Burnieboozle (“five minutes’ walk from Rubislaw quarries”) was acquired by 1866 and the following year, perhaps as part of the process of preparing the ground at the new nursery site, Comstock’s rotary spader was given a public trial there. This American machine was designed to be an alternative to the plough. In 1867 the Burnieboozle nursery was given over mostly to the cultivation of forest trees, while the Albyn Place site was mostly used for nursery plants. The Union Grove nursery was vacated about 1870 and the Albyn Place nursery (which extended to more than 22 acres and was not strictly on Albyn Place but lay “between Union Grove on the east and St Swithin’s Road on the west”) was given up about 1873. In 1875 it appeared that further nursery ground was acquired near to Burnieboozle since, between 1875 and 1881, when George Reid died, the firm’s nursery holdings were described as “Rubislaw, Burnieboozle and Hazlehead”. Greenhouses were constructed at the Rubislaw nursery about 1880. This nursery was also referred to as “Granitehill” nursery.
The seeds and
nursery business carried on in much the same pattern that it had done since Ben
Reid’s time in charge. It was not
without competition, especially from Cardno and Darling, the successor to the
James Reid seed and nursery business. At
the 1872 spring show of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society both firms made
entries in a number of agricultural seed categories, with Cardno and Darling
usually prevailing in the ranking. New seed,
plant and shrub varieties were introduced from time to time and advertised to
the public. By 1873, the firm was able
to exhibit 36 varieties of potato.
Similarly, with the arrival of a new season’s supply of imported bulbs,
an appropriate entry in the Aberdeen Journal would appear in September. On other occasions advertisements seemed to
offer stock which was lingering, such as in 1871, “Extra fine thorn hedges for
sale from five to eight feet all prepared in the roots for removal”. The increase in leisure gardening, due to
increased economic status and a growing middle class, was also supplied with a
wide variety of plants, especially flowering shrubs, ornamental conifers and
bedding and border plants.
Christmas trees were offered for sale from December 1872 “from 3ft to 9ft high” and in later years
holly sprigs were available. Spare
ground in the nurseries appeared to be used for regular agricultural crops
which were then offered for sale. For
example, in 1873, “Crops for sale at Hazelhead nursery of Ben Reid. Potatoes, turnips, oats and fodder, barley
and at Albyn Place, bere”. Other products relating to agriculture were stocked
too, such as “McDougall’s patent
non-poisonous sheep-dipping composition” and “The patent vermin
asphyxiator and universal fumigator. For
destroying rats and all vermin in holes.”
The seed and
nursery business continued to patronise horticultural shows as an entré to the
gardening world, both professional and amateur, though with perhaps less
emphasis on this marketing activity than in Ben Reid’s time. A typical example
from 1881 was the presentation of a piece of plate at the Aberdeen
Horticultural Society autumn show for the best collection of 12
vegetables. In those class-conscious
times there were three categories of entrant at this Society’s shows,
Gentlemen’s gardeners (Professionals), Amateurs and the Working Classes. Competition for Ben Reid’s prize was only
open to the professionals! In addition
to fruit, flower and vegetable shows, during George Reid’s time the firm
occasionally sponsored prizes at cage bird shows. Perhaps the attendees were being encouraged
to buy bird seed from Ben Reid & Co?
(In 1896, the firm advertised “Reid’s special song-bird seed”.)
The
Bon-Accord Works, Justice Mill Lane
The Justice
Mill engineering works were completed in 1865 and early in 1866 a reporter from
the Aberdeen Journal visited the site to take stock of what had been built and
the implements that were in course of manufacture. The published report was highly complimentary
to Ben Reid & Co. “We have pleasure
in calling attention to a new branch of business in the town – that of the
manufacture of agricultural implements for which business Messrs B Reid &
Co have erected new buildings at Justice Mills.
This firm have been long known to our agricultural friends as having
kept up a large depot of implements from the leading manufacturers but they
have lately embarked in the manufacture in their own account of a certain class
of instruments specially required in the north of Scotland. They some time ago feued from the town a
considerable extent of ground at the above locality on which have been erected
extensive workshops. On visiting the
premises the other day, we found among articles in course of manufacture the
Aberdeen Corn Drill which has taken so many prizes being turned out in large
numbers. We may mention that in this
establishment machinery with the latest improvements and some ingenious
adaptations is largely used for economising labour and securing accuracy and
workmanship, ends attained with great ease and effect.”
A week later
Ban Reid & Co placed an advertisement in the Aberdeen Journal, explaining
the scope and philosophy behind the new engineering works. “Farm implements and machines. An extensive collection of all kinds of
implements machines &c for the farm and the garden are kept for public
selection comprising those used 1. In
the reclamation, tilling, manuring and draining of land. 2. In
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of crops. 3. In
preparing the produce of the soil for market and preparing food for
cattle. 4. In improving and embellishing landed property
by iron and wire fences, iron gates &c.
For further information see illustrated lists. Inspection respectfully invited at 132 Union
Street and at Works Justice Mills.
Benjamin Reid & Co Agricultural Implement Makers, Aberdeen.” In 1867, the Bon-Accord Works gave employment
to more than 50 people spread over a number of trades, such as mechanics,
cartwrights and wireworkers. Although by
1867 the Bon-Accord Works had given Ben Reid & Co the capability to design
and manufacture their own agricultural implements, the firm continued to be an
agent for manufacturers from elsewhere in Great Britain.
The main
agricultural implements of own design and manufacture about this time were the
“Aberdeen” Prize Patent Lever Corn and Seed Drill, the “Aberdeen” turnip sowing
machine, the Patent “Aberdeen” Horse Rake”, Reid & Co’s winding pulley (“no
instructions required”) and a patent disc broadcast
sower. But it did not make sense to
create designs of their own in all machinery categories and agency agreements
continued in significant number, such at Ben Reid & Co’s relationship with
Samuelson. Reid also had an agency
agreement with Mr Thomas Pirie, a cartwright at Kinmundy, who invented a
successful double-furrow plough.
The major
agricultural society exhibitions continued to be at the forefront of Ben Reid
& Co’s strategy for bringing their implements and mechanical manufactures
to the notice of the public. This
included both static displays and trials of farm machinery. At the Royal Northern Agricultural Society’s
Summer Show, the firm made entries in many machine categories. Cardno and Daring, the Aberdeen firm pushing
them hard in the seeds and plants arena, also challenged Ben Reid’s dominance
in equipment, though not with their own manufactures, as they did not appear to
have developed any manufacturing capability.
In 1869, a new
engineering service was advertised.
“Making, fitting up, and repairing Thrashing mills, Saw mills, Corn
dressing machines, Water wheels and engines.
Ben Reid & Co have enlarged their machinery plant and can carry out
the specified work.” They then changed
their tag line to “Agricultural Implement Makers, Millwrights and Engineers”,
often adding “Manufacturers of all kinds of wire fencing”, for good measure. A
millwright was a person who designed or built corn mills, or who maintained
mill machinery.
A further
innovation was to branch out into garden equipment. Ben Reid & Co became agents for lawn
mowers, such as those built by Shanks, garden rollers, garden engines,
decorative wire work, garden seats, chairs and tables, all kinds of gates, tree
guards, espalier fencing, wire netting, corrugated iron roofing, fountains and
India rubber hose. By 1878 on the back
of this move into garden equipment, Ben Reid & Co started to offer a
lawnmower sharpening and repair service.
The diversity
of the offer from the Bon-Accord Works continued to expand. By 1879 new products offered included
waterproof covers for carts, lorries and stacks, and horse loin cloths! Was the equine nappy also waterproof? In 1880, domestic mangles, wringers and
washing machines were on offer
By 1878, Ben
Reid & Co had expended the geographical range where it sought to sell its
products. In this year it had a branch
in France managed by James Duncan, and it was exhibiting its products (and
winning awards) at the Royal Agricultural Society of England. By 1878 it was also exhibiting at the
Smithfield show held in London each December, principally to sell meat into the
Christmas market. In 1871, it was
awarded first prize at the Baltic Agricultural Show in Riga for its patent
“Aberdeen” broadcast sowing machine, fitted with the patent “Disc” seed
dispensers and it had already exported several sowers to Germany, the River
Plate region of South America (Argentina and Uruguay), Australia and
California. At the Argentine National
Exhibition held at Cordova in 1872, Ben Reid & Co was awarded medals for
its sower and its pillar wire tensioner.
Reid also exhibited at the International Exhibition at Vienna the same
year.
Ben Reid
& Co - partnership structures between 1865 and 1881
When George Reid
assumed control of Ben Reid & Co in 1865, he was the sole partner in an
entity which was rapidly evolving into two quite separate, but complementary,
businesses, seeds and nursery on the one hand and engineering and implements on
the other. The two businesses continued
to trade under the same name, but the practical management processes became
separate. When Joseph Sams was recruited
in 1866 as a partner the new man had control of the engineering operations but
apparently had nothing to do with seeds, flowers and the nurseries. It is likely that his remuneration was
determined solely by the performance of the Bon-Accord Works.
Based upon the,
admittedly flimsy, evidence of the entries in the Scottish Post Office
directories for Aberdeen, it appears that new partners were recruited to the
seeds and nursery business at different times during the early 1870s. Assuming that partnership was indicated by an
entry in the annual directory using a professional status of “seedsman” or
“nurseryman” (or both) with Ben Reid & Co, Alexander Hay may have been
admitted in 1870, William Yates Gibson in 1871 and Stephen Wilson (who was
previously nursery foreman) in 1874.
