Nathaniel Gardiner

Introduction

Nathaniel Gardiner deserves the gratitude of the whole parish and, indeed, surrounding areas of neighbouring parishes for his contribution to the industrial development at Lombardstown that benefited communities within about seven miles radius. His legacy is still thriving in Lombardstown with the construction of the state of the art animal feed mill in the village employing over 100 people; the hardware shop, agri sales depot and fuel pumps. We also clung onto our post office until 31/8/2023 which Nathaniel brought to the village in 1896.

Personal Profile

Nathaniel was born to William J Gardiner and Mary Anne Green in 1850 in Ballyclough, of farming stock. He married Mary Jane Bolster of Tralee in 1872 when he was living in Cork City and was classed as a commercial traveller. He formed a business partnership with his father-in-law Richard, who was a wine and spirits merchant, a veterinary surgeon and veterinary products trader in Tralee. There must be some connection between Richard Bolster of Tralee and the Kilshannig Bolsters that I have not yet established.

A ledger kept by Nathaniel Gardiner. Item courtesy of Catherine Healy Byrne. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan

In 1877 the Gardiner/Bolster company began trading from the old corn mill premises in Lombardstown that had been leased by the Bolsters from the Lombards as it was close to the railway station. This provided easy transport for heavy goods such as animal feedstuff, potatoes, coal, etc. and a ledger kept by Nathaniel has survived since then, listing destinations, customers, products etc that they traded in.

In 1880 the partnership dissolved and Nathaniel took over. Following his outstanding contributions to the commercial and social life of the parish some of which is listed below he left Lombardstown in 1896 and went to live in Cork city. He relinquished his entire lease from the Lombards in that year, which the Co-Op took up, and so copper fastened the survival of the creamery and its great expansion. He must have left Lombardstown a bit disillusioned with how two catastrophic fires destroyed his commercial ambitions for the community and unfortunately, he had no family to take over.

He ended his days in a nursing home in Dublin, suffering from TB, in 1905.

Lombardstown Ventures

Woollen Mill

In 1879 Nathaniel leased the old grist corn mill and about 22 acres of attached land from the Lombards, when it became available. The land was mostly a flood plain and the mill was practically worthless but he saw that it was eminently suitable for conversion into a woollen mill and this is where his business acumen really shone as woollen products were the new kids on the block for making money. By 1880 he had the conversion complete and the old mill race supplied the water power. He built a fine 2 storey house beside the road in front of the mill which is now owned by the Ring family. This woollen mill produced top quality fabric and Nathaniel had plans to expand and had added a tuck mill to enhance the fabric produced. His brother George was brought to Lombardstown to manage the mill. Disaster struck in 1882 when the complex was totally destroyed by fire and Lombardstown’s ambitions to becoming a major woollen manufacturing centre literally went up in smoke.

New Corn Mill

The new Corn Mill built by Nathaniel Gardiner in Lombardstown. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

When Nathaniel leased the old corn mill to convert it to a woollen mill, one of the conditions of the lease was that he had to replace the old corn mill with a new one. This he did and the new mill also began production in 1880. This was a five storey building, opposite the post office, and Nathaniel’s brother, John, was brought in to run this operation. Once again a disastrous fire broke out in this mill in late December 1895 and destroyed the internal workings but the solid stone built exterior walls survived and these were reduced to the current three storey height by the creamery later. Some of the southern gable end that survived, has the 5 storeys marked on the associated photo. More of this mill survived across the yard from the post office and was converted to a three storey mill by the co-op in 1907 but now lies idle. Nathaniel’s brother John, was brought in to manage this new corn mill but after the demise of the woollen mill, George Gardiner took over and was using it as a store for his own trading business and his losses in the fire were not covered by insurance.

Gardiners Creamery

The loss of the woollen mill was a disaster for Nathaniel Gardiner as this was a money making venture and while his capital outlay was covered by insurance his revenue took a major hit so he had to look for another enterprise to survive and he decided to go for another new kid on the block, a creamery. He constructed a two storey creamery building in 1889 and attached it to the southern gable of his new corn mill. He extended shafting from the mill to this building and installed more shafting and pulleys to power the various machines, pumps etc. He had major borrowings at this stage and in early 1890 failed to secure further loans to complete the creamery and the construction stalled. This caused consternation among local farmers so they decided to lease the stalled venture and succeeded in raising enough share capital to complete the job. Nathaniel Gardiner readily agreed with the lease proposal and, in fact, became secretary to the organising committee and a shareholder. His contribution to the development of Lombardstown as an industrial hub, shopping centre, place of employment and promoter of home cottage industries deserves our gratitude and appreciation.

