F. Pratten and Co Ltd, commonly known as Prattens, was a business located in Midsomer Norton that manufactured prefabricated buildings. Production included portable classrooms that were widely used after World War II.
F. Pratten and Co Ltd, commonly known as Prattens, was a business located in Midsomer Norton that manufactured prefabricated buildings. Production included portable classrooms that were widely used after World War II.
The business was founded in 1912 by 26 year old Frank Pratten, [1] a coal miner's son [2] from Westfield, [2] He had previously worked for another local firm, W. Edgell, but acquired a small premises off Charlton Road, Midsomer Norton, and began making prefabricated buildings with Frank Bourne. They manufactured ammunition sheds during World War I. [3]
Post war, Frank's brothers Ernest and Bertram joined the business. Economic difficulties during the inter-war years made low-cost prefabricated buildings attractive and business grew. [3] In 1922 the firm offered garages from as little a £12 15s delivered. [4] Prattens described itself as a "Horticultural Builders" [5] and between 1924 and 1926 incorporated as F Pratten & Co Ltd. [4]
During World War II, in common with many other workplaces, the company took on female factory workers to cover the shortfall left by men joining the armed forces.[ citation needed ]
Raising of the school leaving age in the UK to 15 in 1945 prompted the HORSA hut programme. The subsequent increase to 16 in 1972 led to ROSLA classroom blocks. Both generated demand for prefabricated classrooms.[ citation needed ] Expected lifespan of the huts was only twenty-five years [6] but many survived long after. Some examples from the 1950s – 1970s are still in use.[ when? ] [7] [8]
Prattens also manufactured sheds, greenhouses, office units and garages, which were exported throughout the world. [3] [4]
In 1968, the firm employed 250 staff and its factory was "completely mechanised in spite of being housed in old buildings". [9]
The company remained a family business until 1980 when it was sold to Beazer. The acquired firm's fortunes declined [ why? ] and the factory in Charlton Road was demolished in 1994 for housing development. [3]
Pratten Terrace is built at the former factory entrance and The Timbers opposite it, their names echoing the firm and its carpentry activities.
Two social clubs founded for Pratten's staff survive, both in Charlton Lane.[ when? ]
Prattens Sports and Social Club previously supported a Carnival Club that continued for some years after the firm closed. [10]
Prattens Bowls Club was started in 1928 by Mr Thomas, a cashier at Prattens, and built using voluntary labour. For many years it had a male-only membership, and the members had to be employed by Prattens. Membership of both clubs is now open to all.[ citation needed ] Prattens Bowls Club was the site of a fatal hot air balloon accident in 2011. [11]
A Pratten hut is used as community centre and live entertainment venue at Warminster Athenaeum.[ citation needed ]
The Norton Motorcycle Company is a brand of motorcycles, originally based in Birmingham, England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles was owned by North American financiers.
Warminster is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. It has a population of about 17,000. The 11th-century Minster Church of St Denys stands near the River Were, which runs through the town and can be seen running through the town park. The name Warminster first occurs in the early 10th century. The High Street and Market Place have many fine buildings; The Athenaeum Centre, Town Hall, St Lawrence Chapel, The Old Bell, and a good variety of independent shops.
A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Major Peter Norman Nissen, it was used also extensively during the Second World War, being adapted as the similar Quonset hut in the United States.
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Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, England, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Bath, 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Wells, 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Frome, 12 miles (19 km) west of Trowbridge and 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Bristol. It has a population of around 13,000. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, but is now a town council in its own right. It is also part of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.
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A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hides, fabric, or mud using techniques passed down through the generations.
A portable classroom, is a type of portable building installed at a school to temporarily and quickly provide additional classroom space where there is a shortage of capacity. They are designed so they may be removed once the capacity situation abates, whether by a permanent addition to the school, another school being opened in the area, or a reduction in student population. Such buildings would be installed much like a mobile home, with utilities often being attached to a main building to provide light and heat for the room. Portable classrooms may also be used if permanent classrooms are uninhabitable, such as after a fire or during a major refurbishment.
A portable, demountable or transportable building is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located.
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A prefabricated building, informally a prefab, is a building that is manufactured and constructed using prefabrication. It consists of factory-made components or units that are transported and assembled on-site to form the complete building.
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Louis St Vincent Powell played first-class cricket for Somerset in 10 matches between 1927 and 1938. He was an all-round sportsman who also once played rugby for Bath Rugby Club. He was born at Kingstown, St Vincent and died at Bath, Somerset.
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Colonel Sir Frank Beachim Beauchamp CBE was an industrialist who owned mines in the Somerset coalfield, notably in Midsomer Norton and Radstock. He was the first baronet of the Beauchamp Baronetcy of Woodborough, in the County of Somerset, created for him in 1918. He was also a Conservative county councillor for thirty-nine years.
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