![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0A40AxSqSCm-1IjyC-jCexzSBd5aciW7oNYBJywgkIuwtzZzqzse4XsDyPfj4-eFuPAnhrPpbdqvz9ayyEut1UI93EnBahFCGqpzSvSS_lTKex5fkDl4x4IiCZ2wL7t5dQ93ecjAh0UH/s320/bev.png)
The photograph below was taken in 1862 at Neckinger Mills. It shows John W. Bevington, James B. Bevington, Samuel Bevington, and Horatio Harris, another of the partners or owners.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKSLkukfKdw8B3n0ZQDDj16K4VMd37VRCW3YOcvmzY_ZDu0r9sRkTJ2Tc_A7lM7B_FyQGL4y3_754rZwEwp89y3l8alR8RpTRttVt4v5zwXxGFxZuOQrZWOAP43iPS_IuE0JfETHhl0c0/s320/bev_owners.jpg)
Neckinger Mill was originally a paper mill where many new inventions were made, including extracting ink from recycled paper. The building is best remembered however, as the biggest leather mills, owned by Bevingtons & Sons from the 1800s to 1980. The mills covered a vast area including not only the existing building but the whole area around the Neckinger Estate. Here they produced light leathers such as Morocco leather and seal-skins for shoes and fancy goods. During WWII, women played a key role in this process, the fish oils they used during the glazing process apparently enhanced the beauty in Bermondsey women's skin and hair.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifk9nemYklkMYdpIS6DRbhhCskoZxJ-giJJXLr-P4knMPnYheg0GpMLRITwrM5UVQ13G0qLjddBMjG3kn8xYb5Kzxg7EROd1xE3azd89024lr238Dfr0WKuygr2fC1r0GVaUFjb2oW0n6h/s320/bev_wall.jpg)
Bevington’s re-located from Bermondsey to Leicester in the 1980s where it is now a specialist division of Milton Leicester Ltd., producing hand-crafted leather goods.
By Paul Green
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