Stephen Wilson retired in 1881, resulting in a co-partnery of Alexander
Hay and William Gibson owning and managing the seeds and nursery business. The following announcement in the Aberdeen
Journal detailed the changes. “In
consequence of the illness of Mr Reid and the retirement of Mr Stephen Wilson,
the Seed and Nursery business of Ben Reid and Co will meantime be carried on in
all its departments at Guild Street, Granitehill and Burnieboozle under the
immediate superintendence of Messrs Gibson and Hay, the other partners of the
firm. It is intended to make early
arrangements for Messrs Gibson and Hay to acquire the interests of the other
partners.”
By the same line
of argument, it appears that Robert Glegg Garvie and William Anderson both
became partners in the firm of Ben Reid & Co in 1876 or 1877. On the death of George Reid in 1881, they too
became joint partners in, and owners of, the engineering works. It is probable that only George Reid’s
remuneration as senior partner was based upon the performance of the whole
business, until his death in 1881. The
business of Ben Reid & Co was then formally split into two separate
partnerships. A notice in the local
press announced the changes to the ownership and management of the engineering
works. “The firm of Benjamin
Reid & Co, Agricultural Engineers, Bon-Accord Works, Aberdeen, has been
reconstituted, consequently on the death of Mr George Reid, whose retirement
from the firm it has been arranged shall take effect as from 31st
December last (December 1880).
The business will in future be carried on under the firm of Benjamin
Reid & Co, Agricultural Engineers, Bon-Accord Works, Aberdeen, by William
Anderson and Robert Glegg Garvie, the other Partners of the firm, who have had
for several years the entire charge of it.”
It was a curiosity that the
same name (Ben Reid & Co) should have been retained for the two separate
businesses.
The life and death of George
Reid
Great business
success had been achieved by George Reid in a short time and it was even
acknowledged by the composition, in 1866, of a Strathspey with the title “George
Reid Esq: (of Messrs B Reid & Co Aberdeen)”. It was written by
Alexander Walker, an inventor of surveying instruments, but also gardener to
Sir Charles Forbes of Castle Newe, Strathdon.
These activities would surely have led Alexander Walker both to know
George Reid and to understand the extent and significance of his achievements.
George Reid did
not much involve himself in civic and charitable matters, his business was too
important to him, though he was a director of the Aberdeen
and North of Scotland Trade Protection Society, a director of the Aberdeen
Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society and a
Freemason.
Relations with his staff were
important to George Reid and in February 1869 a social meeting was held on a
Saturday afternoon for employees, wives and sweethearts. It was “numerously attended”. In July of the same year a picnic for the
staff of both sides of the business was held in a field at Murtle along the Dee
valley. The picnic became an annual
event and the surplus from the 1870 iteration, £2 14s, was donated to the
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. In January
1872, there may have been some unrest over wages involving the blacksmiths
employed at the Bon-Accord Works. The
firm agreed to an immediate rise in weekly wages of one shilling and a
reduction of the working week to 51 hours from 1 May, should the “nine-hour
system” (nine hours per day, Monday to Friday with six hours on Saturday?) be
generally adopted by the trade in Aberdeen.
Although from a present-day perspective, 51 hours still looks like a
long week for a physically demanding job, the concession was granted through
negotiation, not after direct action.
George Reid
remained unmarried and between 1850, when he entered the partnership with his
uncle, Ben Reid, and 1865 he moved house a number of times, though all the
known locations were around the western end of Union Street, conveniently
placed for both the firm’s shop and the nursery at Albyn Place. In 1850 and 1851 he appears to have been living
at the home of Lilias Wade, his aunt and wife of a ship’s master, who ran a
lodging house in Bon Accord Street. At
the Census of 1861 his abode was 86 ½ Crown Street, another lodging house where
he was accompanied by his unmarried sister, Jane. In the decade following 1851 he is known to
have been living in Victoria Street in 1855 and, in 1856, he was located in Bon
Accord Street. It is not known if these
last two addresses were also boarding houses, but they may have been so, if
that was the regular means by which George accommodated his bachelor
status. Could it be that George Reid
lived only for his work?
The
completion of the Justice Mill factory at the end of 1865, which had been
George Reid’s pride and joy, probably led to the sole partner in Ben Reid &
Co buying a house, 23 Justice Mill Lane, Strawberry Bank, close to this new
facility. This was a large property with
12 windowed rooms. The 1871 Census
return is instructive. George was
sharing the property with only one other person, 59-year-old Margaret Elder, an
unmarried servant, who is presumed to have been his housekeeper. Later, his two unmarried sisters, Margaret and Jane, moved to 23 Justice Mill Lane. In 1877, after George’s terminal
diagnosis, his house was offered for sale.
It was described as follows. “The
house which contains ample accommodation for a family has a southern exposure
with large sloping garden in front.” It
is not known if the property was sold at that time, but George continued to
live there until his death four years later, on 15 July 1881, aged 55. He was buried at Nellfield Cemetery, close to
the former nursery at Albyn Place on 20 July, after the cortege had processed
from 23 Justice Mill Lane.
The total value
of George Reid’s personal estate was just over £22,561 (about £2,752,442 in
2020 money) and just over £2,000 of this sum was in the form of outstanding
debts due to Ben Reid & Co at the time George ceased to be a partner. Those debts are detailed and give some
insight into the geographical spread of the business. The debtors were predominantly local to
Aberdeen, though some were located at a distance in Scotland and occasionally
in England and elsewhere. Sums owed ranged
from 1s to £175. A significant number of
debts were for sums in the range £10 - £25, the range of prices covered by
popular agricultural implements such as reapers, binders, harrows and horse
rakes. One debt is particularly
interesting, £119 owed by John Fowler of Leeds, a major manufacturer of
traction engines. This suggests that Ben
Reid & Co had been manufacturing on contract for Fowlers, possibly wagons
to be towed by Fowler’s traction engines.
George Reid’s
settlement (will) appointed his two sisters, Margaret and Jane, together with
his partners in the seeds and nursery business William Gibson and Alexander
Hay, plus Alexander Edmond, his advocate and William Scott, his bank manager as
the trustees of his estate. George must
have had a particularly close relationship with Gibson and Hay, as they were
described in the settlement as “residing with me”. The devotion of his unmarried sister,
Margaret, was acknowledged by a payment of £2,000 to her “as a mark of my
appreciation of herself sacrificing devotion to me and to other members of our
family.” The trustees were given
discretion over making payments to George’s two brothers, Benjamin and Robert, probably
implying that they did not need a legacy and the residue of the estate was to
be divided equally between Margaret and Jane.
George Reid’s
death registration shows the informant to have been Robert Glegg Garvie, his
business partner, who was present when George died and who described himself as
“a friend”. George Reid had achieved a
lot in his truncated life, building one of the most successful agricultural
engineering companies in Scotland from scratch in about 20 years. In its obituary of him, the Aberdeen Journal
wrote of George, “A shrewd active man of business, he was a kind friend and
well-informed, a most pleasing companion.”
His two former businesses now sailed on under separate management and
ownership flags.
Ben Reid
& Co seedsmen and nurserymen 1881 - 1896
Partners in the
newly independent seeds and nursery firm bearing the name “Ben Reid & Co”,
Alexander Hay and William Gibson were highly experienced in the seed and
nursery trade, knew the North-East Scotland well and were personally familiar
with the employees and property assets of the firm in which they had jointly invested. Hay had worked for Ben Reid over at least 20
years and Gibson, certainly for 10 years and likely many more. They must also have known each other
well. As a management team, they looked
like a recipe for success. George Reid
certainly had confidence in them. For
Hay and Gibson, it was business as usual, doing the things which had been
successful in the recent past, while being alert to new trading opportunities. Alexander Edmond,
advocate, had been appointed as a trustee of the estate of Ben Reid & Co
but, in 1885, he sought to be released as judicial factor. The Aberdeen Journal summarised Mr Edmond’s
reasoning. “Petitioner was
appointed 3 ½ years ago and as the result of careful enquiry satisfied himself
that it would be highly injudicious to attempt to realise the stock-in-trade
belonging to the firm. Mr Gibson and Mr
Hay had acquired such control of the business that it seemed hopeless that any
stranger could compete with them. The
business was accordingly carried on for the factor until September last when it
was made over to Messrs Gibson and Hay and the estate having been realised Mr
Edmonds applied for discharge.” The same
report provided the interesting information that the seeds and nursery business
had turned over £55,000 (about £6.7M in 2020 money) in the 3 ½ year period of
Edmund’s appointment.
The advertising
and marketing mixture of the firm was well established and had been very
effective. This approach was continued. Frequent and timely newspaper advertisements
were placed as the season required, such as “15 packets choice flower seeds
post free for 12 stamps” in April 1884. Displays at horticultural show also caught the
eye of attendees, for example, Ben Reid & Co presented a “miscellaneous
collection of carefully reared plants, including stately palms, coleus,
dracaena, caladium, ananasa sativa”, at the Royal Horticultural Society in July
1884. The firm continued to sponsor
competitions. At the Tarland Seed and
Root Show in 1883, Ben Reid & Co presented a silver medal for the best four
varieties of turnip. Entries in professional competitions at horticultural
shows also played their part in convincing customers of the quality of Ben
Reid’s products. Staff acting as judges
at high status horticultural shows must also have added to the aura of
professionalism surrounding the firm. At
the Royal Northern Agricultural Society Spring Show in 1898, partner Alexander
Hay was a judge of grass, clover, etc. The
firm’s shop windows were occasionally employed to mount special displays, no
doubt with the intention of enticing the curious to enter the premises. In November 1896, the Guild Street shop was
used to exhibit “a large and rare collection of hardy apples and pears grown in
gardens in the North of Scotland”.
