AS LATE in history as the 1960s, ‘Sandars’ was a name synonymous with fine British malt, considered at the time to be one of the most prestigious in the country.
Since the 1700s, the business, with its roots in Lincolnshire market town Gainsborough, gradually extended across the country, with maltings also in Manchester and at Grimsby’s West Haven.
By the late Sixties, the centuries-old maltsters had merged with Pauls Malt Limited to become Pauls and Sandars, a tour de force in the industry until the recession at the end of the Seventies hit the business hard, and many of their maltings were sold. A number of sales took place during the following two decades, ultimately leading to the closure of Grimsby’s West Haven Maltings in the Nineties.
The site today has been the subject of much interest since plans were announced to create a purpose-built youth centre, the Horizon Youth Zone. Interestingly, this won’t be the first time the maltings have been used as a centre for activities and leisure, they were utilised as a billiards hall in the past. During its history, the building complex has been used as a sawmill, a cake and seed warehouse, and a box factory.
The area known as the “West Haven” has provided its businesses with what has been described as “a good source of transportation”, having the Freshney flowing close to its doors, past the town centre’s “Riverhead”, and through what is now Alexandra Dock, to the Humber Estuary. From there, the rivers Trent, Aire, Derwent, Ouse, Don, and Wharf are accessible, allowing product to be easily distributed via the waterways from Grimsby.
The West Haven came into being in 1700, when the Freshney was slightly rerouted by the town corporation to revive the port. A new “cut” was made to allow the flow of water here, expanded again around 1800 to create the West Haven. A discussion was had in 1959 to obtain an Act of Parliament for this section of the waterway to be made into a car park, but this was declined and the Freshney continues to flow through the centre today.
The development of the West Haven Maltings site first began in 1821, when a 99-year lease was signed by Edward Sandars for the purpose of new premises. Historic documents suggest that the first use of this property was as a warehouse, though an 1838 map of Great Grimsby shows that the Haven Maltings was in existence by this time.
Sandars & Co were the longest residents of the West Haven Maltings, using the property between 1829 and 1922. With a thriving business established by patriarch Samuel Sandars in 1780, his son Edward was responsible for bringing the family business to Grimsby in the 1800s. Edward’s brother George meanwhile tapped into the Manchester market. It is likely that Edward was looking to supply breweries in the Grimsby area, with local brewer John Garniss a possible customer.
Strengthening the ties between Grimsby and Gainsborough even further, it is likely that later generations of the Sandars family supplied well-known Grimsby brewers Hewitt Brothers Limited, who owned a brewery in Gainsborough in addition to the sizeable property in Pasture Street, Grimsby.
To the right side of the West Haven maltings is the property known today as “Migar House”. Initially known as “Number 2 Grain Warehouse”, the building has been home to a glove factory, a tea warehouse, a mineral water factory, and a billiards saloon. Applying for a change of use in 1931, local builders’ merchant JR Mitchell discovered that the structure was unsound and not suitable to carry the weight of the billiards tables, for the proposed Flottergate Billiards Hall. The first floor and roof were rebuilt, with the entertainment space occupying this newly renovated section, while the ground floor was home to a bakery.
In 1961, JR Mitchell & Co applied for planning permission to transform the whole space into a builder’s merchant and sales facility. By the Seventies, the building was converted into offices and the bridge we see to its front elevation today was added. This and the maltings buildings occupied by Mitchells for more than six decades were sadly destroyed by arsonists in 2009.
It is possible that the name “Migar House” comes from the joining of the first letters of Mitchell and Garth, when the property became a more formal merchant’s business in the Sixties. The maltings’ address is Garth Lane.
Today, the whole former maltings space and warehouse number have undergone a massive transformation, to become a state-of-the-art youth centre for young people across North East Lincolnshire, with the opening of the facility expected to happen early next year.
With the earliest mention of the Grade II Listed maltings building dating back to 1821, its modern regeneration will bring to life the history of the past while guiding our young people on the path to the future.
Find out more about Horizon Youth Zone at https://www.horizonyouthzone.org
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