The Post Office

Lombardstown Post Office. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

Glantane was the administrative capital of the parish with police barracks, dispensary, army barracks, national school, parish church and post office etc. centred there. Nathaniel Gardiner succeeded in getting the main post office moved to Lombardstown and his brother George built the magnificent stone residence there in 1895-6 that became the residence of the post office owner. George built a small shop that became part of the old creamery shop and ran his business from both buildings especially his thriving egg business. George Gardiner died in 1922 and is buried in the family plot in Ballyclough Protestant Graveyard. The residence and grounds were sold to Paddy Healy from Garraunredmond, Donoughmore. Unfortunately the post office closed on 31/8/2023 when Postmistress Catherine Healy Byrne retired thus ending 101 years of Healy ownership of this post office. A sad day for our community.

Nathaniel Gardiners Legacy

Before Gardiners arrival, Lombardstown was not even a village but a townland that had a railway station as its focal point and an old, dilapidated corn mill giving minimal employment. There was no pub, church, school, police barracks, post office or other trappings associated with a village. The initial effort to establish a creamery by Nathaniel Gardiner led to Lomardstown Co-Op being established in 1890 and this enterprise revolutionised the development of Lombardstown as a village, shopping centre and place of employment. Without Gardiners initiative we will never know if a creamery would have been established here.

Lombardstown Mill and Shop in the 1930’s. Photo courtesy of Sheila Ryan.

Today, Lombardstown has a number of significant facilities as a consequence of Nathaniel Gardiner’s initiatives and interventions such as:-

• A state of the art animal feed mill, employing over 100 people
• An agri sales area with a comprehensive range of agri and building products
• Fuel pumps with very competitive prices
• Well stocked hardware shop
• The ruins of the first Co-Operative creamery built in Ireland under the sponsorship of Sir Horace Plunkett, the founder of the Co-Operative movement in our country.

Leases

1879 lease from Lombards to Nathaniel Gardiner

The pink areas on the sketch were already leased by Gardiner and this lease was for the blue area. The townland boundary (TLB) is shown to take in some of Gortroe townland for full control over the Douglas River. The scarcity of houses is also noticeable.

1879 lease. Item courtesy of Dairygold Archives. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

1891 Lease N.Gardiner to newly formed Co-Op.

This is a copy of the lease document showing the extent and annual rent of the lease. Note the name of the creamery on this document. The words “and agricultural” are not there because the Co-Op did not commence trading in groceries and agricultural equipment until 1895.

1891 lease. Item courtesy of Dairygold Archives. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

1896 lease – Lombards to the Co-Op

When Gardiner relinquished his lease back to the Lombards in 1896 the Co-Op took up the entire lease including the ground on which George Gardiner’s residence was located. This lease effectively handed over Nathaniel Gardiners entire holding in Lombardstown to the newly formed Co-Operative Society and it contains the signatures of one of the Lombards and representatives of the Co-Op. Eugene O Sullivan from Lackendarra and later Curraghbower Estate, Jerome Mullane from Glantane and Denis Ryan ,Sec of Co-Op. from Keale.

1896 lease. Item courtesy of Dairygold Archives. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

1896 Lease from Co-Op back to George Gardiner

Returning the lease on George’s property was part of the arrangements between Nathaniel Gardiner, the Lombards and the Co-Op. This lease had a most interesting sketch plan of the area which is included in this article. George had built his house on that section and this is shown on the sketch The shared yard in green in front of the dwelling is also shown. George’s shop at the bottom of the yard, the location of the creamery and corn mill are clearly defined.

1896 lease. Item courtesy of Dairygold Archives. Photo courtesy of Donie O Sullivan.

Nathaniel Gardiner left a wonderful legacy in Lombardstown and it is fitting that this website affords us an opportunity to remember him and to give us a glimse into his achievements, ambitions, disappointments and his sad ending in a nursing home in Dublin.