When the firm
entered the cut flower, wreath and bouquet market, it found other ways to
display its products and capabilities.
At the Aberdeen Flower Show August 1885, “In the nurserymen’s class JM
Troup (Ben Reid & Co) carried off the prize for a bunch (of flowers)
made up of biuvardias, begonias, carnations, hoya, &c”. John Troup, who would eventually be recruited
to be Queen Victoria’s head gardener at Balmoral, won other prizes in
competitions of a similar nature. When Sir
Thomas Gladstone, the Tory politician, died at Fasque Castle, Laurencekirk in
1889, the Aberdeen Journal noted that the “magnificent wreath” sent by the
Kincardineshire Conservative Association was prepared by Messrs B Reid &
Co. This was, in effect, a free
newspaper advertisement. The Guild Street
buildings of the firm were close by the Aberdeen Joint Station and when the
Queen passed through the town on her way to Balmoral in 1889, she accepted a
“handsome bouquet” from Ben Reid & Co.
A shop at 145 Union Street was opened as a “Floral Warehouse” in
1895. Among the products on offer were,
“Wedding cake floral decorations, brides’ and bridesmaids’ bouquets, wreaths,
crosses etc.” Ben Reid & Co also
would frequently provide floral decoration for major events, free of charge,
clearly judging the publicity to be worth more than the effort. In 1893 at the
annual reunion of Caledonian Railway employees, held in Albert Hall, Huntly
Street, Ben Reid & Co decorated the hall with flowers, plants and trees, at
no charge.
Possibly the
most characteristic marketing and advertising activity of Ben Reid & Co in
this period was its publications provided free to customers. Gratis printed materials included vegetable,
flower and seed catalogues, illustrated brochures showing Dutch bulbs, a
catalogue of forest trees, a rose list, an almanac and diary (reproduced
annually) with useful general information including a calendar of gardening
operations, and a list of tools used in the garden, with prices. Although other seedsmen and nurserymen, such
as Cardno and Darling, aped Ben Reid’s marketing activities, none came close to
achieving the prominent profile attained by Alexander Hay’s and William
Gibson’s firm.
Ben Reid &
Co reached the pinnacle of public status in 1885 when they were listed in the
London Gazette as one of the Queen’s tradesmen, supplying seeds, plants and
flowers to Her Majesty. This accolade
does not seem to have been extended to the other firm called “Ben Reid &
Co” which provided engineering services to the Queen and carried out many
assignments on the Balmoral Estate, including the provision of iron fencing,
trellis and millwright services. Perhaps
it would have been too confusing to have two separate royal tradesmen, both
sailing under the appellation “Ben Reid”?
The granting of Royal recognition brought with it membership of the
Association of Royal Tradesmen in Aberdeen, which held an annual dinner on, or
close to, Queen Victoria’s birthday, 24th May. At the 1890 iteration of this event,
Alexander Hay presided and William Anderson of the engineering firm bearing Ben
Reid’s name was also present. On another
such occasion, William Gibson, the other partner in the seeds and nursery firm
attended the dinner.
As noted above,
the premises at 145 Union Street essentially became a florist shop in
1895. Many of the firm’s activities in
central Aberdeen moved from 132 Union Street to 16 Guild Street in 1869. Ben Reid & Co’s seed and nursery premises
in 1881 were at Rubislaw, Burnieboozle and Hazelhead but in 1889, a new nursery
was opened at Pinewood Park, Countesswells and it remains the principal
operating site for the firm to this day. In October 1891, all the stock of the
Burnieboozle nursery was sold off at public auction, due to the lease on the
land there being about to expire. Mr
James Farquhar, auctioneer, Old Echt, was engaged to conduct the sale. The catalogue for the auction was 79 pages
long and covered 2400 lots, mostly consisting of trees (native, fruit,
ornamental and forest), bushes and hedging.
It took five days to complete the process. Burnieboozle was vacated about April 1892. In 1896, Ben Reid & Co started to offer a
jobbing gardener service in the West End of Aberdeen, the posh district.
The rather
informal employment agency operated in previous years by Ben Reid & Co,
continued as in the time of George Reid.
Most examples were for employers seeking workers, rather than vice versa
and most jobs were for gardeners or foresters but with other roles also being
sought from time to time, such as coachman and shepherd, ten such positions in
Canada being on offer in 1889. Many of
the jobs seemed to be in Ben Reid’s own nurseries, were frequently for boys,
girls and women and were of a temporary nature.
The Ben Reid
seeds and nursery business seems to have been a congenial place to work in the
time of Messrs Hay and Gibson. At their
well-attended annual assembly held just before Christmas, 1894, at which
Alexander Hay presided, he made a speech in which he claimed that the firm was
the oldest in the city. He also cited
some examples of long-serving employees, Mr Fowler 36 years, Mr Cook, cashier
28 years, Mr Hunter head of warehouse 25 years, Mr Cormack nursery foreman 22
years. After the chairman’s speech, the
employees, their wives and sweethearts were able to get on with the main event
of the evening, the commencement of dancing.
As with any
business of a significant size, there was a constant turnover of staff as
people retired and careers progressed but the most significant new arrival at the
firm during the partnership of Hay and Gibson was James Allardyce Duthie (1868
– 1920). James Duthie was born in the
village of Coull, which lies between Tarland and Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, in
1868, the youngest of a family of ten. At
the census of 1891, James was a clerk at a nursery and living in the family
home of his parents, John and Margaret, in Leadside Road, Aberdeen. This is likely to have been the nursery of
Ben Reid & Co, since he is known to have joined the firm about that year. A decade later James Duthie had moved to
Edinburgh and was working as a commercial traveller, boarding at 7 Marchmont
Crescent. It is possible that he was
working for Dixons of Edinburgh, seedsmen and nurserymen, since it is known
that he worked for that firm at some stage.
James A Duthie was definitely employed by Ben Reid & Co in a senior
role from 1898, since he started to be cited in the Post Office Directory for
Aberdeen with a Ben Reid affiliation. The
role played by James Duthie in the history of Ben Reid & Co was to be
significant but, before considering the events of 1898 onwards, it is first
necessary to go back to 1881 to examine the progress of the then newly created
company bearing the Ben Reid appellation and which was devoted to engineering
matters.
Ben Reid
& Co, engineers, agricultural implement makers and millwrights 1881 – 1895
The partners in
the new entity, Robert Glegg Garvie and William Anderson, like their
counterparts in the seeds and nursery business, were highly experienced and
knew their commercial territory well.
Robert was 38 and although he had only been four years at the Bon-Accord
Works, he had previously been associated with his father’s successful building
company. William was a little older, 43
and he had been an agricultural engineer all his adult life, and a traveller
with a successful competitor of Ben Reid & Co, Murray of Banff. The two partners had been in charge for
several years. George Reid must have
been satisfied that he had secured the future of the engineering operation in
which he had personally invested so much effort. Although both new partners were mechanically
inventive, Garvie and Anderson appeared to divide responsibilities for the
business between themselves. Garvie was
accountable for the manufacturing and service activities at the Justice Mill
site, while Anderson was the face of the business to the outside world. William Anderson attended the leading
agricultural shows throughout Great Britain and, increasingly, abroad. The two partners appeared to be firmly in
control and were confident leading from the front, and this was confirmed in
1885.
As with previous
changes in the management regime, business continued along established lines,
but with senior staff ever vigilant for new opportunities, constantly seeking
to improve existing products and to bring new designs to market. The firm seemed to be prepared to supply and
install mechanical equipment of almost any kind and often strayed from their
acknowledged areas of competence.
Aberdeen publisher, William Clark, reported at his bankruptcy
examination in 1881, “I got a gas engine from Messrs B Reid & Co
a double crown lithographic machine, a double crown lithographic press from the
same firm.” In 1884, Ben Reid & Co
constructed four wagons for Kincardine O’Neil Road Trust, to be towed by their
new traction engine, then under construction by John Fowler of Leeds. The Trust was “exceedingly well satisfied
with the workmanship”. Milk handling
equipment was another new business area for the firm and in 1894, they supplied
and fitted all the machinery in a new facility at the dairy farm of Glasslaw,
Stonehaven. Similarly, the following
year Ben Reid & Co installed a model bakery, including a 5hp Hornsby
Ackroyd oil engine, for Mr George Taylor of Summerhill. The firm also strayed far from their main
mission in supplying Bradford’s “Vowel” domestic clothes washing machines. These devices were heavily advertised and
demonstrations, and even lessons, mounted at Guild Street to convince Aberdeen
ladies that such a machine represented a good investment. Potential customers were even invited to
bring their own soiled linen to a trial.
It is to be wondered how many were prepared to see their dirty laundry
washed in public! Another unexpected
introduction was the “Excelsior health exercising apparatus” which was
demonstrated at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“The machine is an American invention and Messrs Ben Reid & Co are
agents for the North of Scotland”. It
seems not to have been a success. Wire fabrication, “of every description” and
fencing were also strong capabilities within the Bon-Accord Works.
Innovation
extended to facilities too. In 1881, the
premises of the newly separated firm consisted of the Bon-Accord Works and a
large warehouse at 8 Guild Street.
