If you can think of any notable factories or other good looking art deco/modernist building in the UK that I should know about, I’d love to hear about it. Just mention it in a comment below, preferably with its name, a short description and its location, and I’ll head down there as soon as possible to strike a pose.
Thanks!
Hi Pickles.
The Engine house at Kempton is definitely one that would benefit from some of your Misresses camera work. You’ll find it on the A316 at Sunbury, just short of the start of the M3 motorway.
I know this is the wrong place, but you are seemingly lacking in a contact address. As an ex, & soon to be again West London Chap, I have found your site fascinating. I too have had an interest in Industrial architecture from an early age. & what with being well over 40 summers old I can remember Battersea power Station & the likes of the Firestone factory when they were in full swing. It’s such a shame the corporate vandals got to both of them.
I would also like to congratulate your Mistress on her skill with a Camera. I like the way she does some shots at an angle, these work especially on the real Art Deco stuff such as the Hoover building
Best wishes Stewart.
Old Maybury Hotel, now a casino just off Edinburgh bypass on Maybury Road. Beautiful building.
Hi Chid- Thanks for your suggestions. I know the Maybury Hotel, next time I’m up in Edinburgh I’ll make sure I take a snap.
Cheers
Mr.P
Thanks Stewart.
I know the Kempton Engine House – just a few miles along the Chertsey Rd from the St.Margarets factory. I’ll head along when I’m next in London!
Mr P
hello Pickles,
You have been busy! This is such a great site. I’ll have to think of one for myself… perhaps ‘Dog and Council Estate’ or something. Anyway, I might have missed it, but I didn’t see the art deco cinema at Anniesland cross, or the Beresford Halls on Sauchiehall. I have a friend who lives in the penthouse of the Beresford, so if you ever want some internal/ roof shots for your site do let me know.
Love, Molly.
P.S: I hope you received and appreciated the urinary message I left for you at Balmaha the other weekend. ‘Get the hell out of here!’ is not easy to write in wee wee…
Hi Molly,
Yeah, got your message at Balmaha- ha ha in fact I’ve been back again and left you a wee reply (like the pun??).
Thanks for the suggestions. I was at the Beresford the other day, when my bitch/manager was doing some banking – it was a beautiful afternoon light glowing on the building, I had my best coat on and it was a perfect opportunity for striking a pose, but the silly bitch didn’t even have her phone to take a snap. Call herself a manager? I ask you. When you start Dog and Council Estate I might start using your manager instead (I know you get better food from her too).
Send me a snap or two and I’ll put you in my Friends section, although I know strictly speaking we get on better online rather than in the flesh, I still like to get a good look at ya!
Mr P
Hello
Do you remember that street in st margarets by twickenham bridge and there are a few art deco houses daahn there.
est
Have you seen The Mercedes Garage Building by Wallis and Gilbert now the premises of:-
McCann Erickson
7-11 Herbrand Street
London, WC1N 1EX
I came across it by chance last week near the British Museum.
PS I love your web site.
Thanks Nigel – I’ll definitely get my paws down there when I’m next in London!
Mr.P
How about a pose with the black cats at the former Carreras Tobacco Factory in Mornington Crescent.
http://artdecobuildings.blogspot.com/2008/03/carreras-cigarette-factory-london.html
Thanks for the suggestion David. The Carreras factory is on the top of my list for when I’m next in London – I am well aware that I am a disgrace to the art deco factory fancying community for having not posed there yet!
Mr.P 😉
Hi,
Great idea for a website. Your photos of the old India Tyres factory at Inchinnan brought back memories, as both of my parents worked there.
As for suggesting a building for you, the Coates Memorial Church in Paisley is stunning. It is, as the name suggests, a memorial to Thomas Coates, a member of the famous thread mill owning family who emplyed thousands in Paisley at one time.
I believe the church can seat over a thousand people, but it is the external architecture that is most striking.
Hope you find this worthy.
John.
Hi again,
Typical of me really, jumping in with both feet before getting all the facts. It was only after I sent you the Coates Memorial Church sugestion, that I read further into your website and realised you are after art deco buildings.
The website title should have given that away I suppose.
Anyway, to give you another suggestion which should suit your needs perfectly, check out the beautiful Beresford Hotel at the Charring Cross end of Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.
More recently used by Strathclyde University as a halls of residence, I believe it has now been renovated and is once again being used as a hotel.
Hope this is more suited to what you’re looking for,
John.
