| CHRONOLOGY | ||
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1892 |
Artesian well bored, 180 feet deep, with a good supply of water | |
| 1892 - 1901 | The site at Sleaford is chosen for five principal reasons. The first reason was that Sleaford was near the areas where the English malting barley primarily grew. Second, the site had sufficient water available. Third, the seasonal labour came from the barely growing areas and was easy to obtain in Sleaford. Fourth, Sleaford was served by the railways. Fifth, it was cheaper to bring barley to Sleaford than to Burton where Bass had its other maltings. Construction at the site was deferred due to a nationwide trade slump. Sixteen malthouses were originally planned, with the second group located immediately to the south of the existing group. | |
| 1901 | Bass buy 13.3 acres of freehold land at the site of the artesian well. The whole complex was designed by H A Couchman, an Architect and Engineer working for Bass Ratcliff and Gretton Ltd. The malthouses at Bass's Shobnall Road site, also designed by Couchman, were the model for Sleaford, but the new malthouses incorporated considerable refinements including the grain handling systems, ventilation, draft control of the furnaces and in the design of the steeping tanks. The applications for building were submitted to Sleaford U D C in March, for eight cottages, offices, mess rooms and other ancillary buildings. The plans for the malthouses were submitted and approved in December. |
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| 1901 - 1906 | The Engine House and Boiler House were built first, followed by the Malthouses. The whole complex, including the Houses, cost £350,000, and had the capacity to produce 60,000 quarters of malt in one season. | |
| 1906 - 1907 | Malting begins in the first four Malthouses in September, the next two Malthouses in October, and the final two in January 1907. | |
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| 1945 | Vacant space in Bass Maltings is let to local tradesmen. | |
| 1946 | Gas lighting replaced by electricity | |
| 1958 - 1959 | Production stops due to the advent of new malting processes and the size and inefficiency of the Malthouses. | |
| 1969 | First fire occurs. | |
| 1973 | GW Padley (Property) Ltd. purchases the Maltings. Three of the malthouses are used to rear chickens, and five of the malthouses or vegetable processing and freezing. | |
| 1974 | Bass Maltings complex listed Grade II. | |
| 1976 | Second fire occurs, with three of the Malthouses and the Barley Kiln and Barely Screen of the central section seriously damaged by the fire. The structural integrity of the structures remained intact. |
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| 1984 | Application for demolition turned down at appeal. | |
| 1985 | Maltings Working Party set up to find possible uses for the buildings. | |
| 1990s | Poultry rearing ceased due to Health and Safety when residential development opened on the land adjoining the west. | |
| 1999 | Third Fire, with Number One block damaged. | |
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