During late 1884 estimates were sought for the construction of a new
workshop at the Justice Mill site, though the date of its completion has not
been uncovered. By 1899 Ben Reid &
Co engineering had acquired an iron foundry at Footdee, probably the old
Blaikie Brothers foundry which had closed about 1895, and a large showroom at
28 Exchange Street. Eighteen ninety-five
was also the year when the firm acquired telephone communications. An innovative lighting system was installed at
the Bon-Accord Works in 1883 with “Dixon’s patent gas”
(presumably acetylene) the flame of which “is very brilliant and the gas has
the additional advantage of being cheap”.
Agency in the north of
Scotland for manufacturers elsewhere continued.
The firm claimed sole agency for all the leading manufacturers of churns
and butter workers. Ben Reid & Co
were also representatives for the Hornsby-Ackroyd patent oil engine (as
supplied to Mr George Taylor). This
machine was described as “the ideal farmer’s
engine”, with a working cost of less than 1d/hp/hour. Ben Reid also continued to design new
equipment, to modify existing models (not necessarily their own) and to supply
spare parts for the machines of other manufacturers. At the Royal Northern Show Dairy Exhibition
in 1890 a butter-making competition was held.
A line of
business which proved to be very popular was the sale and maintenance of garden
lawnmowers. An 1882 advertisement
summarised the offer. “Lawn
mowers of the best American and English manufacture. Have hard clean-cutting knives, and are easy
to work. The best lawn mowers in the
market. Lawn mowers sharpened and
repaired by experienced workmen.” The
offer included “Excelsior the latest and best American lawn mower”. The service was expanded and improved the
following season. “Lawn mower cutters
sharpened and ground by special machinery.
Orders left at the Works or the warehouse Guild Street will receive
prompt attention. Machines called for
and delivered free in the city and the suburbs.” Clearly, there was a strong focus by Anderson
and Garvie on keeping the customer happy.
It also appeared that in the
1880s the firm had started to take old agricultural machines in part-exchange
for new models. They then had to get rid
of the traded-in models. “For sale a few
second-hand side delivery, back delivery and manual reapers in good working
order.”; “Second-hand reapers for sale” (1882) and “Four-wheeled wagon, almost
new, for sale. Suitable for merchant,
brewer or horse-hirer” (1888), were typical offerings.
Exhibitions
attached to agricultural shows remained the principal means of reaching the
farming community, especially where there were motion yards and implement
trials too. They became increasingly
popular with implement manufacturers, who showed 660 separate items at the 1893
Royal Northern Agricultural Show, compared with 500 the previous year. New machines depended upon a good public
performance and favourable press reports to make an impact on sceptical,
conservative minds. William Anderson did
not hold back from a personal demonstration when he sensed, in 1881, that a
sale was imminent. “Yesterday Messrs B
Reid & Co sent out to Col Turner of Turnerhall for trial on the farm of
Tipperty one of Wood’s new reapers and binders.
The machine has been exhibited at some of the national shows and has
attracted a great deal of attention. It
was tried yesterday on a field of barley at Tipperty and performed its work in
such a satisfactory manner that it was at once purchased by Mr Forbes, Col
Turner’s representative.” Ben Reid &
Co were active in securing large display areas in prominent positions at
exhibitions, in pursuit of the attention of attendees. “This firm is always producing something new
and this year the novelty is in the form of a grubber, the tines of which can
be shifted to any width.”, came from the Aberdeen Journal’s report on the 1890
Highland and Agricultural show. At the
Royal Northern shows held in Aberdeen, Ben Reid & Co usually secured exhibition
stand No 1 which held a prominent position close to the entrance. This was the case in 1882 when “B. Reid &
Co” had “One of the largest and most valuable collections on the ground will be
found at stand no 1”. The firm also had
“no less than 53 entries” in individual machine competition classes. In the motion yard “they will show three
engines driving thrashing machines.”
Catalogues and
other printed advertising material seem not to have been much employed by the
Ben Reid & Co engineering works, being much more a device employed by the
seeds and nursery business. However, in
1887, the Bon-Accord Works did produce the “Bon-Accord Implement Review”, which
was 12 pages long. Its purpose was to
give “the users of agricultural implements such explanations of our manufactures
as will enable them to judge of their value and usefulness.” It does not appear to have been re-issued.
Between 1881
and 1897, Ben Reid & Co exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Society
(England), the Highland and Agricultural Show, the Royal Northern Show, the
Kincardineshire Farmers’ Club, the Smithfield Fat Cattle Show, the Edinburgh
Forestry Exhibition, mostly on an annual, repeating basis. The individual exhibits were too numerous to
bear full repetition, but an example from one year illustrates the breadth of
the firm’s implement offer. Royal
Northern Agricultural Show, 1882. “Ben
Reid & Co Stand No 1. New Stack
Cooler for harvesting crops independent of the weather. New Artificial Manure Distributor. New Dung Spreader. New Reaper and Binder. 1hp steam engine and thrashing machine, 2hp
steam engine and thrashing machine, 4hp steam engine. Wood’s reapers, Hornsby’s
reapers, Bisset’s Blairgowrie reapers, Lion reapers, American reapers. Horse rakes, Hay rakes, Corn bruisers, Chaff
cutters, Grist mills, Cake breakers, Washing machines, Mangles, Churns, Garden
seats, Lawn mowers.” Not much numerical
information has been unearthed on sales figures but by July 1893 the firm had
sold 50 Brantford open-end binders that season alone.
It has been pointed
out above that no direct evidence has been uncovered of the separate
engineering company bearing the Ben Reid name ever receiving the accolade of
Royal Tradesmen. However, William
Anderson was president of the Association of Her Majesty’s Tradesmen in
Aberdeen in 1893 and he was a member of a delegation from that rather exclusive
club which lobbied the Improvements Committee of Aberdeen Town Council the same
year concerning a proposal to erect a statue of Her Majesty in Aberdeen. The Royal Tradesmen had already decided to
commission a copy of a statue previously erected at Oodypore in India and was
pressing the Town Council to grant a site on the corner of St Nicholas Street
and Union Street. The Committee wanted
an original design, but the decision had already been taken. Further it wanted, not unreasonably, the
statue to be in granite but the Tradesmen had already decided on bronze. To its great credit, the Committee did not
take a sniffy attitude to these pre-emptions and granted the request. Perhaps William Anderson’s powers of
persuasion, employed so often in sales negotiations, won the day?
The craft
skills of George Hay, a cartwright at the Bon-Accord works did receive Royal
recognition. He supplied child-sized
wheelbarrows, exquisitely modelled, for the children of Princess Henry of
Battenberg (Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest child). Probably on the back of the Princess
Beatrice’s commissions, George Hay was engaged by the Duke and Duchess of Fife
to produce a similar article for their daughter Lady Alexandra Duff. Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife was a
granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Lady
Alexandra’s wheelbarrow, “neatly modelled, chastely varnished and painted and …
mounted with brass” was put on public display in a Union Street shop window in
1892.
It should not
be surprising that a heavy engineering operation, such as that belonging to Ben
Reid & Co should, in those pre-health and safety days, suffer occasional
serious accidents. In August 1888, a
team of men, led by William Walsh the foreman, was sent out to Murcar, which is
located on the coast road running north from Aberdeen, to dismantle and remove
a broken-down traction engine. The
operation was proceeding, when one of the large wheels, which was being lifted
over the side of a wagon, fell crushing joiner Andrew Cruickshank and resulting
in a compound fracture of the leg and ankle.
The wheel also crushed one of foreman Walsh’s hands, almost severing two
of his fingers. The following year, a
labourer, Gordon Wilson ravaged a finger with a circular saw, with the result
that the digit had to be amputated. On
another occasion at the Bon-Accord Works, a threshing machine was being hoisted
by a crane attached to a beam, but the beam collapsed rendering George Kelman
unconscious for two hours. He was
carried home but appeared to have had a lucky escape, with no broken bones.
One marked
feature of the management style of William Anderson and Robert Garvie was the
emphasis on social events involving all the employees of the firm and their
lady friends, such as the celebration of the firm’s successes and the marking
of important occasions for staff, for example, employee weddings. Up to 1893, the duties of chairing these
occasions was shared between the partners, and other senior staff members were
called upon to make presentations.
Annual assemblies gave the partners an opportunity to boast about the
firm’s achievements and to paint a glowing picture of the prospects for the
coming year. A typical event was held in
December 1892, with Robert Garvie, managing partner in the chair. His homily contained the usual exhortation for
the listening staff. “The chairman in
opening the meeting remarked on the very prosperous year that had just passed,
it was the best they had yet seen in the history of the Bon-Accord Works. The overturns were 20% better than any
previous year and 50% better than some years.
He was glad also to say that business for the coming season looked very
bright and hopeful more orders being on the books than at the same date last
year. In closing his remarks, the chairman
urged on the workmen the necessity of cooperating with the masters in their
efforts to produce the best class of machine at the lowest possible price, so
as to enable them to hold their own against the growing competition. If they did this, he had no fear of always
being able to provide them with plenty of work and good wages.” But the following year, 1893, proved to be
divisive for the firm, leading to the dissolution of the managing partnership
and the exit of Robert Glegg Garvie from Ben Reid & Co to set up his own,
competing company.
Disputes
involving Robert Garvie and the dissolution of his partnership with William
Anderson
In May 1893 the
Wood Mowing and Reaping Machine Company took legal action against Ben Reid
& Co to recover £524 they claimed was owed by Reids for 20 harvesters delivered
to the Aberdeen firm in the past two years under an agency agreement. Ben Reid & Co’s defence was that they had
never made a formal order, that £240 was due which they offered, and that Woods
could have the unsold machines back, if they wished. The outcome of the case has not been
uncovered but the fact that the case was instigated, rather than the dispute
resolved by negotiation between established business partners may have been a
worrying signal that all was not well.