Hi John – Thanks for the suggestions. Even though it’s not Deco, I’ll go and check out the Coates Memorial Church – I always like an excuse for a day out and to see some nice buildings. As for the Beresford Hotel, It’s a disgrace I haven’t got a photo of it up already! I stay pretty near it, but Sauchiehall Street is so busy that I tend to get a bit distracted by all the passers-by. Now the days are staying sunnier for longer, I’ll work on my PA to sort out a suitable time for us to get a photo as soon as.
Thanks,
Mr P
Hi Pickles
Here at the Twentieth Century Society we were very pleased to read about your interest in c20 architecture and would like to invite you to become an honorary member of the Society for this year. We can also give you the locations of some K8 phone boxes. If your mistress would like to get in touch we can send you a copy of our latest magazine.
Cela
Here in Northamptonshire we have some nice buildings: the 1930s Mounts Baths and the Fire Station next door (built when Bassett-Lowke was on the council). Bedford Mansions, a lovely deco block of flats built opposite the famous Mackintosh house at 78 Derngate. “New Ways”, Britain’s first modernist house, on the Wellingborough Road, built for the Bassett-Lowkes after they moved from Derngate. In Kettering there are some delightful deco homes near Wicksteed Park, and Rushden boasts the John White factory (now flats) and the old coach station, which looks like something from out of Dan Dare. Come and have a sniff around…..but try not to take too much notice of Greyfriars Bus Station, voted the country’s third most hated building.
Oh wow Daisy – That’s quite a site-seeing tour! I’ll take a trip to Northamptonshire as soon as my PA allows.
Thanks for the tips.
Mr.P
De la Warr Pavillion in Sussex, Bexhill on Sea
Olympia Two, Hammersmith Road.
Exhibition Hall by Joseph Emberton, completed 1929.
Sure you must know about this one already, but not the most obvious place to visit unless you’re in the region – how about the Midland Hotel in lovely Morecambe? Lovely sunsets and ice cream sundaes in the cafes on the prom. It is also obligatory to have a photo taken with the Eric Morecambe statue.
http://www.midlandhotel.org/
If it’s not been covered, how about the old Siemens-Schuckert building near Gilette Corner? It relocated there from Upper Thames Street because the London building could no longer take the weight of the machine tools. Under the aegis of Baron Peter Graevenitz (a Russian emigrant), the new site opened in January 1936. (This was the company HQ; my father was a regional manager in Yorkshire). With the outbreak of War in 1939, the company shed the German directorship and the company became British owned. I believe Siemens Schuckert became part of the AEI group around 1954 and then, when AEI linked up with GEC in 1965, Siemens-Schuckert became independent under its new name Siemens (UK) Ltd, moving to Sunbury in April 1978. When I went to see the building (known after 1951 as Faraday House) about ten years ago it had become a bottling plant (I have some photos of this). However I can’t see from Google Street View if indeed this old factory is still there! But if it is…….
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/252640722_f945b2f410.jpg?v=0
This is the Legal and General House building in their head office in Surrey, Kingswood. I went here once and thought it was quite a stunning looking building. Entrance hall is impressive, too.
All the best,
Jenny Fawn
Hi Pickles,
Your going to have a busy day with this one, but it will be worth your while.
You should come to Liverpool for the day. Starting off at the former Liverpool Airport (on the A561, Speke), a classic 1930’s building, now a Crowne Plaza Hotel, the airport terminal building and the hangars have been preserved and can be easily viewed. Once done at the Airport, on your way into the city centre, you should stop off at the Match Works building, located on Banks Road, Speke.
Once in the City Centre, head for the Royal Philharmonic Concert Hall on Hope Street, if you get the chance to look inside, all the better as you will be in for a real treat with the Egyptian influenced Art Deco interior and original working rising cinema screen.
A quick pit stop for a traditional ale and a bite to eat at the Philharmonic pub opposite the Concert Hall is a must. Look out for that fantastic décor, inside and out, also don’t miss the gents toilets which are listed!
It’s off into town now, heading to the pier head for a photo shoot at the Mersey Tunnel Ventilation Shaft (located behind the three Graces) with its Egyptian themed Art Deco Exterior. Don’t forget a quick tour along the waterfront to see the three Graces from the right side of course, before enjoying an ice cream and some scouse hospitality!
You’ll have to leave the Midland Hotel at Morecombe, Lancashire for another day! But don’t forget the Hitchen’s building on the waterfront, or the opportunity of a traditional ice cream 99 with raspberry sauce – fantastic!
All the best.
