Farm Industries Ltd.
The activities of H.T.P., its fortunes and the intrigue of its partners can be traced from https://htpbook.co.uk/.
In 1936, the milling division in Plymouth, together with the H.T.P. name, were purchased by Spillers Limited leaving the largest agricultural merchant throughout Cornwall and West Devon to be known as Farm Industries Ltd, developing HTP Motors Ltd in Truro, and Devon Woolcombers Ltd in Tavistock, from its grand offices in Princes House.
In addition to the spectacular rise and fall of the Cornish company, these pages relate the activities of its competitors and the contributions made by many of its hundreds of staff and apprentices.
Readers will encounter the company’s directors and bankers, HTP Motors and Spitfires, Cornwall Farmers, the busy Port of Truro, stories of Truro Tractors and the companies of R.T. Rilstone and N. Summers. They will mingle with personalities like ‘Spitfire Annie’, the varied interests of John Rosewarne and the author’s reminiscences during WW2 and the difficult following years.
It is possible to detect, by noting the sustained flow of ink to the nib in the record of the minutes, that the secretary had received a fountain pen as a Christmas present. p 140
Some believed that useless part-exchange items were thrown down the legendary mine shaft at Wheal Kitty. According to Cornwall Underground Adventures, there is no foundation for this enduring rumour. p 140
The original directors of H.T.P. had led the fathers of its current customers out of the world of horse-drawn agriculture into a mechanical age where many of their sons were prospering. p 145
At the age of 25, John Rosewarne had enjoyed examining the past and delivered a lecture to the Truro Old Cornwall Society entitled, The Story of the English Wool Trade. p 268
The last year that Paul Boënders released book debts figures was 1963, when the purchasing power of the £734,474 balance was equal to about £12 million in 2023 using the Bank of England Inflation Calculator. p 69
The work undertaken on Spitfires in HTP Motors was an important part of Truro’s history and had an interesting connection to the young lady with whom the aircraft shared its name. p 18
As ‘Spitfire Annie’, she was a remarkable woman who lived most of her life in Cornwall, and in 2011, at the age of 100, she attended a fly-past at Falmouth when an aircraft trailed a banner with the message: ‘Happy 100th Birthday Spitfire Annie’. p 250
Three ships and the Reclaim dredger in the Port of Truro.
p 286
Prior to washing, the wool in the mill could be smelled downwind 100 yards away. p 267
At the AGM in February 1937, there was an announcement that the HTP Motors showrooms on Lemon Quay had been completed in September 1936. p 79
About the Author
Born in Redruth, Cornwall, Philip Hosken was educated at Truro School and followed his entry into banking by managing numerous UK and international companies in the construction and motor industries.
Returning to Cornwall, he launched and published the Cornish World magazine for the Duchy’s diaspora for over six years, formed a company to build a replica of Trevithick’s 1801 ‘Puffing Devil’, wrote two books about the inventor, and was chairman of the Trevithick Society for several years.
From childhood, he had been curious about a company that included his name. He gathered stories about its activities, and when Valerie Barnes kindly gave him a bundle of the company’s books, he decided to research the organisation that had done so much to drag Cornwall’s agriculture into the 20th Century.
From his commercial experience, he has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of a highly respected, entirely Cornish multi-million-pound company that has affected the lives and pockets of thousands of people.
Away from the history of Cornwall’s greatest conglomerate, Philip is a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh and father to Treve, Tamsyn and Lowenna.
Philip M. Hosken
Marrek Resruth
This is not a repackaged trawl through old stuff – Philip Hosken’s research has been prompted by unique access to company and family papers, to ledgers, minute books and files, alongside family, customer and employee anecdotes, which, when combined with the author’s accomplished and accessible style, and his blend of personal experience and academic objectivity, makes this not only a welcome addition to the history of Cornish business, but also a genuine pleasure to read and explore – a well-illustrated expedition into the unknown unknowns of what all of Cornwall took for granted – everybody loved HTP (Hosken, Trevithick & Polkinhorn) and Farm Industries, but nobody was quite sure why….Here’s why! ~ Bert Biscoe. Mayor of Truro, 2020/21
H.T.P. book
Hardback
£30 incl UK shipping
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Farm Industries book
Hardback
£35 incl UK shipping
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HTP & Farm Industries – Two book Offer
£50 incl UK shipping
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Genius
£10 incl UK shipping
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The Oblivion of Trevithick
“I have read it from cover to cover, many congratulations on what you have written. It is most informative and very interesting.” ~ Martin Stephens
“I sat down for a quick scan through, but am still sitting over an hour later, loving all the anecdotes.” ~ Valerie Barnes