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History
The British Xylonite Company could justifiably claim to be the first British firm successfully to manufacture a plastic material in commercial quantities. Xylonite, better known by its American equivalent of 'celluloid', was invented by Alexander Parkes and first displayed in 1862 under the name of 'Parkesine'. Derived from the nitro-cellulose and collodion processes, it was initially used for making domestic articles in substitution for wood, horn, ivory or tortoiseshell. Its subsequent development was closely associated with Hackney, being taken up by Daniel Spill, rubber manufacturer, in 1864 and later by the Xylonite Company at Hackney Wick and the 'Ivoride' Works at Homerton High Street. The founders of the British Xylonite Company, Levi Parsons Merriam and his son Charles, established in 1875 a small business to make combs, imitation jewellery etc. next door to the 'Ivoride' Works; the two works merged in 1879.
The original site being small and unsuitable, it was decided in 1887 to buy land at Brantham on the Suffolk bank of the River Stour and erect a purpose-built factory; finished goods continued to be made at Homerton until 1897 when a new factory was built at Hale End near Walthamstow (its products going by the trade name of 'Halex') which also housed the head office. Other types of plastics were introduced, and in 1938 the British Xylonite Company became a holding company with three subsidiaries: B.X. Plastics making xylonite and lactoid; Halex Ltd. making finished goods, and Cascelloid Ltd. making toys and bottles at Leicester and Coalville. The Distillers Company took a half-interest in 1939 and bought the entire Group in 1961, but in 1963 it formed part of a new grouping called Bakelite Xylonite Ltd. established jointly with Union Carbide, and including plants at Birmingham, Aycliffe and Grangemouth.
Several sales and mergers took place in the 1960s and 1970s, the most significant being the sale of the Brantham and Aycliffe sites in 1966 to British Industrial Plastics, a subsidiary of Turner and Newall Ltd., who were in turn purchased in 1977 by Storey Brothers of Lancaster, formerly a major commercial rival. The Brantham has been operating under the name of Wardle Storeys since 1984 and until recently manufactured limited quantities of xylonite using traditional processes and equipment before closing in 2007. Other company names that cropped up onsite were ICI Imagdata and Bexford Plastics, but when one company stopped and the other took over was difficult to work out.
(Sourced largely from: The National Archives)
The Explore
Explored with the talented company of Session9 and a non-member. Entry to this site was very easy, as this place is enormous and tucked away nicely in a corner of an industrial estate, so no need to worry about nosey onlookers here. It is a strange and interesting place to visit, much of the site has been demolished, a large proportion is still thoroughly active and the rest is stood derelict. So, moving through the grounds from building to building required us to try and figure out which parts were which. There is some amazing machinery here, many dials, buttons, switches and levers await photos as does miles and miles of pipework of all varying thickness and size. The shameful thing is; the best bits of machinery are in a part of the plant that is in pitch black and producing photos of any range was extremely difficult. Another interesting part included a mangers office full of paperwork and company blue prints with many handwritten documents created throughout the 1980's, we spent over an hour reading some of the information in here before heading off to the other side of the rail track. As light was quickly receding by this point we were forced to rush our photos before calling it time. All in all an excellent explore, especially if you enjoy old industry.
Photos
Thanks for viewing my report, I hoped you liked.
The Lone Shadow
The British Xylonite Company could justifiably claim to be the first British firm successfully to manufacture a plastic material in commercial quantities. Xylonite, better known by its American equivalent of 'celluloid', was invented by Alexander Parkes and first displayed in 1862 under the name of 'Parkesine'. Derived from the nitro-cellulose and collodion processes, it was initially used for making domestic articles in substitution for wood, horn, ivory or tortoiseshell. Its subsequent development was closely associated with Hackney, being taken up by Daniel Spill, rubber manufacturer, in 1864 and later by the Xylonite Company at Hackney Wick and the 'Ivoride' Works at Homerton High Street. The founders of the British Xylonite Company, Levi Parsons Merriam and his son Charles, established in 1875 a small business to make combs, imitation jewellery etc. next door to the 'Ivoride' Works; the two works merged in 1879.
The original site being small and unsuitable, it was decided in 1887 to buy land at Brantham on the Suffolk bank of the River Stour and erect a purpose-built factory; finished goods continued to be made at Homerton until 1897 when a new factory was built at Hale End near Walthamstow (its products going by the trade name of 'Halex') which also housed the head office. Other types of plastics were introduced, and in 1938 the British Xylonite Company became a holding company with three subsidiaries: B.X. Plastics making xylonite and lactoid; Halex Ltd. making finished goods, and Cascelloid Ltd. making toys and bottles at Leicester and Coalville. The Distillers Company took a half-interest in 1939 and bought the entire Group in 1961, but in 1963 it formed part of a new grouping called Bakelite Xylonite Ltd. established jointly with Union Carbide, and including plants at Birmingham, Aycliffe and Grangemouth.
Several sales and mergers took place in the 1960s and 1970s, the most significant being the sale of the Brantham and Aycliffe sites in 1966 to British Industrial Plastics, a subsidiary of Turner and Newall Ltd., who were in turn purchased in 1977 by Storey Brothers of Lancaster, formerly a major commercial rival. The Brantham has been operating under the name of Wardle Storeys since 1984 and until recently manufactured limited quantities of xylonite using traditional processes and equipment before closing in 2007. Other company names that cropped up onsite were ICI Imagdata and Bexford Plastics, but when one company stopped and the other took over was difficult to work out.
(Sourced largely from: The National Archives)
The Explore
Explored with the talented company of Session9 and a non-member. Entry to this site was very easy, as this place is enormous and tucked away nicely in a corner of an industrial estate, so no need to worry about nosey onlookers here. It is a strange and interesting place to visit, much of the site has been demolished, a large proportion is still thoroughly active and the rest is stood derelict. So, moving through the grounds from building to building required us to try and figure out which parts were which. There is some amazing machinery here, many dials, buttons, switches and levers await photos as does miles and miles of pipework of all varying thickness and size. The shameful thing is; the best bits of machinery are in a part of the plant that is in pitch black and producing photos of any range was extremely difficult. Another interesting part included a mangers office full of paperwork and company blue prints with many handwritten documents created throughout the 1980's, we spent over an hour reading some of the information in here before heading off to the other side of the rail track. As light was quickly receding by this point we were forced to rush our photos before calling it time. All in all an excellent explore, especially if you enjoy old industry.
Photos
Thanks for viewing my report, I hoped you liked.
The Lone Shadow
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