Oh wow Snoopy – that’s quite a list! It’s brilliant. Speke Airport and the Midland Hotel are both already on my hit list, and now I have a big enough bunch of buildings to justify a long weekend visit.
Thank you!
Mr P
On the train north from London to Preston, there a lovely big Ovaltine Factory on the left hand side – not too far out of London. I don’t know anything more I’m afraid!
With very best wishes to you and your missus
Miss C
Thanks for the tip-off Miss C.
It’s actually on my hit list already – my PA isn’t good for much but she is good at whipping out her iPhone in an instant when passing a good factory and working out where we are for coordinates! I could be wrong of course, but I’m sure the Ovaltine Factory has Crittall windows in place – something I’m sure you will have observed, and may correct me on, when passing.
Mr P
Hi there,
If you ever get the chance to drive along the A45 from Birmingham to Coventry you’ll see some fantastic art deco factories, pubs and houses. Once you get to Coventry, check out the odeon cinema among others – it has recently been restored. Enjoy!
Rhiannon
I certainly will enjoy! That sounds like a great excuse to head to the Midlands. Thanks for the tip.
Mr P
It’s a bit late now because the building was pulled down in 1989 but there are no pictures anywhere: maybe some of your canine aunts and uncles have one somewhere in their albums? At Putney Vale at the beginning of the Kingston By-Pass on the A3, this white palace was built in 1937 on the site of the factory’s original premises, the Bald Faced Stag coaching inn, once notorious for highwaymen. The art deco creation sported the mandatory central clock tower, it resembled an enormous wedding cake. It was demolished to make way for an Asda supermarket, whose architects have kindly retained some design details reflective of the former building.
While we’re at it, do you remember the Cox & Co factory at Cox’s Corner on the Watford By-Pass (junction of Aldenham Avenue), another palatal art deco edifice with soaring tower and enough Critall windows to glaze a council estate. The firm made vehicle windscreens and tubular furniture. But, again, no pictorial record seems to remain.
Thanks for the info Peter. Sadly, far too many deco factories have been knocked down and replaced by monstrous superstores. But I have managed to find a photo of the old KLG Plugs factory! The Kenelm Lee Guinness story is a very interesting one, so I enjoyed hunting for the picture.
Afraid no luck yet finding a photo of the Cox & Co factory, but I have found a bit of info about the company in the Graces Guide – a great website I’ve just discovered that has info on hundreds of British engineering companies operating up to the 1960s.
Barkers of Kensington, 63 Kensington High Street, London
Long Island House, Warple Way just off Acton Vale (A4020)London.
Ealing village, Hangar Lane, London w5.
Argyle House, end of Sheendale Road, Richmond, London
Ravenscourt Park Hospital, Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith, London.
2 South Parade, W4 1JU.
All the houses in Park Avenue, Ruislip HA4 7UL
Some of the buildings along barley mow passage, Chiswick (and on the corner of turnham green.)
Odeon place, Isleworth, London.
W6 0TN
UK
Brilliant list – thanks Keith. I have to confess, the old Odeon in Isleworth, as well as the fire station, has been on my ‘must strike a pose there’ list for a while now!
Cheers
Mr P
Hello there pickles! The old (but now restored)SmithKline Beechams known now as Barratt building has some pretty nice shots, we tend to video our dances around there quite often. The Lucozade Sign is also eyecatching ! I know that the old one now sits in the Gunnersbury Park Museum ?
Awesome webpage, will defo visit again !
All the best
Torron Dewar
Chairman at The Alliance Dance Unit (Brentford)
Hi Torron,
Thanks for your comment and I’m glad you like the site!
I was at the Beechams building a couple of years ago – photos here: http://doganddeco.co.uk/2008/08/24/simmonds-aerocessories/. It was formerly the Simmonds Aerocessories building. Lucky you for getting the opportunity to go inside – they were still doing it up when I was last there, I’d love to see the interior. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a good photo of the Eric Gill sculpture of the airman on top of the entrance, I think I’d get into trouble posing on the hard shoulder of the M4 flyover! I get get a good look of it though from the parcel shelf of the car whenever we drive past.
Mr.P
Hornsey Town Hall is beautifula and you would look very good sitting infront of the entrance. I think you’d love the gates as they are covered in birds and animals.
I love your site.
Sounds awesome ! I recently made a video in Beechams deco spot which you may find interesting ! Her’s the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MdoDblzPWI&feature=player_embedded wish you all the best 😀
Peace and love
Hi Pickles
If your manager’s budget will stretch to it, fly over to New Zealand and check out Napier. I got very snap-happy when I was over there in January. The entire town was rebuilt in the Deco style after an earthquake in 1931. The local society is very active and promotes regular events – http://www.artdeconapier.com/. On your way back, pop by and see me in Melbourne – there’s plenty of posing opportunities here too!