October of the
same year brought another legal tussle, this time over a personnel matter. James Sangster was an apprentice agricultural
engineer who was caught deliberately breaking an oil can and other items. Robert Garvie took the miscreant to task, but
the lad spoke “disrespectfully” to the works manager. This response probably angered Garvie and the
apprentice was dismissed. Later the firm
offered to take him back if he apologised.
The case was decided for the pursuer, Sangster, because Ben Reid &
Co had not observed the terms of the agency agreement under which the
apprentice was engaged. In dismissing
him they should have given reason to the lad’s agent, who was responsible for
his good behaviour, which they did not do.
The contract was terminated by the court and £10 awarded to Sangster.
It is not known
if either of these cases had an effect upon the relationship between William
Anderson and Robert Garvie, but in December 1893, the partnership was dissolved
and Garvie left to pursue business independently. William Anderson then carried on the Ben Reid
& Co engineering business, presumably by buying out Robert Garvie’s share
of the business assets of the firm. Garvie
then established a new agricultural engineering company, the Hardgate Iron
Works. The relationship between the two
firms and their principals was bound to be tense and that stress bubbled up
into accusations concerning the new works manager for Ben Reid & Co, George
Duncan.
George Murray
Duncan (1862 – 1928) was a half-brother of James Stuart Duncan (see above) and
he too was an agricultural engineer who had worked for Murray of Banff. In 1896 he was appointed Manager of the
Bon-Accord Works of Ben Reid & Co and remained in that position until 1901. He had joined Ben Reid & Co in 1885 and in
January 1892 he left the employment of Ben Reid & Co for a different
firm. At the time of the dissolution of
the partnership between Garvie and Anderson at the end of 1893, George Duncan
was approached by both William Anderson and Robert Garvie to become works
manager at their respective companies.
Duncan chose to return to Ben Reid & Co. This choice seemed to annoy Robert Garvie and
he made several allegations against George Duncan who, believing the accusations
were untrue, sought redress in the courts for seeking to damage his reputation,
both with the public and with his employer.
Ben Reid &
Co had designed and manufactured a successful broadcast seed sower and Robert
Garvie, being aware of that success, sought to emulate it with his own machine
produced at the Hardgate Iron Works. He
claimed in conversation at the Royal Northern Show held at Kittybrewster in
March 1895 that Duncan had surreptitiously obtained drawings of the castings
for his competing sower by using subterfuge to stop a cart belonging to Messrs
Abernethy, which was transporting some Hardgate manufactures. Robert Garvie followed his verbal accusation
by foolishly sending a letter to George Duncan’s employer repeating the
accusation and making both a demand and a threat. “Hardgate, Aberdeen, March 12 1895. Dear Sirs, -In case you may not have a copy
of this specification of my patent for broadcast seed mower, I herewith enclose
a copy. I am aware however that you knew
perfectly well the nature of my invention as your manager last spring detained
Messrs Abernethy’s cart on which were some of my castings for upwards of an
hour until he had time to make a drawing of the castings. I have the proofs of this within easy
reach. Unless you are prepared to make
some satisfactory settlement, I shall do as I formerly intimated – place the
matter in the hands of my agents. Yours
truly, Robert G Garvie.”
Garvie probably
came to his conclusion about George Duncan due to Ben Reid & Co introducing
a modified component, the box end, which resembled the same item of the
Hardgate sower but he could not prove his supposition that the design had been
stolen. Robert Garvie had overstepped
the mark and had to apologise to George Duncan in court, though he claimed that
he was still pursuing Ben Reid & Co in another court for infringing his
patent. The case was adjourned but
before proceedings restarted, Robert Garvie threw in the towel and settled by
paying the sum of damages sought (£250) and expenses. George Duncan continued as manager of the
Bon-Accord Works.
Robert
Garvie, the Hardgate Iron Works and competition with Ben Reid & Co
In the 1894
edition of the Post Office Directory for Aberdeen, Robert Glegg Garvie was
entered as “Agricultural engineer, Hardgate Iron Works. Show rooms 13 Exchange Street.” Robert recruited a William Garvie, possibly a
relation, as his foreman millwright. One
of the first offers advertised by the Hardgate Iron Works was a do-it-yourself
land roller. The purchaser bought the
desired number of cylinders and brackets to customise a landroller of any
required width. “7 1/2 % discount for cash with order delivered. Free on rail or steamer. Land rollers complete with hardwood shafts
and rails from £4 upwards.” This offer appeared
to panic Ben Reid & Co, who immediately countered with a similar proposal. “To those desirous of making up their own
land rollers we offer cylinders at the undernoted prices.” … “These prices are
subject to a special discount for cash.
Free on rail or steamer here. Ben
Reid & Co, Bon-Accord Works Aberdeen.
All previous lists withdrawn.”
Robert Garvie worked hard to produce his own range of implements as the
following advertisement from April 1894 showed.
“Robert G Garvie (late of Ben Reid & Co) invites attention to his
new turnip sower made from entirely new patterns. Will sow equally well on hilly as on level
land and will not crush the seed.
Original inventor and patentee of the chain delivery manure distributor
for which I am now prepared to take orders.
Made in 6ft, 8ft and 10ft sizes.
Sole agent and importer of the Brantford expanding horse hoe and
cultivator, the best implement for cultivating between turnip and potato
drills. Chain harrows from 40s and
upwards. A large stock at hand, new and
improved expanding grubber fitted with steel shares. Hardgate Iron Works. Warehouse 13 Exchange Street.” With his showroom being in Exchange Street,
close to the Ben Reid & Co showroom, Garvie was determined to take on his
former colleagues in a direct way. The
readers of the Aberdeen Journal would have sensed that competition even,
perhaps, antagonism, from the issue of 20 July the same year. Both Ben Reid & Co and Robert G
Garvie had large advertisements about their implement displays at the upcoming
Highland and Agricultural Society Show placed prominently at the top of the front
page of the newspaper.
Robert Garvie
showed enormous zeal in trying to match the Ben Reid product offer after only a
few months of independent work, but hanging over him was the dispute with
George Duncan, which came to court in 1895 and, for some reason, it appeared
that Robert could not sustain his work effort.
In October 1895, the following advertisement appeared. “Exceptional opening for agricultural
engineer. Subscribers invite tenders for
the goodwill, buildings, plant &c of the business carried on by Mr Robert G
Garvie agricultural engineer Hardgate Iron Works and Exchange Street
Aberdeen. Works erected last year
showrooms Exchange St. A large and
increasing business has been carried on.
Business in full working order and is offered as a going concern.” Had Robert Garvie suffered some mental or
emotional impairment, brought on by the stresses of the last two years? That explanation looks possible.
Trustees were
appointed to manage Robert Garvie’s assets and in 1896 they were all sold
off. “Farmers dairymen gardeners and
others. The high-class stock belonging
to the trust estate of Mr RG Garvie consisting of ploughs, harrows, grubbers,
rollers, reapers, mowers, manure distributors, turnip cutters, slicers and
boilers, weighing machines, waterproof covers, barrows spades, garden mowers,
seats, rollers and all usual farm, dairy, laundry and garden requisites are
being offered at less than wholesale prices terms, cash. RG Garvie Trustees, Hardgate Works
Aberdeen.” The Hardgate Iron Works were
also sold, not to another engineering company but to the 1st
Aberdeen Volunteer Regiment Engineers, part of the Volunteer force, for £3,050
(about £405,650 in 2020 money). The
regiment converted the site to their headquarters, reputed to be the best
equipped in Scotland. But that was not
the end of Robert Garvie’s commercial aspirations. William Garvie “millwright and implement
maker” remained in the business directories for Aberdeen until 1911. Robert Garvie “engineer 18 Bon-accord Lane”
reappeared in the Post Office directories for Aberdeen continuously between
1900 and 1911, when his entries too stopped.
The exact nature of Robert Garvie’s engineering business between 1900
and 1911 has not been uncovered but a new firm, Robert Garvie and Sons was in
operation between 1920 and 1934 making agricultural implements.
The demise
of William Anderson
After the
dissolution of the Ben Reid & Co partnership with Robert Garvie in 1893,
William Anderson became the sole partner in the firm, but he did not long
survive in this singular role. In
September 1895, William expired due to kidney failure. His gross personal estate amounted to just
over £22,445 (about £2,962,740 in 2020 money).
His trustees consisted of two friends and two brothers and, after making
provision for his widow, Helen, they were empowered to manage his business as
they saw fit but were also charged with disposing of his assets at a time that
they judged to be favourable. The principal beneficiaries were William’s widow
and his two sons, Alexander Milne Anderson and John Anderson. Alexander is known to have been a clerk and
John became an engineer but it is not clear if either aspired to follow his
father in managing the Ben Reid & Co engineering business, or if either had
sufficient assets to buy out the shares of the other beneficiaries of William
Anderson’s estate. In 1897, after his
death, an elegant memorial, designed by Baillie Taggart, was placed over the
grave of William Anderson in Springbank cemetery.
Vincent Shaw
(1866 – 1936)
Vincent Shaw was a mechanical engineer who was born in 1866 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the county which was home to several large manufacturers of agricultural implements and engines. By the early 1890s he had become the agent in North East Scotland for John Fowler of Leeds, a major designer and manufacturer of traction engines, ploughing engines and railway equipment. In 1894, at the age of 38, he became the manager of the Bon-Accord Works of Ben Reid & Co and was admitted to the partnery of the firm, where he remained until 1899. Vincent appears to have been appointed, presumably by William Anderson, to replace Robert Garvie as manager of the Bon-Accord Works.
