1930

TF4610 : Cartloads of pea vines at Smedley's canning factory, Wisbech - c.1930

taken 96 years ago, near to Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England

Cartloads of pea vines at Smedley's canning factory, Wisbech -  c.1930
Cartloads of pea vines at Smedley's canning factory, Wisbech - c.1930
When peas were first canned the vines were cut on the fields and loaded by hand onto carts and taken to the factory by horse. Just under the roofline of the building you can see an elevator taking the pea vines to a static pea viner which threshed the vines, separating the vines and pods from the peas, which then went onto the production lines where they were sorted, canned and then sterilized.
Understandably the building was known as The Viner Shed in the 1930s and even though vining equipment was removed a few decades later this building was always known by the same name until it was demolished around the turn of the century to make way for redevelopment of the factory.
By the 1950s pea viners were housed on the growers' farms and the peas were transported to the factory without the vines or pods. The static viners were housed in sheds like this one Link.
In turn static viners were replaced by mobile pea viners, see Link.
The cannery first opened by Smedley's is still in operation today, see Link and Link
(The year of this photo is estimated, corrections welcome)

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright The Humphrey Family Archive and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Industry Primary Subject: Factory other tags: Factory Cannery Peas Pea Viner Shed Horse Cart Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
TF4610, 116 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
The Humphrey Family Archive   (more nearby)
Contributed by
Richard Humphrey   (more nearby)
Date Taken
July 1930   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 8 April, 2020
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 464 102 [100m precision]
WGS84: 52:40.2327N 0:9.8381E
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 464 102
View Direction
North-northeast (about 22 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image Type (about): close look 
This page has been viewed about 280 times
You are not logged in | login | register