Cheers
Emma
Hey Emma,
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately my flying days are over, but my manager is regularly talking about heading back to the antipodes with expressed purpose of visiting Napier and Melbourne (as you may remember she went to Melbourne Uni for a year way back when). I’d love to visit both these places, but I guess they’ll have to find some other mutt to pose in front of the buildings and I’ll just look at the photos instead – sorry I won’t get to meet you in the flesh.
Have you seen what Melbourne Heritage Action are up to? Worth checking out their site: http://www.melbourneheritage.org.au/
Cheers,
Mr.P
There are a couple hundred buildings in Chicago from that part of the 20th century that are still in use and which you would probably like. For more information, come to the Chicago Public Library /ChiPubLib/ and ask for Nate.
Nate – If you can sort an old dog with a passport and plane ticket, I’ll be over in Chicago in a flash! But in the meantime, perhaps there’s a dog Stateside who can strike some poses on my behalf??
Cheers,
Mr.P
The Floral Hall, sadly derelict and I can’t get into it because it’s inside Belfast Zoo! But such a gorgeous building, they use it to store the elephants food these days.
From Dottie the Scottie
Oooh, Dottie – The Floral Hall looks wonderful, it beats the cupboard under the sink where my food is stored, that’s for sure! I’ve just been reading about it here: http://www.bbpt.org/floralhall.php. Perhaps you’ll be able to visit it on a Doors Open day, if they ever open it up to the general public again?
Thanks for alerting me to it!
Mr.P
What a concept for a website. Not technically factories but I think you should do the Beresford building on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street and Nardini’s in Largs.
Thanks Graham –
Always happy to consider any decent building, doesn’t absolutely have to be a factory, or Deco for that matter! I’ve posed in front of the Beresford Hotel already (and, thinking about it, on Beresford Avenue in East Twickenham – though not on the same day) but my PA seems to have “put the photos somewhere safe” and we’re just waiting for her to remember where… It’s been a while now, so another visit to both locations is probably in order. We’ll take a nice trip to Largs whilst we’re about it – treat ourselves to a tasty ice cream.
Mr.P
Dear Pickles,
Please come to Southampton soon. We have the ford factory which is really good. Also you should go to Thorpe Park.
Thanks,
Debz
Hello,
I suggest you get yourself over to South Wales and have a look at the Treforest Industrial Estate, a few miles north of Cardiff up the A470 towards the Valleys. It’s an early industrial estate with Percy Thomas associations and some remnants of original buildings surviving. While you’re there, head a mile or two up the A4054 to Hawthorn to have a look at Alexon House, a smashing post-war example of streamline moderne, not sadly under imminent threat of demolition!
Love, McGrew
*now sadly under threat
Hi there, if you like digs and deco… Check out my website of paintings! Thanks, christopher
Hi Pickles, I discovered a great art deco find today in Bishop Stortford. The Nags Head. Its a friendly pub/restaurant and you can also go inside and look at lots of original deco features. (Not sure if you’re interested in interiors too though?) Hope you get to see it one day! Amanda x ps I love the pics of you outside the Carreras Cigarette factory
http://www.mcmullens.co.uk/nagsheadbishopsstortford
Wondered if you had any pictures of the old Technicolor building that was located on the Bath Road at Heathrow. a Deco building. Thanks, Jane Webber
Re the demolition of the Firesrone factory.
All the stories about the demolition are true. I worked in accounts for Trafalgar House investment group services at the time (THIGS).
The demolition team were bought in as sub-contractors to carry out the destruction over the Easter weekend which had to happen before the Easter Monday. I was rushed to make sure the sub-contractors were paid before they worked. Which was very unusual at the time.
I saw the news at the time with my parents who were horrified when I told them about being rushed to make sure everyone was paid. They personally blames me. Why am I telling you this story now in Jan 2016. Well my son has just started work at the Sky 9 building and asked me to look at where he worked on google street view. I told him I recognised the place and he said don’t be silly I couldn’t know the place. Then the penny finally dropped and I told him my story which he didn’t believe. I then found this site and copied a few of the comments for him.
Needless to say he believes me now. And I have gone back to feeling a small amount of guilt at actually doing my job when this happened.
Pickles –
Check out
tinyurl.com/BurtonDeco
You’ll be spoilt for choice.