Fusion of
the two separate firms called “Ben Reid & Co and incorporation as a limited
company
Within a year
of the death of William Anderson, in 1896, his trustees had sold Ben Reid &
Co engineers to the partnership of Messrs Hay and Gibson of Ben Reid & Co
seeds and nursery. In 1898 there was an
auction of agricultural machines, which had mostly been made by Ben Reid &
Co and which belonged to the trustees of William Anderson. The reasoning behind the decision to reunite
the two disparate firms bearing the Ben Reid name was unclear. While both firms were complementary to each
other, they did not appear to interact meaningfully. Was the decision based on sentiment, rather
than economics? It is difficult to
know. Alexander Hay was 57 at the time
and his partner, William Gibson, was 67.
Their best business days were behind them. Furthermore, neither had any significant
understanding of engineering or the agricultural implement business. Both sides of the business, nursery and
engineering, had apparently been trading well but the partners in the now fused
Ben Reid & Co venture decided on a major change in ownership and
management. They sanctioned a move to
make the new entity a joint stock limited liability company. Had Hay and Gibson perhaps not ever heard the
adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?
Their decision, in hindsight, was little less than calamitous.
Ben Reid &
Co Ltd was formally incorporated on 26 April 1900. The aims of the new entity were, “1. To carry on all or any of the
businesses of wholesale and retail seed merchants, nurserymen,
arboriculturists, horticulturists, florists, fruiterers, farmers, graziers,
live-stock breeders, gardeners, foresters, seed growers, grain merchants,
dealers in and producers and manufacturers of manures and feeding stuffs, and
producers of all kinds of farm, nursery and garden produce. 2. To carry on all
or any of the businesses of agricultural and general engineers, locomotive
builders, bridge builders, agricultural and horticultural builders and
implement makers, manufacturers of gardeners’ and foresters’ tools, implements
and machinery, and of motor cars and other vehicles, and of gas, oil and
electric engines, and of wagons and steam road rollers, and of salt and sand
distributors for tramways, and of all kinds of fencing, wire-netting and
wirework, and of all other kinds of machinery plant. tools, instruments and
appliances, cartwrights, millwrights, wheelwrights, founders, moulders,
workers, fitters and finishers or iron, brass, copper, and any other metals,
blacksmiths, carpenters, joiners, painters, decorators, general builders,
architects and draftsmen.” Even given
that this statement of aims was put together by lawyers and intended to cover
every activity that either side of the business had ever engaged in, it was a
very wide remit. The capital of the new
limited company was £50,000 (about £6.5M in 2020 money) divided into 15,000
preferred shares of £1, bearing a cumulative dividend of 5%pa and 35,000
ordinary shares of £1. The company had power to increase or reduce its share
capital.
Both William Gibson and Alexander Hay became directors of the
company, with Alexander Hay as managing director. The other directors of Ben Reid & Co Ltd
were, RG Wilson architect,
James Laing consulting engineer and Alex Ledingham, solicitor, with James
Philip as company secretary. Many of the staff from the two
pre-existing businesses were retained too, but the decision was taken to
dispense with the services of Vincent Shaw.
Another senior engineer, Robert Tough, who had been the traveller for
the firm in Scotland, England and Ireland, left to join John Milne &
Co Ltd Dyce. George Duncan, the manager of the Bon-Accord
Works also left in 1900. The engineering
branch then found itself decidedly short of experienced senior management. The decision not to have a senior engineer
managing the engineering side of the operation and present on the company’s board
seems strange.
John Michie
(1853 – 1934) was appointed Head Forester on the Balmoral Estate in 1880 and
remained in this role until 1902, when he was elevated to the role of
Factor. When he was Head Forester, he
was a frequent and substantial customer of Ben Reid & Co, especially for
forest trees, as Michie was responsible for much replanting on the Royal
Deeside estates. For example, in March
1890 he ordered “27,000 larch, 200 beech, 200 ash, 200 spruce” and in April
1895 he ordered another 10,000 larch.
John Michie also collected Scots Pine cones from the Ballochbuie Forest
for Ben Reid for example, four bags of cones were sent to Aberdeen in
1901. From about 1901, John Michie also
became a customer for goods and services from Ben Reid’s engineering works, but
it soon became clear that all was not well with the performance of the
Bon-Accord Works. In July 1901 Michie
wrote as follows. “Slept at Royal Hotel
after business of pushing Ben Reid &Co. to forward wire for Glenmuick fence
above plantation.” Three weeks later his
annoyance with Ben Reid & Co Ltd had not diminished. “Visited workmen at fence on upper side of
Glenmuick plantation with I have been so much humbuged by Ben Reid & Co
people. The order for wire took some 7 weeks to implement then they sent 4cwt
too little. Winder stands too small. Only half the number of staples galvanized,
altho all were ordered so.” It was a
difficult situation for John Michie to negotiate because he was personally
close to both Alexander Hay and William Gibson.
Quite clearly, the Ben Reid engineering section, formerly so slick and
efficient, was falling down on the job.
The annual report of Ben Reid & Co Ltd produced early in
1902 did not make comfortable reading. Profits had declined from the previous
year and now stood at £686 net (about £84,378 in 2020 money). Seeds and nursery had been profitable, but
engineering had sustained a loss, largely, it was claimed, due to a fall in the
price of iron leading to a drop in the value of the company’s stock in
trade. Perhaps belatedly, the board was contemplating
changes in the management of the engineering operation. Messrs Hay and Gibson, holders of the
preference shares, agreed to forego their dividends. Alexander Hay then bailed out as a director,
his given reason for resignation being “pressure of work”. This was a dramatic turn around in the
commercial fortunes of an engineering operation which for many years had been
flourishing. For example, one of the
strongest selling lines in the 1890s had been the Brantford binder and between
1890 and 1898, 964 such implements had been sold in the north of Scotland
alone.
In 1903, Ben
Reid & Co Ltd bought the Seaton Pottery, apparently to produce their own
plant pots. The limited company’s
predecessor, Ben Reid & Co, is known to have had some interest in this
facility since 1900, because it appeared in their advertisements - “Potteries
Seaton”. This small factory, located within
sight of the mouth of the River Don on the north eastern edge of the city, was
established sometime before 1827 and produced a rather rustic style of domestic
pottery, now known as Seatonware. In
1868 this manufactory was taken over by Thomas Gavin and James Ritchie and
operated under their management until Gavin died in 1899. Subsequently, it was left in trust to be run
by Gavin’s two sons, but their regime ended in 1903 on the accession of the new
owners. In the following year, a Mr
Clark and a Mr Smith from Denby (famous for Denby Ware) in Derbyshire were
engaged to manage the works for Ben Reid & Co Ltd. Clark and Smith’s interests did not lie in
the mass production of plant pots, though they were obliged to continue with
this industrial line. They essentially
converted the works into an art pottery, but the output included “hanging flower
pots, crimp top vases and crocus pots of the latest designs in terracotta,
majolica and various other colours”.
Arthur Mills, who had come to Aberdeen to work with Clark and Smith took
over management of the works in 1905 and continued in the mould of Clark and
Smith. Some of the products were even
more exotic than those of his predecessors, “fern pots on pedestals, umbrella
stands, Rebecca jars and a variety of small fancy and grotesque pieces
including crocus pots in the shape of elephants”. Presumably, these items were available for
sale in Ben Reid & Co’s Aberdeen shop.
Nineteen Hundred and four saw Ben
Reid & Co Ltd move their main office from 28 Exchange Street to their old
shop at 145 Union Street. It was
presented as a strategic move “To
suit the convenience of our numerous country customers”, but had more the appearance
of a rationalisation, perhaps in an attempt to trim overheads. As a result of the relocation, the large
central warehouse between Exchange and Stirling Streets occupied by Ben Reid
& co Ltd composed of 5 storeys and an attic, total floor space about 2034
sq yds (18,306 ft sq!) to be let in whole or in parts at 28 May
next.” There were other hints in 1904 that
economies were being made, such as a special offer to clear Bon-Accord lawn
mowers, a stable and haystore in Denburn offered for let and a sale of nursery
stock at Granitehill Nursery. The
following year, 1905, there was a further, large auction of stock “Over
1,000,000 seedling and transplanted forest trees ornamental shrubs and conifers
hedging fruit bushes roses etc etc.”
Because of its scale, this event had more the appearance of a fire sale. It was followed by another event of similar
scale later the same year. The now
desperate attempt to raise cash continued the following year when a cottage in
Justice Mill Lane and workshops and stores on the Bon-Accord Works site were
put up for rent. There was a further
clearance of lawn mowers, with the added incentive of a “liberal discount for
cash”. Matters came to a head in January
1907 when Ben Reid & Co Ltd held an Extraordinary General Meeting at which
the following resolution was presented for discussion and voting. ““That it has been proved to the satisfaction
of the company that it cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its
business and that it is advisable to wind up the same and accordingly that the
company be wound up voluntarily.” The
meeting had no option but to take this unpalatable step. A great company which, just a few years
previously, had been profitable in all its operations, had been brought to its
knees. What was the cause of Ben Reid
& Co Ltd’s demise? Without more
information it is difficult to be sure, but unfamiliarity with the operations
of a joint stock company, an unbalanced board and a lack of experienced
engineering management have all been suggested here as possible contributory
factors.
