Rich industrial past of era when factories ruledBy Walthamstow GuardianFACTORIES for the large-scale production of goods for sale had largely disappeared from Waltham Forest by the latter part of the 20th century. But there was a time when factories were major employers of local people. Here we feature photographs of some of the more famous sites. City Knitwear moved to in Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, in 1957 and produced machine knitted garments for women and children. Most of the employees were women. By the time the photograph on this page was taken in 1957, the company employed 160 staff in the plant making fabrics and clothes. A further 300 to 400 outworkers were also on the books. The only part of the process not completed on the site was the dyeing of the wool. In Walthamstow, two toy-making companies had a big impact on the national economy as well as the local one. The first was Britains Ltd, famous to this day for its lead soldiers, some of which have now become collectors' pieces. It moved into a factory in Sutherland Road in 1951 and successfully shifted into the production of plastic toys in 1966, two years before it moved to a bigger site in Blackhorse Road. Sadly Britains moved out of the area in the 1980s. The other key toy-maker was Wells Brimtoy which was founded in 1920 in Somers Road as A Wells and Co. Later, when it changed its name to Wells Brimtoy, it moved to larger premises in Stirling Road and successfully competed against the big German toy makers in the inter-war period. It finally closed down in 1965. The British Xylonite used to stand in Larkshall Road, Highams Park, on a site which is now an industrial estate. Having moved from its orginal home in Hackney to Suffolk, it finally settled at Jack's Farm, as it was then known, in 1896. The plastics company pioneered the manufacture of celluloid in Britain. In 1939, it became known as Halex Ltd, producing plastic goods such as combs and toothbrushes. In its heyday around 1950 it employed 1,000 people. Its successor company is still operating in Suffolk. 12:22 Tuesday 29th October 2002
More Stories By This Author
| 
Printer Friendly Format
Send This Page To A Friend
