Firestone Tyre Factory Explained

Firestone Tyre Factory
Map Type:Greater London
Location Town:Brentford
Location Country:United Kingdom
Coordinates:51.485°N -0.3219°W
Destruction Date:August 1980
Architecture Firm:Wallis, Gilbert and Partners

The Firestone Tyre Factory was an Art Deco building on the Great West Road in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. Built on a 26acre site, it opened in October 1928[1] [2] and was the second factory to open on the Great West Road, following Hudson-Essex Motors of Great Britain Limited which opened in 1927.[3] [4]

Demolition and controversy

The company announced in November 1979 that it would close the factory.[5] [6]

After its purchase by Trafalgar House, the building was demolished during the August 1980 bank holiday weekend, reportedly in anticipation of its becoming listed.[7] [8] The Twentieth Century Society call the structure their "first serious case" and say that its destruction[9] "focused public attention on the necessity for greater protection for 20th century buildings and led directly to the listing of 150 examples of interwar architecture (including Battersea Power Station) by the government".The gates, piers and railings fencing the site received a Grade II listing in 2001.[10]

See also

External links

51.485°N -0.3219°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 25 years on – the end of Firestone (From Richmond and Twickenham Times) . Richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk . 1 September 2005 . 17 October 2013.
  2. News: Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES. . FIRESTONE, IN AKRON, ADDRESSES LONDONERS - Tire Manufacturer Uses Radio for Speech at Opening of New Factory. - Article . The New York Times . 17 October 1928 . 17 October 2013.
  3. Web site: The Great West Road Then & Now Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society. brentfordandchiswicklhs.org.uk. 2019-08-05.
  4. A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), Heston and Isleworth: Economic and social history, pages 114–119. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  5. News: Firestone Plans Cuts in Europe. 15 November 1979. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Ltd, said today that it would discontinue operations at its Brentford, Middlesex, plant within the next three [...]. The New York Times.
  6. News: Los Angeles Times: Archives – Firestone to Cut European Output . Pqasb.pqarchiver.com . 15 November 1979 . 17 October 2013.
  7. Web site: Fiona MacCarthy . Grand designs | Art and design . The Guardian . 20 November 2004 . 17 October 2013.
  8. News: 'Erotic gherkin' company has 'form'. Trafalgar House used to own the Firestone Building on Western Avenue. Two days before the building was to be listed, it flattened that, too. . London. The Daily Telegraph. 25 August 2000.
  9. Web site: About us – The Twentieth Century Society . C20society.org.uk . 17 October 2013.
  10. Web site: Central Gates, Gate Piers and Railings to the Former Firestone Factory – Hounslow – Greater London – England . British Listed Buildings . 17 October 2013. Central gates, gate piers and railngs to the former Firestone Factory. 1928 by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners..

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