Ben Reid
& Co Ltd’s assets are sold
The resolution to wind up Ben Reid
& Co Ltd was passed on 4 February 1907.
The process to
dispose of the assets of Ben Reid & Co Ltd began immediately. “Large central warehouse and shop between
Exchange Street and Stirling Street for let in whole or in part.” Further disposals occurred over the next few
months. March 1907. “Clearance sale at Pinewood Park Nurseries,
Mannofield, Aberdeen.” March 1907. “Clearance sale at 23 Stirling Street garden
tools, lawnmowers, seed potatoes vegetable and flower seeds.” The clearance sale at 23 Stirling Street
needed two repetitions to shift all the stock.
March 1907. “Clearing sale of
fruit trees and bushes, roses, hardwood trees for shelter, ornamental shrubs,
specimen conifers. All recently
transplanted and in best possible condition for moving. At greatly reduced prices for cash.” March 1907.
“Clearance sale at 145 Union Street.”
June 1907. “Nursery ground 7
acres and greenhouses at Queen’s Road occupied by Ben Reid & Co Ltd to be
let with entry at Martinmas.” September
1907. “Clearance sale at Granitehill
Nursery.”
In October
1907, a “Remunerative Investment” was advertised in the Aberdeen Journal. “The premises in Seaton Place near Old Town Links
comprehending Seaton Pottery the Plant therein, a small substantial cottage and
over half an acre of ground will be exposed for sale by public roup in Edmunds
and Ledingham’s chambers 1 Golden Square on Friday 25th October curt
at 2pm. The pottery is let on lease till
Whitsunday 1909. Rental £40. Feu duty £14.
Upset price £250.” The Seaton
Pottery was advertised for sale again in February 1908 but not thereafter, so
it probably sold at the second attempt.
The final winding up meeting of Ben Reid & Co Ltd was
held on 10 May 1909.
James Duthie
and George Cooper acquire the Ben Reid nursery business
Although the
seeds and nursery business had remained profitable, a single legal entity owned
it, together with the unprofitable engineering operations. “Ben Reid and Co Ltd (in liquidation). For sale as going concerns together or
separately. 1. Wholesale seed business with tenancy of
warehouse and office in Exchange Street.
2. Retail seed and florist
business with tenancy of 23 Stirling Street and 145 Union Street. 3.
Nursery and farm stock at Pinewood Park.
4. Stock at Granitehill
Nursery.”
Eight months
later a new owner of the seeds and nursery business was announced in the
Aberdeen Journal. “Opening
announcement. The old-established seed
and nursery business of Ben Reid and Co and the goodwill thereof has been
acquired by JA Duthie, Pinewood Park Nurseries Mannofield (for 16 years with
Ben Reid and Co) and George M Cooper (for 18 years with Messrs Smith and Son,
Seedsmen, Aberdeen) who will trade as seedsmen and nurserymen under the name of
“Benjamin Reid and Company”. Nurseries
Pinewood Park, Mannofield. Office and
seed warehouse 72 Guild Street, Aberdeen.
George Mearns
Cooper (1873 – 1913) was born in Aberdeen in 1873, the son of James Cooper,
sometime farm bailiff and gamekeeper. George
had moved to Aberdeen by 1891, when he was found in the Census of that year as
a 17-year-old apprentice gardener lodging with the Procter family at Prospect
Terrace, Aberdeen. Ten years later he
was described as a seedsman and his “digs” were in Crown Street. The employer of George Cooper was William
Smith & Son, nurserymen, seedsmen and florists, who had shops in Market
Street and Hadden Street and nurseries at Burnside. (see above). George Cooper married in 1904 but he and his
wife, Mary, did not produce a family. From
the same year to at least 1910, George M Cooper was listed in the Post Office
Directory for Aberdeen as a seedsman with William Smith & Son. Perhaps reaching a prominent position within
the business was the event which induced him to pop the question to his
intended life-partner?
A phoenix then
arose from the ashes of Ben Reid & Co Ltd, in the form of the co-partnership
of James Duthie and George Cooper.
The
Bon-Accord Engineering Company acquires the Ben Reid engineering business
Ben Reid &
Co Ltd’s engineering business was disposed of quite quickly. The Bon-Accord Engineering Company (B-AECL),
incorporated in 1906, was the new owner and announced its purchase in March
1907. It had acquired the Works at Justice
Mill, together with the stock, plant and goodwill. The origins of this new company were
interesting.
David Alexander
Coutts, born 1874, was the son of Archibald Coutts, a mechanical engineer and
ironfounder who was a partner in the firm of William McKinnon & Co. McKinnon & Co’s base was the Spring
Gardens Iron Works, Aberdeen. It had
been established in 1798 and very little of its business was local. Mostly, it designed and manufactured
machinery for sugar and coffee plantations abroad. DA Coutts also became a mechanical engineer
and received his technical training at Robert Gordon’s College before
undertaking an apprenticeship, which he completed in 1897, with McKinnons. He was then employed by the firm until
1905.
David Coutt’s
father Archibald died suddenly in 1901 at the age of 56. He had not made a will and his wife was
declared his executrix. Archibald
Coutts’ estate (excluding real estate) on which he paid death duty was valued
at just over £21,464 (about £2,661,536 in 2020 money). The demise of Ben Reid & Co Ltd, with its
engineering division, appeared to be the kind of business opportunity that
David Alexander Coutts had been seeking.
Although the shareholders in the new entity (B-AECL), the direct
successor of Ben Reid & Co, have not been established it is likely that the
share capital was put up by David Coutts and/or his widowed mother. It was claimed that the B-AECL business had
been established in 1832. The
partnership between James Reid and Benjamin Reid was in existence during that
year but no event has so far been established which would substantiate the
claim. In March 1908, the Justice Mill
Lane site with its buildings was offered for sale at an upset price of £3,500
(about £423,500 in 2020 money). It has
not been established if B-AECL bought the site at this juncture, but it did
eventually come into their ownership.
The first
advertisement setting out the business offer by B-AECL appeared during 1907. “Wire trellis work, wire stands, wire flower
baskets, wire garden arches, wire wreath frames.” Wire fabrication had been a prominent
capability of the Bon-Accord Works during the time it was owned by Ben Reid
& Co, including after the emergence of the limited company, so it is
presumed that B-AECL had acquired the equipment necessary for wire working. The same advertisement appeared many times
during May – July 1907. The imminence of
the Royal Northern Agricultural Show brought forth a further notice to the
public from the firm. “Bon-Accord
Engineering Co Ltd successors to Ben Reid & Co Limited Aberdeen will
exhibit Massey-Harris light draught binders, Massey-Harris mowers, New
“Diamond” mower, chain drive, noiseless.
Corn drills, broadcast sowers, artificial manure distributors
&c. Threshing machines in motion,
dairy implements and utensils, garden furniture, bruisers, chaff cutters etc,
etc. A call respectfully
solicited.” “Lawn mower sharpening by
special machinery” was advertised extensively from May 1908. These announcements, taken together,
suggested that the new company was progressively reactivating lines of business
previously pursued by Ben Reid & Co Ltd, it is assumed based on their
estimated profitability. In August 1908,
“Several second-hand Massey Harris and Woods binders for sale in first class
working order” indicated that B-AECL had sold some new implements and taken old
ones in part-exchange. Over the period
1908 – 1910, B-AECL sought several new employees – “Blacksmith apprentice
wanted with a year or two in the trade”, “Blacksmiths wanted. Only those accustomed to agricultural
implement work need apply.”, “Wanted travellers for Morayshire and North of
Scotland”, “Wanted apprentice engineers” – suggested that the new company was
at least surviving and possibly thriving.
By 1909 the firm had got around to clearing out old stock from the
Bon-Accord Works. “Large quantities of
fencing and other kinds of wire, shop soiled various sizes” and “A number of
riddles from ½ in to 1 in mesh also close mesh sieves slightly soiled”, both to
be “sold cheap”, were offered. David
Coutts was managing his new charge well.
In 1912, B-AECL
publicised two thrashing machine designs, one being suitable for use on small
farms, which appeared to be of their own invention. It was also acting as agent for other
manufacturers, such as Simplex. By 1919,
thrashing machines had become one of its specialities. In December of that year, it installed new
plant at the farms of William Strathdee at Elgin and Mr and Mrs Rodd,
Brachmont, Durris and also supplied petrol engines to power the apparatus.
However, the 1920s and 1930s were a time of economic depression and, for small
companies operating in a tight market for agricultural machines, they had
increasingly to compete with big and successful companies, based elsewhere in
the UK and in North America. These
trends drove small agricultural engineering companies out of the market for
high volume products like tractors, engines, sowing drills and harvesters and
towards production of specialist equipment, the repair and second-hand markets
and to more local supply of general engineering services and products. As an example, in 1927 a tender of £89 by Bon-Accord
Engineering was accepted by Aberdeen Town Council for the supply of 13 seats,
to be placed on the beach esplanade. The
year 1930 saw a big export success for B-AECL when it won a contract to supply
rice cleaning and dressing plant to the Egyptian Government. About this year also, the company started to
advertise its expertise in pattern-making.
They also turned to more mundane products for local farmers such as poultry
houses, huts and garages. A final throw
of the dice was to produce machines designed by independent inventors in the
North of Scotland, but this, too, did not bring economic salvation.
In 1935, David
Coutts was probably delighted to receive an approach from the Town Council who
were seeking a site in the west end of the town for a new public swimming bath. B-AECL was not only the occupier of the site
at Justice Mill Lane, but also the proprietor.
