NHER 55690 (Monument record) - Site of Co-operative Brushworks

The site was used by a family business making brushes before the 1920s, but when the Co-op Wholesale Society (CWS) bought it, they turned it into a large facility. Most of the buildings are brick and due to several add-ons and extensions, the style of the buildings and particularly the floor levels differ. The chimney is approx 120 feet tall. The original boiler system was fed by waste wood from the factory and the water came from a water tower filled from a bore hole. After the 1950s electrical machinery was introduced but the old boilers were unsuitable to power a generator so the factory had to be supplied by the National Grid. The open area to the north of the factory was used for drying the timbers. These can be seen on RAF 1946 aerial photographs. In 1983 (the date of the NIAS survey) some land had already been sold for redevelopment. The entire site is now housing estates.
See (S1).
W. Arnold (HES), 20 June 2011.