THE BAKERY.
Having secured the approval of the delegates for their proposals, the first duty which devolved on the directors was that of finding a suitable site. In order that all the members of the committee might be able to come to decisions with the fullest knowledge obtainable, they decided at the outset that they should visit Belfast in a body, and inspect the various sites of which they had information, meantime delaying the final decision. Eight different sites were examined, and, ultimately, the final decision rested between two of these, that at Ravenhill Avenue being the one which finally found favour, at a rental of £80 per annum. Mr W. J. Gililand, Belfast, was appointed architect, and was instructed to prepare plans for a temporary bakery, containing four ovens, to meet immediate needs, before proceeding with plans for the general building. At a later meeting it was decided that the delivery of the bread should be undertaken by Belfast Society, and that special terms should be arranged for this service. By January the temporary building had been commenced, and by the beginning of June was ready to begin operations. Mr George Forshaw, East of Scotland representative, was appointed commercial manager and Irish traveller, and Mr James Moffat, Belfast, foreman baker. Baking was begun on 2nd June, the temporary building having been fitted-up with one Scotch oven and three draw-plate ovens. Unfortunately, a dispute between the architect and the Corporation of Belfast had hindered the erection of the temporary bakery for a little, but, during a special visit paid to Belfast, Mr Young, manager, was able to arrange matters amicably. Nevertheless, the dispute cost the Society over £18 in legal and other expenses.
The area in which the Society’s bread was used soon began to widen. At first Belfast was practically the only customer, but in the course of a month or two society after society became customers, so that by the beginning of August there were five societies, in addition to Belfast, customers for bread. This good result was due to visits which had been paid by some members of the directorate to the committees of the societies. At the same time, Lurgan Society applied for membership and was admitted.
It was not until the middle of November that tenders for the completion of the main building were accepted, and then the committee had not finally made up their minds how much of the work they were going to complete at once, but reserved to themselves power to stop with the completion of the front section if they thought this plan desirable. When the matter was further considered in March, however, the committee were unanimously of the opinion that the building should be two storeys in height.