The Mortlock Building
The Mortlock Building was originally erected by Deacons Builders at the end of the First World War for Frank Mortlock & Sons of Lavenham. The Mortlocks (a father and two sons) were agricultural engineers and used this building as their workshop. The building itself—a timber frame clad in corrugated iron with two rows of windows down each side—was and is typical of the type of workshop built in large numbers during the inter-war years in East Anglia.
The building houses four of the Museum’s five working engines. These are:
- Steam Ploughing Engines No’s. 776 & 777 (Charles Burrell, Thetford, 1879)—believed to be the oldest matched-pair of ploughing engines in the world.
- Pair of Walsh & Clark Victoria Paraffin Ploughing Engines.
During the winter of 2003/04, staff and volunteers at the Museum began the task of reconstructing the historical ‘Mortlock Building’. Frank Mortlock and his sons Victor and Frederick used the workshop to repair traction engines and other pieces of agricultural equipment until they finally ceased trading in the 1960′s.
During the following 30 years or so, the building was used in numerous ways until, in 1993, B.P. International—the then owners of the site—decided to clear Mortlocks building and the nearby cosmetics factory, so they could offer the site for residential development. It was at this stage that the Museum of East Anglian Life first became involved and accepted the building for re-erection on its site.
The building was dismantled in 1994 and the frame was transported to Stowmarket with the help of sponsorship from B.P. International and grants from both the Friends of the Museum and the Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Material (PRISM) Grant Fund. The iron cladding was disposed of at this time as it had rusted too much to be re-usable.
The building was erected with the assistance of a grant from the PRISM fund, matched funding from the Bone family (benefactors of our Ransomes Building) and much goodwill from volunteers and staff.
We are always looking for more information about Frank Mortlock & Sons. The Museum is fortunate in having many records from the business but we need more. This includes memories of the family both living and working in the village, details of engines that were or may have been worked on in the workshop, and any other background information that we can use to help bring to life the story behind the building and the importance of steam within Lavenham, Suffolk & East Anglia.
If you have any information, photos or indeed own an engine that you think may link in with the story we are hoping to tell, then please do get in touch.