Freddie Frankish, like his father before him, possesses a wonderful memory on old Cleethorpes.
The Grimsby Telegraph reporting upon the death of his father, Fred Drewery Frankish, at the age of 80 years, said Cleethorpes has lost its oldest tradesman and a man who was looked upon as an authority on old Cleethorpes. His grandfather loved in the old mill house in Mill Road, and the family has been in the milling and baking trade since 1812. He was born at 24 Sea View Street where he had a shop for three-quarters of a century. It was said that his memory of Old Cleethorpes was particularly clear and accurate, and he was frequently consulted when existing records were lacking. During 1976 the author had two sessions of recording Freddie’s reminiscences and the following are extracts from the tapes:
When in 1904 the Frankish bakehouse in Sea View Street was burnt out, Mrs Bratley agreed to let his father use the old bakehouse at the Mill. So over the weekend of the fire ‘a dough trough was made, Marshalls sent some flour, and a delivery of coal was made, and so they were baking again by the Monday morning.’
In 1905 his father took over the old windmill again for five years, and started grinding corn for cattle. Since Marshalls were now operating roller flour, the demand for the old stone flour had gone, so the mill was used for grinding corn for animals. However, when the large detached villas at the end of Mill Road were built – Chas. Osborne, William Grant, Croft-Baker (now the Maternity Home) – these acted as a shield, and so prevented sufficient wind from getting to the sails of the mill. Consequently they had to stop using it. They built a mill in Whites Road, using a gas engine for power.
Mill was dismanted in 1920s by Thompsons of Alford – the cap was refitted on the Spital Hill five-sailed mill at Gainsborough.
Rex Wailes, Tower Mills, Newcomen Society
