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.