The Curry’s factory / 991 Great West Road – 1936 – F E Simkins
main entrance to Curry's factory
Pickles at former Curry's factory
Restored by Foster and Partners between 1997 and 2000 for J C Decaux.
Pyrene building, ‘Golden Mile’
July 14, 2008 By 2 Comments
Pyrene Building, Great West Road, Brentford – 1929-30 – Wallis, Gilbert and Partners
Former fire extinguisher factory, opposite the Firestone Factory.
Pyrene factory entrance
Pyrene factory
India of Inchinnan
July 8, 2008 By 1 Comment
India of Inchinnan, Renfrewshire – 1929 – Thomas Wallis of Wallis, Gilbert and Partners
India of Inchinnan
Built on the site of a former airship construction station, where they built the R34 airship, which made the first ever transatlantic air crossing in both directions in 1919. The new art deco factory site was opened in 1930 and India Tyre and Rubber company operations continued there until Christmas 1981. Most of the factory site buildings were demolished in 1982 and these categegory A listed offices are all that remain of the original. A very good looking extension was added to the rear in 2004 by Gibb Architects, and now as HQ of Graham Technology it makes me a very happy old mutt to see the site thriving again!
Luma light bulb factory
July 7, 2008 By 1 Comment
Luma Light Bulb Factory, Shieldhall, nr Glasgow – Cornelius Armour – 1938
Pickles at Luma Factory
Gillette Factory, Brentford
July 6, 2008 By 6 Comments
Gillette Factory, Gillette Corner, Brentford - Sir Banister Fletcher – 1936
Pickles at Gillette Corner
This is was the last factory on the Great West Road, “Golden Mile”, to be occupied by the original company it was built for. Built for Gillette, the razor manufacturer, the design of the building frontage is said to resemble a razor. Sadly, Gillette finally stopped production in 2006 and moved out in 2007.
Pickles at Gillette Clock Tower
Pickles at Gillette Clock Tower
You can view the Bonnington redevelopment plans for the Gillette Factory site at: http://www.gillettecorner.com (let me know what you think!)
Natwest bank, Gillette Corner
July 3, 2008 By 3 Comments
Just a quickie today…
Natwest Bank, Gillette Corner, Brentford – architect tbc (possibly Sir Banister Fletcher ?) – date tbc (possibly 1936?) – I’ll keep you posted once I’ve done some rrrresearch.
**Update: For now have a read of the 2nd comment below…**
Firestone Factory, Great West Road, Brentford
June 25, 2008 By
The Firestone tyre factory – Great West Road – London – 1928 - Wallis Gilbert & Partners
Demolished in 1980, I believe on the day before a preservation order was due to come into effect (although this could be a local myth?), all that’s left are the boundary wall and entrances. THe rest of the site is now home to Sky Broadcasting and a delightful PC World.
And here is the main entrance in it former glory. - Heartbreaking!
If you want to break your heart a little more, this site has a few extra photos of the factory before and as it was knocked down: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~garycr/2001/firestone_factory/
My last Botanic’s photo and rant
June 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Vinicombe Lane – side/rear elevation of Botanic Gardens Garage.
The current plans, about to be submitted to Glasgow City Council by Keppie Design, include the demolition of this rear part of this early 20th century Garage, which makes me very sad as it is an integral part of this important historic building. Now I’m all for progress and innovative design, but it does make me wonder, what is the point of category A listing a building if you can still knock half of it down. By applying this standard part of Edinburgh Castle (you know, just a part that you can’t really see unless you’re actually in the grounds) could be knocked down in order to create some modern duplex apartments. Or maybe I could knock down the back of my home in Park Circus and create a modern glass conservatory and luxury dog kennel…. Grrrrr.
More Botanic Gardens Garage photos
June 23, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Just a few more piccies for you whilst I decide what I really think about the plans for the redevelopment of the garage into flats… (see my last post for more info)
Am I howling in despair or pensive contemplation of the plans?
This one is my favourite. I think this should qualify my membership of the Handlebar Club.
Botanic Gardens Garage, Glasgow
June 18, 2008 By 1 Comment
Our first wordpress entry, and a bit of a test…
Hello,
This is our first time using WordPress, so we are going to be a bit experimental with our first posting. This blog will generally document our favourite pastime, which is taking pictures of me (Pickles) outside Art Deco and Modernist industrial buildings. Having said that, today’s (being our experimental day) will break the rule from the start.
We went to see the new proposals for the Botanic Gardens Garage in Glasgow this evening, so we thought we’d start off with a piccy of me posing outside there. The Botanics Garage was built in 1912 and is the oldest surviving purpose-built garage in the UK. It was in use as a garage until last year, by Arnold Clark, but they are now planning to develop it into a block of flats despite its recent Grade A listing.
Botanic Gardens Garage, Vinicombe St, Glasgow. 1912. architect: David Valentine Wyllie.
For more info see http://www.botanicgardensgarage.org/
and The Twentieth Century Society which has also got a great photo of the garage back in the day.
Honeywell building, Motherwell
February 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment
(Yes, I have to admit it, uncool as it is sometimes I do have to be chained to my bitch for “safety” reasons – this time the motorway.)
Motherwell – M8 – architect and date tbc…
Bankside Power Station (Tate Modern)
February 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Bankside – 1947 – Sir Giles Gilbert Scott
This is our first post, but do expect all sorts of delicious doggified twentieth century acrchitectural treats to come!
This photo is of me in 2006 on my first industrial landmark spotting trip to London.
