Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Ever Ready Factory
I'm not sure when the factory was demolished, but for many years it was the Ever Ready Battery Factory.
Originally used the North Metropolitan Electric Company, an ancillary company owned by the Middlesex County Council, who were responsible for providing the Tram service within the County of Middlesex as well as for the power supply. The trams were taken under London Tranports' control after its formation in 1933, with all Electric Companies being nationalised by the 1945 Labour Government.
I can't date the take over of the building by Ever Ready, but I had presumed it was after nationalisation. There are some reports that mention a V1 "Doodlebug" Flying Bomb damaging the Ever Ready factory in 1944.. so maybe it was earlier than Nationalisation?
I need to do some more research on that.. or maybe somebody here can help?
Tags for Forum Posts: Gardens, World War Two, harringay alumni memories, harringay mysteries
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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See also:
- Discussion on another blog post with lots of info
- Photo of the factory, from Geoff, with a full history on page 2, including a link to a history of Boyd Pianos.
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Permalink Reply by michaelw on
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This 1993 article on Ever Ready gives some more information about this research facility & the failings of the company - it seems like they wanted to carry on making money out of Zinc Carbon batteries when the world was moving on to alkaline:
"There were loud complaints at the time, but it is difficult now to find anyone who criticises the decision to decimate the R & D operation. The powerful London centre had been run by Frank Tye. He was 'a technical god with an international reputation', a former manager says, but was more interested in the academic than the practical side of battery development. 'We were getting more and more knowledge about fewer and fewer topics,' the manager says. 'We ended up knowing everything about nothing.'"
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There's a history of the corner plot here. It was used as part of St Ann's Hospital till 1904. Then from 1914 to 1928 it was Boyd's piano factory. From 1955 to 1980 it was Ever Ready Central Labs. Finally in the late 1980s or early 1990s, the flats that stand there today were built.
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