Some of the councillors were keen to see this site redeveloped, as it
was now an eyesore located well within the built-up part of the town. Provisional agreement was reached for the
sale of the site, buildings and machinery for a price of £5,150 (£371,830 in
2020 money), less, in equivalent value, than when the Works were bought in 1908. The Council then approved this deal and a
significant part of the town’s industrial heritage was obliterated. In its place the populace got to enjoy, five
years later, the fine Art Deco Bon-Accord Baths. The Bon-Accord Engineering Co Ltd was then
wound up and David Coutts moved on to employment elsewhere. The last significant vestige of the Ben Reid
& Co’s, and especially George Reid’s, engineering triumphs had disappeared.
Bon-Accord Baths
Ben Reid
& Co under the management of James Duthie and George Cooper
The new firm,
bereft of stock, seemed to make a modest start in regenerating business
activity and it was 1909 before much activity was evident. Lawn mowers, which had been the province of
the engineering section of Ben Reid & Co Ltd, now began to be offered by
the seeds and nursery business. June
1909. “Lawn mowers by all the best
makers. Britisher, Caledonia, Lion,
Majestic, New England, etc, etc. All at
keenest prices. Lists and special terms
on application.” Other components of the
new business offer soon followed.
“Christmas trees all sizes.
Berried and variegated holly evergreens” were advertised in December and
by the following year a truly recognisable “Ben Reid” business offer was on
display. “Reliable flower and vegetable
seeds. High class strains only of all
the best and up-to-date varieties.
Illustrated price list gratis and post free on application.” Early 1911 saw the return of the traditional
Ben Reid catalogue, “Now ready illustrated spring catalogue of garden seeds,
plants, flower roots, etc etc, with full cultural directions gratis and post
free on application.”
It is not clear
if the status of Royal Tradesmen was retained by the firm during the upheavals
caused by voluntary liquidation, but that accolade was certainly in place in
1911 when representatives of the Aberdeen Royal Tradesmen were invited to a
ball at Balmoral Castle. The Royal crest
started to appear on Ben Reid & Co advertisements from the following year. James Duthie was present at Balmoral
representing Ben Reid & Co. John
Michie, the Balmoral Factor, greeted the monarch’s guests. “Ladies and gentlemen, - Were the King and
Queen able to be present here at their Majesties’ beloved Highland Home tonight
you would have received a most cordial welcome from the fountainhead (Applause). Let me therefore say that their Majesties
hope you may enjoy to the full this evening’s entertainment provided for us all
by the King in commemoration of their Majesties’ Coronation. (Loud applause)”
WW1 was soon
upon the revitalised Ben Reid & Co and at this time of national food
shortages, there was a considerable emphasis on citizens growing their own fruit
and vegetables and this theme was prominent in the advertisements of the
firm. A typical example from March 1917
was as follows. “Grow vegetables and
contribute to national food supply. For
seeds of most productive varieties try Benjamin Reid & Co, seedsmen to the
King, 72 Guild Street, Aberdeen.” The
firm also made wartime donations of fruit and vegetables to the Aberdeen Royal
Infirmary.
James Duthie
(1868 – 1920) was the oldest of a family of nine. He had married Margaret Morrice Smith in 1896
but they only produced one child, Margaret Alexander Duthie. George Cooper was even less successful in the
reproductive stakes. He and his wife
Elizabeth had no children. Also, George
died before his business partner, leaving the human stage in 1913. James Duthie then assumed a sole partnership
in the firm. As a result of these events,
when James died in 1920, he had no son and heir to follow him into the seeds
and nursery business. James Duthie’s trust
disposition and settlement made explicit his wish that his brother Edwin should
have the opportunity to take over the business.
““Before selling or disposing otherwise of the nursery and seed business
carried on by me under the name of Ben. Reid & Co my trustees shall if my
brother Edwin Charles Duthie nurseryman residing at Hillview House West Cults
near Aberdeen is alive at the time of my death and in their view than likely to
be able to continue the business successfully offer it for sale to him on such
terms as for instance at mutual valuation or otherwise as to them may appear
reasonable and expedient they being the sole judge in that matter.” His
youngest brother, Edwin Charles Duthie, had trained as a cabinet maker, but on
the death of his oldest sibling he took over the management of Ben Reid &
Co and eventually bought it. Since 1913, Ben Reid & Co has been managed
by the wider Duthie family right to the present day.
Succession
and evolution
In the
introduction to this story, reference was made to the complex history of Ben
Reid & Co Ltd as it exists today and, as illustrated above, that summary is
certainly true. However, the tortuous
path that the antecedents of the present entity took was perhaps more
convoluted than could have been anticipated.
In particular, though part of the same story, the view from the present
company looking backwards generates a different perspective from the opposite
direction of time travel, ie looking forward from William Reid’s mid-18th
century seed and nursery business.
Looking backwards from the 21st century an essentially linear
succession is perceived in the journey to William Reid, but looking forward
from the past, the feature which stands out is the branching nature of the
evolution, with new firms being created at intervals and most eventually being
truncated before the present, except for two, Ben Reid & Co Ltd itself and
William Smith & Son. These survivors
are a product of natural selection by several agencies, not the least of which
was customer choice. The relationships of these linked firms are summarised in the following two figures.
Figure 1
Figure 2
A question
which inevitably springs to mind is, what constitutes succession? In a market economy companies are frequently
born and almost as frequently die. Few
companies survive for decades, let alone for centuries and while they are
extant, they change. They change owners,
they change managers, they change legal structures and the areas of business in
which they operate evolve. They undergo
fusion, by merger or take-over, involving other businesses. More frequently, fission splits them into,
usually, two new entities.
Is there an
essential ingredient which defines firm B as the offspring of firm A? On the evidence of the changes listed here,
there is no unique property which characterises such a linkage. Rather, a multitude of linkage types can be
demonstrated. Some changes would be
accepted, without dispute, as retaining an organic linkage between two
companies. A renewal of management, new
ownership, merger, fission, the introduction of new areas of business and the
elimination of others, and the assumption of a new legal structure would all
seem to be incontestable as changes which do not break the evolutionary
relationship between business entities.
But what if a part-owner or a manager leaves to form a new firm which is
a direct competitor? A link remains
between new and old with the passage of know-how inside the heads of the
exiles, but such a link is much more tenuous than for most other evolutionary
processes mentioned above. Perhaps it is
wise to leave the exploration of this question in suspense and simply accept
that linkages between progenitor and successor fall on a spectrum between
strong and weak.
The creation of
partnerships, the dissolution of partnerships, the emergence of competitors
from the actions of departing managers and the recruitment of new managers,
some relatives of old managers, some not, litter the histories of the firms
covered here but a family relationship does seem to lead to a stable business
relationship. So, harking back to 1842
when the partnership of James Reid and Ben Reid was dissolved, the question
should be posed again: “Were they related”?
It is a
remarkable fact that in present-day Aberdeen two of the most important nursery
businesses, Ben Reid & Co Ltd and William Smith & Son Ltd can trace
back a lineage extending over such a long period, since at least 1754 in the
case of Ben Reid and since 1845 in the case of William Smith. What is even more remarkable is the fact that
the two lines intersect, and that William Smith has an arguable claim to be a
more direct descendant of the firm run successively by William Reid and his son
James that the firm now bearing the Reid name.
In 1842, James Reid and Ben Reid decided to go their different ways. James Reid continued to run the existing
business and immediately recruited William Smith to assist him, though that
partnership lasted only for three years before a further fission led to the
creation of the line leading directly, in 1853, to the definitive progenitor of
W Smith & Son.
The Smith line
of firms is marked by relative stability, punctuated only once by a minor
change in name, experiencing only limited change in business area and achieving
succession by the progressive introduction of new management. On the other hand, the line descending from
Ben Reid, when he left James Reid in 1842, while retaining the name and
business area of the founder, was marked by business dynamism and
innovation. The author of this more
activist approach to new business was George Reid, nephew of Ben. Although not an engineer by training, his
natural abilities allowed him to create a new business within the existing
firm, dealing with agricultural engineering, which evolved into a separate
partnership, while retaining the Ben Reid appellation. In about 20 years this business had become
one of the largest agricultural engineering firms in Scotland and one which
sold its products both nationally and internationally. George Reid was also responsible for two
major facilities projects, the creation of the Bon-Accord Works and the
building of new premises at Guild, Exchange and Stirling streets in central
Aberdeen. Although ill-health would
truncate his life when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in about 1876, he
still managed a successful transition in the engineering business before his
death by recruiting new managers, who were mostly successful.
But risk can
bring both reward and peril. The low
point in the evolution of the Ben Reid line was undoubtedly the decisions to
reunite the engineering and seeds/nursery businesses and then to transform the
merged entity into a limited liability joint stock company. What advantages did the Ben Reid managers
think would accrue from this purchase?
The business logic of this move is difficult to understand from the perspective
of the present. Similarly, with the
creation of a joint stock company, what was the motive? Was new capital required for expansion? And why did the board lack engineering
experience and an absence of direct representation by the engineering
managers? After the inevitable fire sale
of assets following voluntary liquidation, the two businesses were both
recovered and regenerated, probably due to the greater competence of the new
owners and managers. In business, not
every decision is a good decision, and a few decisions can be seriously in
error. Fortunately, able and determined
owners and managers, as in the case of Ben Reid & Co Ltd, can often find
worth in the wreckage of a business disaster.
Don Fox
20201221
I am indebted to Dr Darren Layne for information on Jacobite combatants at Culloden and to Katrina Frere-Smith for creating the diagrams.
