Factories: they don't make 'em like they used to. Simon Pollock, aka @londonsuburbia, leads us to some of his favourite former factories — starting with a clutch from Brentford's Great West Way, aka the 'Golden Mile'.
Coty Cosmetics Factory, Brentford
The old Coty Cosmetics Factory was completed in 1932 and designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners (a name you haven't seen for the last time in this article). The working environment all along the Golden Mile was fun back in the 1930s, with most employers laying on lavish Christmas parties as well as family picnics and works outings to the coast in the summer. Between all the jollies, the staff often took part in inter-factory competitions in all manner of sporting events. Cricket and football matches were fairly common, but so was boxing, would you believe? The old Coty Factory is the only one along the Golden Mile that's currently lit up at night, and it looks absolutely marvellous.
Gillette Factory, Brentford
On 6 January 1937, this factory was opened by the Lord Mayor of London, who had the very important job of depressing a button to start the machines. He was followed by the chairman of the company, who also did a good job of depressing things by giving a long, statistics-laden speech on how Gillette helped men with the arduous task of shaving every day. The factory was one of the last to be completed on the Great West Road before the onset of war, and by this time the area itself was well and truly established.
Currys Distribution Centre, Brentford
Currently owned by JCDecaux, this building started out in life as a distribution centre and head office for Currys. Currys is now a household name in electronics, but back then it sold a mix of bicycles, toys and radios. Currys' newspaper adverts from 1936 are more than a little confusing as they simultaneously try to sell teddy bears, bicycles, vacuum cleaners, work overalls, radios, car indicators, wellington boots... and accordions.
Pyrene Factory, Brentford
Pyrene was a fire extinguisher company which had a sense of showmanship. Behind the factory, it had a large demonstration ground where it could simulate oil depot fires to showcase its products in action. When the site opened, the company even managed to get the opening shown in cinemas: for a delightful trip back in time, it's worth searching online for Pyrene Factory opened in Brentford.
Firestone Factory, Brentford
An old wall and a few pairs of old gates is all that's left of the iconic factory designed by the prolific Wallis, Gilbert and Partners. It operated for 50 years, and after being sold, was shockingly razed to the ground just before a preservation order could be rubber-stamped. In response, lobby groups and public pressure got 150 interwar buildings listed for protection, including the iconic Battersea Power Station.
Hoover Building, Perivale
This superstar of a factory was designed in 1933 by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners (remember those guys?). The colours and shapes that you see in the accents are said to be inspired by Inca and Mayan designs rather than the Egyptian ones which became hugely popular in the 1920s after Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922.
Building Number 7, Perivale
The former staff canteen for the Hoover Factory sits right next to the main attraction, and it's easy to miss if you’re gawping at its big, fancy, show-off neighbour as you zoom along the A40. I reckon it could even hold its own in South Beach, Miami, but as it is, it’s not even the fanciest building in Perivale.
The Nestlé Factory, Hayes
In 1889, the winner of a strongman competition in London was a German chap called Eugen Sandow. Sandow, who many believe to be the father of body-building, credited the source of his great strength to chocolate and created 'Sandow’s Health & Strength Cocoa'. The production was based in London, and when the business was successful enough to start expanding, he began constructing the early part of this now ex-chocolate factory in Hayes in 1914. However, he soon found his brand-new factory confiscated and turned over to the government for the production of munitions. It was acquired by the the Hayes Chocolate Factory, then bought by the Swiss giants Nestlé, in 1929. Research here resulted in the world's first instant coffee: Nescafé.
The Old Vinyl Factory, Hayes
The first building here went up in 1907 and belonged to the Gramophone and Typewriter Company. By 1927, new buildings were needed to keep up with demand, so Wallis, Gilbert and Partners (them again) were employed to design huge new factories and depositories, including the one you see here. The site continued expanding as the business merged with other companies, and by the 1960s, as teenagers spent their cash on records, Hayes record production was at its peak. Sadly, the introduction of the cassette tape in the 1970s led to the decline of vinyl production, and by 1996 the factories were abandoned. There’s now a mix of almost every architectural style from the last 120 years on these 150 acres of flats. You'll even find a small vinyl-pressing factory.
Globe Central, Twickenham
Today, Globe Central is an apartment building, but before that it was an industrial unit, and before that it was a factory. It's always looked recognisably 1930s, but since it’s been converted to flats it's been given the full art deco treatment, with a fresh lick of pastel paint and a splash of 1950s chrome installed.
The Carreras Factory, Mornington Crescent
This magnificent building was originally the Carreras Tobacco Factory. It was designed in an Egyptian art deco style, which was all the rage in the 1920s after Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in 1922. Known at the time for producing the highly popular Craven A cigarettes — the packets of which featured a black cat — the Carreras Factory itself featured many black cats. So many, in fact, that most Londoners refer to the building as the Black Cat Factory.
The Frame Food Factory, Southfields
The Frame Foods Factory was built in 1903 and there really isn’t anything else like it in London. It’s covered in bright green faïence tiles with ceramic motifs inset all along its length, reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts style – the highly decorative arts movement of the time, popularised by people like William Morris, John Ruskin and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
The De Havilland Studios, Hackney
This building has nothing to do with the aircraft manufacturer de Havilland! This beautifully modernist building was a canning factory built in the 1930s, and its biggest claim to fame is that it was designed by Sir Owen Williams, who designed the original Wembley Stadium, the Dorchester Hotel and the Empire Pool.
I Love Suburbia by Simon Pollock (@londonsuburbia), published by Penguin Random House
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