In an area where, as your author mentioned on Tuesday, the leather industry had a presence, the factory was the premises of Martin fur merchants, and it was here that they made sealskin jackets. Whilst the entrance gate pictured dates from 1869. It was rebuilt in the 1930s to the designs of Wallis Gilbert, who also designed the Hoover Building in Perivale.
Much of the area was bombed in the Second World War, but the factory escaped when a bomb failed to explode. Damage to the factory from an electrical fault was subsequently repaired and it continued operation until at least the 1950s. It has since been converted into - you guessed it - apartments, and is not open to the public.
For more information, see http://www.visitmap2.co.uk/sites/clients/bermondsey/detailpage.php?pid=19
Posts
According to an information panel placed in front of the building by Southwark Council, the Alaska Factory was not bombed and in fact "had a narrow escape from an unexploded bomb". The damage suffered by the factory in 1940 was caused by fire resulting from an electrical fault.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should say that, as I only noticed the new board this morning when riding past. I'll edit.
ReplyDelete