BRIGG SURVEY FROM THE 1960s SPRINGS A FEW SURPRISES

A chance find in Brigg Blog's archives highlights some of the main business employers in the town during the mid-1960s.
The document lists them and details the number of jobs then provided.
We've decided to reproduce the exact wording used by the report's author all those decades ago...
Corah's Stocking Factory: The average number of girls employed is 260. A few men are also employed. The manager, Mr Marshall, says that female labour is very short in Brigg, and he has great difficulty in maintaining a suitable labour force. Each machine costs £400 so every idle machine is a loss to the firm.
Spring & Company Ltd: Founded in 1885 this company provides employment for about 120 regular workers in the canning and preserving of fruit and vegetables, etc. During the summer when fresh fruit is being canned and jammed, seasonal workers are employed, bringing the total labour force up to over 200. In 1965 a new pack, Fish in White Sauce, was launched. Spring's were the originators of the now well-known Mamade, and demonstrations showing how to make this have been given to several W.I. meetings throughout the district.
Peacock & Binnington: 65 employees. They distribute farm machinery and grain drying equipment. They service farm machinery and have a comprehensive store of spare parts.
Rowbottom's Engineering Works: 36 employees. Their main work is to supply steel frames for farm buildings. They manufacture and erect these buildings. They have developed their own system of making special storage panels for grain.
Earnshaw's Wood Yard: 10 employees, including one lorry driver and one office girl. Their main work is making and supplying timbers for the National Coal Board for the mining industries. They also supply the building trade and agricultural concerns with posts and fencing. Trees are bought from the Yarborough and Nelthorpe Estates. They supply chain saws for people who require them for felling trees.
Brigg Sugar Factory - the largest local employer - was sited in Scawby Brook; being outside the town boundary, it was not included in this review.
PICTURED ABOVE: Spring's viewed from the County Bridge, early 1970s. This proved to be the factory's final decade before closure.