Munday Hill Number 1 Pit June 2008

Heath & Reach had, historically, two main firms extracting sand, J.Arnold & Sons Limited and George Garside (Sand) Limited. Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service holds the archive of George Garside (Sand) Limited, the firm still being in operation. The company has had a number of pits in both Heath and Reach and Leighton Buzzard, including the following:

• Churchways Pit between Woburn Road and Watling Street south of Sandhouse Cottages;
• Double Arches Pit south of  Eastern Way, Heath & Reach also called Munday Hill Number 1 Pit;
• Grovebury Pit in Leighton Buzzard;
• Munday Hill Number 2 Pit in Shenley Hill Road, Heath & Reach;
• Shenley Hill Road Pit, Heath & Reach.

A brief catalogue of the firm's archive is as follows:

Z915/1: Financial Records (1880-1980)

• Z915/1/1: investments ledger: 1880-1924;
• Z915/1/2: day book: 1904-1910;
• Z915/1/3: day book: 1950-1955;
• Z915/1/4: day book: 1955-1959;
• Z915/1/5: day book: 1965-1980;
• Z915/1/6: valuation book of various pits, machinery, livestock etc.: 1911-1937;
• Z915/1/7: bought ledger recording receipts and payments: 1919-1932;
• Z915/1/8: cash journal of receipts and payments: 1920-1967;
• Z915/1/9: ledger of tenants' rents: 1926-1931;
• Z915/1/10: bought ledger recording receipts and payments: 1929-1934;
• Z915/1/11: investments and outgoings ledger: 1932-1946;
• Z915/1/12: journal of cash received and outgoings: 1948-1955;
• Z915/1/13: journal: 1955-1960;
• Z915/1/14: cash book (building sand and accounts): 1953-1956;
• Z915/1/15: cash book (building sand and accounts): 1956-1962;
• Z915/1/16: cash book (silica sand and accounts): 1956-1962;
• Z915/1/17: sales ledger: 1953-1956;
• Z915/1/18: sales ledger: 1953-1956;
• Z915/1/19: costings for Eastern Way, Churchways, Double Arches and Mundays Hill pits: 1966-1971

Z915/2: Movement and Production of Sand (1912-1980)

• Z915/2/1: journal containing sand returns by rail and canal: 1912-1920;
• Z915/2/2: plant and machinery register: 1960;
• Z915/2/3: journal of daily production totals for Grovebury, Double Arches and Eastern Way: 1965-1970;
• Z915/2/4: journal of daily production for Grovebury, Mundays Hill and Churchways: 1966-1973;
• Z915/2/5: Grovebury Two Production journal: 1967-1971;
• Z915/2/6: journal of daily production totals for Grovebury, Double Arches, Churchways and Eastern Way: 1970-1973;
• Z915/2/7: Grovebury Two Works daily movement book: 1972-1974;
• Z915/2/8: tonnage book: 1973-1980;
• Z915/2/9: Grovebury Two Book daily movements: 1975-1978;
• Z915/2/10: Grovebury Two Book daily movements: 1978-1980

Z915/3: Employment Records

• Z915/3/1: number reserved for undeposited wages book;
• Z915/3/2: wages book: 1935-1942;
• Z915/3/3: ledger containing weekly summary of wages: 1951-1957;
• Z915/3/4: ledger dealing with Garside Sickness Fund: 1958-1978;
• Z915/3/5: tax deduction cards for employees: 1970-1971 [restricted access due to personal information contained];
• Z915/3/6: wages analysis book: 1971-1980

Z915/4: Leighton Buzzard and Linslade Land Company Limited (1880-c.1920s)

• Z915/4/1: minute book: 1880-1915;
• Z915/4/2: balance sheet: 1909;
• Z915/4/3: extract of probate of will of Samuel Hopkins (chairman of the company): 1920s

George Garside (Sand) Limited is now (2009) called Garside Sands and is a part of Aggregate Industries UK, part of the Holcim Group.