Speaker meeting 11th August 2011 Stuart James - Tiptree Jams
wealthy City merchant of Italian parents who in 1840 bought a nearby farm of 170 acres at Tiptree Heath, Essex, where he made experiments in scientific agriculture for which he became widely known. These experiments at first subjected him to much ridicule, but he finally changed his farm from one of the most sterile into one of the most profitable. He also published a number of influential books on improving farming practice, including "Letters on Agricultural Improvements" (1845), "Experience in Drainage” (1847), and " How to Farm Profitably " (1859).
WILKIN & SONS A SWEET SUCCESS STORY O
n 11th August 2011 the Club was fascinated with the talk by Stuart James,
Finance Director and Company Secretary of Wilkin & Sons Ltd of Tiptree Essex, of the rise and success of this well-known local foods product company.
W
W T
hat was fascinating was the sheer range of food stuffs produced: jam,
marmalade, honey, tea, sauces and ketchup, and the fact that the effects of the trade cycle were the opposite to that expected, for when the FTSE 100 was falling, Wilkins‟ sales were rising. Stuart also noted that the firm‟s profile in the entertainment industry was high, with film hero James Bond‟s morning breakfast consisting of two thick whole – wheat slices of toast topped with Tiptree Little Scarlet Jam.
ilkin & Sons Ltd have in fact been making jam for 126 years, and before
that were Tiptree farmers who had been growing fruit since the late 18th century.
he Wilkins as farmers were helped on the road to success by John Joseph Mechi a
S
o it was that through Mechi‟s practical help and advice to farmers on growing
crops – including farms on Tiptree Heath where farmers were helped to use fertilisers to improve productivity – that
the Wilkins
greatly benefited from Mechi‟s generosity and his technical „know-how‟.
B
ut Mechi‟s influence on farming – and the Wilkins – were seen again when In 1860
Mechi founded The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) because he and a group of Essex farmers, including the Wilkins, had become concerned about the level of poverty within the farming community and the absence of an official body to represent them. So, in 1859, John Mechi wrote to The Times to rally support for the founding of a benevolent institution that would seek funds and distribute them to the needy in the farming community. By 1860, he had received responses amounting to 1,700 guineas, and 700 founders were enrolled. Weekly grants – in- cluding pensions – were given to poor farmers and their families and this help has continued right to the present. The Institution still exists and received its Royal Charter in 1935.
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