SOIL FERTILITY DUNNS LTD.

TR DUN

1858 - 1969

Premises located at Hartham, Corsham, Wiltshire The firms origins go back to 1832 when S. Dunn opened a seed and corn store in Gillingham, Dorset, subsequently being joined by his son James H. Dunn. In 1871 the latter assumed sole control, and was later joined by his son, Hammond Dunn. The business still specialising in agricultural seeds moved to Bournemouth in 1890 and changed location again in 1918 with a move to Castle Street, Salisbury. Shortly afterwards, in 1920, the limited company of Dunns Farm Seeds Ltd. came into being. Business thereafter grew steadily until by 1934 Dunns farm seeds were available throughout southern England, the Midlands and Wales, in addition to the development of a large grain business. Garden seeds were not neglected, (though they were never of such importance to Dunns as they were to firms like Suttons and Carters), and their marketing commenced in 1929 using mainly small retail outlets. In 1937 a seed cleaning warehouse was opened in Scamells Road, Salisbury, extended in 1948 and in 1950 the firm's office was moved there from the cramped quarters in Castle Street. A single storey extension was added to the warehouse in 1959. The firm also began to acquire other companies and expand its outlets. In 1949 the firm of J.J. Inglis of Ayr were bought out, in 1948 Dardis & Dunns Seeds Ltd., Dublin came into being via the purchase of an interest in the firm of Dardis (wholly owned by Dunns by 1961), in 1957 a regional office and warehouse were opened in Shropshire and in the same year Dunns Farms Seeds (Canada) ltd. was formed at Guelph Ontario, in association with two Canadian seed companies. Early 1960's development included the purchase of Cundy & Son Ltd. of Sudbury in 1962 and the opening of a regional office in Northamptonshire. In 1966, Dunns Farms Seeds Ltd. was taken over by the Bath & Portland Group Ltd., and joined with Soil Fertility Ltd., of Corsham, Wiltshire to form Soil Fertility Dunns Ltd.

The records comprise principally a fine run of bound volumes of Dunns publications covering 1903-1962 [TR DUN/P1/A1-15], together with over 140 different loose publications [TR DUN/P2/A]. The remaining items include a variety of technical papers [TR DUN/E73] associated with Prof. R.G. Stapledon (who joined the firm in 1947 when he retired as director of the Welsh Plant Breeding Station) and Prof. T. Wibberley, as well as a volume of reports on overseas visits in the late 1940s [TR DUN/AD7/1], the certificate of incorporation of Dunns Farm Seeds Ltd., in 1920 [TR DUN/CO2/1] and a sales ledger of S. & J.H. Dunn, while in business at Gillingham covering 1858-1863 [TR DUN/AC1/1]

235 Documents

fonds

Hartham, Cutivation, cereals, Vegetable, Flower

TR DUN/AC ACCOUNTS TR DUN/AC/1 Ledgers TR DUN/AD ADMINISTRATIVE AND COMMERCIAL RECORDS TR DUN/AD/7 Commercial Records TR DUN/CO COMPANY RECORDS TR DUN/CO/2 Limited Company Records TR DUN/ET TECHNICAL RECORDS TR DUN/ET/3 General Technical Reference Records TR DUN/P PUBLICATIONS, PROMOTIONS AND ADVERTISING RECORDS TR DUN/P/1 General Compilations TR DUN/P/2 Individual Advertising Publications TR DUN/PH PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDS TR DUN/PH/3 Individual Photographic Prints TR DUN/SP SOCIAL AND PERSONAL RECORDS TR DUN/SP/1 General Reference Records