How Boby’s Engineering, of Bury St Edmunds, contributed to the industrialisation of town and was targeted by Zeppelins

Robert Boby (1814-1886) started as a metal dealer in Bury St Edmunds, his business soon growing into one of the best known engineering companies and employers in the town contributing to the ‘industrialisation’ of Bury.

Metal worker Robert Boby had, in 1843, started out pretty low key but progressed to purchase seven acres of land between St Andrew’s Street South and Cemetery Road (today’s Kings Road) to build his St Andrew’s Ironworks factory, manufacturing agricultural equipment.

In 1856 his company had only managed to turn out 200 corn screens, but by 1887 an astonishing 13,000 had been distributed throughout the world. This may have had something to do with ‘every cloud has a silver lining’, because 10 years earlier a massive fire devastated the site, resulting in newer machinery being installed and better working practices. By now Boby’s was possibly the largest employer in the town, 200 people being on the payroll.

To ensure products were distributed far and wide efficiently, Robert and his brother George even opened premises on Station Hill, conveniently close to the station.

After Robert died in 1886 other family members, including his nephew Charles Mumford, ran the company, which had won numerous awards including some 50 medals for the quality of workmanship.

In 1900 The Northgate Foundry, Boby’s second foundry, was built with nearby worker’s cottages, called Klondyke, to cope with the large amount of metal castings required.

During World War Two, St Andrew’s Ironworks, Boby’s factory, was involved with the manufacture of munitions. The factory and the nearby militia barracks were targeted by Zeppelins. Their bombs missed their intended objectives, however some occupants of nearby Mill Road and Chalk Road were sadly killed.

Boby’s was eventually taken over by Vickers Ltd, of Barrow in Furness, by 1927.

In time, Boby’s employees had successful football and cricket teams as you would expect but, in 1971, the Boby’s factory sadly closed, with nearly 300 people put out of work, although some design staff continued to be employed until 1973, Northgate Foundry having closed in 1966.

The former carpenters’ shop, off St Andrew’s Street South, was taken down and re-constructed at the Museum of East Anglian Life, in Stowmarket, and eventually the Boby’s site became a trading estate called Robert Boby Way, with Waitrose supermarket and other national companies prominent.

Only the Boby administration offices, at 43-45 St Andrew’s Street South survive today, occupied by Neptune lifestyle furniture and kitchens.

However on my travels around Bury I came across on the former Dunnells maltings, in Mildenhall Road, converted by Havebury Housing to homes, a metal pattress plate, one of many on this building used to anchor the masonry wall to the floor structure. Save this one shown – with R BOBY, BURY St EDs – all the others have TGC on for Thomas Gery Cullum, who once owned the building.

As far as I know this plate is the only piece of Boby metalwork in public view.