Building record 1553100000 - CASTLE IRON WORKS (STATION MILL), STATION ROAD

The Castle Iron Works, an agricultural machinery works was set up in 1857. It was run by a gifted engineer called Thomas Rickett who proved better at designing primitive steam cars than building a local market for the firm's goods. The factory, built near the railway station, was sold in 1865 to Alfred Charles Rogers (who also ran Castle Mill and Town Mill) and became a steam-powered corn mill, known as Station Mill, before being converted into a condensed milk factory (B1).
The Chandos Road Buildings situated at the junction with Station Road are notable. Occupying the site of the former 'marble' quarry, the site was acquired by Thomas Rickett in 1857, who established the Castle Iron Foundry there which manufactured agricultural machinery and steam cars. In 1865, the iron foundry closed and the building was replaced by a steam powered corn and cake Mill. The building was then purchased by the Bucks Direct Dairy Supply Company and passed to the Condensed Peptonised Milk Company Limited which manufactured amongst other things Bivouac drinking chocolate which was
issued to British Troops during World War I. During this period, a small railway line operated by a system of turntables powered by horses linked the buildings to the main railway line. The stables used to stand on the site of the existing Accommodation Office and the Sunley Lecture theatre was the former Coachman's Cottage. The Chandos Road Buildings were acquired by the University of Buckingham in 1989. Local note buildings within the Conservation Area of Buckingham (B2).