Burtonville Clothing Factory, East Lancashire Road, Worsley

The Burtonville factory was built on a 25-acre site obtained from the Bridgwater Estates on the north side of the newly opened East Lancashire Road. As suggested by the name, this was to be a factory in the “Garden City” tradition begun by Cadburys at Bournville. The location, on the very edge of the Manchester conurbation was still rural and at some distance from the nearest habitation. Although it has been suggested that the district was well-served by public transport, it was still relatively remote, except by car or cycle. No trams or buses ran along the East Lancashire Road. The workforce drawn from Worsley, Swinton and Walkden and Eccles, as well as more distant towns such as Wigan, Hindley, Bolton, and Farnworth would thus be faced with a good walk to and from the nearest public transport facility.

Although Burtons had an in-house architects’ department, they wanted a “prestige building,” for the new factory at Worsley and chose instead Wallis, Gilbert & Partners as architects because of their reputation. During the 1920’s and 1930’s the practice designed a number of factories on the outskirts of London in an ever more extravagant Art Deco style. The Burtons factory represented their only commission in North-west England. They were, however, not given a completely free hand, being required to work in association with Martin and Rowntree, of Burtons Architects Department and former members of Harry Wilson’s practice. Rowntree's contribution was an expert knowledge of the layout of Burton factories, which were organised so that all processes were segregated and each operated by groups of workers who were specialists in their particular sphere; on-line coordination relied upon a highly sophisticated system of routeing and reference filing. From Martin would have come an appreciation of the 'Montague Burton’ style'. Wallis, Gilbert & Partners were known for efficiently planned working layouts and good working conditions. In later years, Wallis' designs showed a distinct predilection for a major piece of verticality. At Worsley this was achieved by an 80 feet high central tower over the main entrance, topped with a circular illuminated lantern visible for miles around.

Initially, Wallis, Gilbert & Partners submitted drawings for a factory in reinforced concrete, deeming this more suitable to the kind of weather prevailing in the north-west. But, as the factory was to be built by a direct labour force more at home with steel and brick, Wallis converted the design to those materials without altering the style or form. To clothe the steel frame, smooth red Accrington bricks with terra-cotta dressings were chosen—materials familiar to the builders, and having for many years proved suitable to the local climate. Terra-cotta ware in black, buff and red faience was provided by the Middleton Fireclay Company.  The factory was set back from the highway on an eminence. Access roads curved in and up from the East Lancashire Road to the east and west sides of the forecourt and to the service road that surrounded the building. Parallel to the new road, the front block, 253 feet long by 40 feet wide, contained the goods receiving department on the west side and the goods despatch department on the east, each extending eight bays and both with large, covered loading bays at each end. Between them was the entrance hall, with commissionaire's office, four waiting rooms, telephone and valve rooms and a lavatory. Directly opposite the central, main entrance, two stairways, rising to east and west, curved round the rear wall to the office landings. Extending four bays each side of the central tower at first floor level were the offices. At the rear was the single-storeyed factory area, measuring 215 feet in width by 432 long on the west side and 496 feet long on the east. At the rear was a canteen large enough to Seat people and to provide recreational amenities such as table tennis, billiards, a library. On each side of the factory area was a mezzanine floor, one bay wide which. from the outside, suggested a two-storey building. Over the manufacturing and pressing areas, these floors contained lavatories and cloakrooms with clothes-drying racks; over the canteen were rooms for welfare and employment offices, the doctor's consulting room, surgery and medical clinic, a dental surgery an optician and a sunray treatment room. The whole factory was air-conditioned (the first such in Europe) and centrally heated. Sports facilities were provided at the rear of the factory.

NEW CLOTHING FACTORY: Work is to begin in the near future on a new clothing factory on the Liverpool - East Lancashire road between Wardley Hall, Worsley, and Moorside Road, Swinton, which will absorb between 5,000 and 6,000 unemployed women and girls from Worsley, Swinton, and surrounding districts. Intimation was given at the monthly meeting of the Worsley Urban District Council last night that consent, under the Restriction of Ribbon Development Act (1935) has now been granted, subject to the proposed access to the factory being limited to two points at either end of the site and to the erection of an approved boundary fence. The factory, which is being built for Messrs Montague Burton Limited, Hudson Mills, Leeds, is to have a floor space of 86,000 square feet. It is intended to facilitate the supply to the Manchester market. [Manchester Guardian 12 January 1937 page 13]

Several towns in the north west of the county are benefiting by a clothing factory development at Walkden, in securing which the Lancashire Industrial Council had a direct share. Messrs Montague Burton's, whose clothing factories have hitherto been concentrated at Leeds were induced to seek a site in the neighbourhood of Manchester, and eventually acquired 25 acres of land at Worsley, intending to build a model factory there with accommodation attached for their workpeople's recreation. Pending the completion of such a building as will be a landmark on the East Lancashire Road the firm took a disused mill in Walkden so that workers might be trained. Within three months the recruits they got from textile towns were producing garments for sale, and in six months 800 people were working in the factory. That number is now doubled, and it appears likely to reach 2,000. Hundreds have been drawn from Wigan, Hindley, Bolton, Farnworth, and such towns. About 80 per cent are women and girls. It is said that their adaptability has surprised Messrs Burton's, who, without abandoning any part of their Yorkshire production and entirely as an extension of their facilities at Leeds, are going forward as early as possible with the erection of the Worsley premises., originally contemplated while still retaining the converted mill at Walkden. [Manchester Guardian 15 January 1937 page 15]

NEW CLOTHING FACTORY FOR LANCASHIRE - Burtonville Clothing Works the new factory built by Montague Burton Limited, at Worsley, near Manchester was opened yesterday by Lord Derby. The site, on the north side of the East Lancashire Road. was acquired with the help of the Lancashire Industrial Development Council. and building began in June last year.  The new factory, which is to be extended on either side in due course, stands on an eminence, and the floor level has been raised to make the position even more commanding. It is approached by a central stairway, forty-six feet wide, and the entrance is beneath a tower rising 80 feet above the road level and surmounted by a circular glass lantern which is illuminated at night. The main facings of the building are red Accrington pressed facing bricks with buff terra-cotta dressings and the piers between the windows are faced with black terra-cotta with strips of buff. At the moment 3,000 workers can be employed, and when the works are extended there will be room for 10,000. [Manchester Guardian 25 October 1938 page 12]

Reference    Manchester Guardian 12 January 1937 page 13
Reference    Manchester Guardian 15 January 1937 page 15
Reference    Manchester Guardian 25 October 1938 page 12 - opening
Reference    Builder 10 March 1939. Page 478, 494
Reference    Eric M Sigsworth Montague Burton: The Tailor of Taste page 57-58
Reference    Joan S Skinner: Factories and Factory Buildings of Wallis Gilbert and Partners
Reference    Salford Life Times Link No 21 May -October 2007 page 16 - illustration