Watford manufacturing history

 Dating from Anglo-Saxon times, Watford was probably originally a crossing place traversing the marshy Coln Valley and it was this valley that gave birth to the industry for which Watford became famous: printing. At one time at was known as the printing capital of the world.

The printing companies to be found in the town included Waterlow and the Sun Engraving Company. Odhams arrived in 1938 and dominated the town until it closed in 1983. The Coln Valley had been a centre of paper making since the eighteenth century. John Dickinson made Croxley Script nearby.

I write about the development of printing and paper making in my book Charlotte Bronte's Devotee about William Smith Williams the Reader at Smith Elder who first recognised her genius.

Watford is very much on the cusp between London and Hertfordshire. It is well connected to London being both on the LMS London to Birmingham line and also is on the London Tube map. historically its presence on the Grand Junction canal gave it access to both raw materials and markets.

Scammell trucks, which did so much heavy lifting in the Second World War with the Pioneer, tank transporters and recovery vehicles, relocated to Watford from near Liverpool Street in London.

Furniture makers Hille moved to Watford in the fifties and now manufacture in Ebbw Vale. de Havilland manufactured at what became Leavesden aerodrome.

Smith + Nephew has its headquarters in Watford.

Further reading:

Dennis F. Edwards, Watford: A Pictorial History. (Chichester: Phillimore, 1992

Ware and Hertford manufacturing history

The traditional industry of this Hertfordshire town was malting and Ware’s maltings supplied most of London’s breweries. The maltings, principally Henry Ward’s, and Henry Page & Company, attracted supporting industries.

With the availability of water and local labour, the pharmaceutical company Allen and Hanbury, which had been founded in the city of London in 1715, acquired a former mill in Ware in 1898 and there built itself into one of the major manufacturers of surgical instruments and medicines. The company became part of Glaxo and then GSK which still manufactures in the town. The Ware and Hertford website has an image of the factory from the twenties.

Another significant company was the railway passenger car builders D. Wickham & Co. The company had started as motor engineers and then moved into bottling equipment before identifying the opportunities in worldwide railways. They sent their rail cars as far afield as Peru and Zimbabwe. In the Second World War they repaired tanks.

Hertford had a history of paper making with Sele Mill, thought to be Britain's first.

William Addis is credited with inventing the modern toothbrush and he set up in business manufacturing these in 1780 in East London. The company provided toothbrushes to the forces in the First World War and this is thought to have introduced the habit of regular teeth cleaning. Demand grew and the company moved to premises in Hertford. Plastic brushes with nylon bristles were introduced under the Wisdom brand after the Second World War and the company expanded into household brushes and products. A factory in Swansea was added and later moved to Bridgend where it now carries on its business. The Hertford Museum holds the Addis archive. The factory was a 1930s icon.

Further reading:

Maurice Edwards, Ware’s Past in Pictures (Ware: The Rockingham Press, 1992)

Basildon manufacturing history

 The new town of Basildon was only eight miles from Tilbury Docks with good road links to the east of London. This location clearly attracted the Ford Motor Company, which was outgrowing its Dagenham site, to move its tractor manufacture to Basildon. The proximity to the docks also attracted cigarette makers, Carreras. In 1964 New Holland completed their first tractor factory in the town, followed by Standard Telephones, MK Electric and Yardley.

The development corporation produced a promotional brochure encouraging other businesses to the town. Highlighted were the availability of good housing and community facilities for employees and their families. The businesses mentioned in the brochure were not only the big names although Marconi was highlighted a building a factory for the ‘meticulously accurate construction of delicate precisions equipment’ for radio, radar and other electronics.

Albert Mann’s Engineering Company manufactured rolling mills, Nufloor manufactured floor sanders and polishers and Teleflex of Shadwell Heath built a new factory manufacturing conveyors and remote controls. The new town also attracted old skills such as Engineers Patternmaking and Thompson & Foster cardboard boxes and corrugated paper.

Further reading

Industrial Development in Basildon New Town (Basildon Development Corporation)