COWAN STREET
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:30 am
Watkins Bible Bookbinding Factory stood on the site of what is now the children’s playground (Burgess Park). It was one of the area’s biggest factories. At its peak, it bound 1 million bibles a year, employing 400, mainly women, known as ‘folder girls’. It was deemed to offer more ‘respectable’ employment than some other local factories. Suffering World War 2 bomb damage, the factory was rebuilt in late 1950s but eventually closed in 1977.
Watkins’ unassuming factory entrance was in the middle of a terrace at 6-8 Cowan Street, but the factory backed onto Scarsdale Road – both roads which were lost when Burgess Park was created. The factory took up almost an entire block bounded by 4 streets – a larger footprint than Chumleigh Gardens.
Watkins’ unassuming factory entrance was in the middle of a terrace at 6-8 Cowan Street, but the factory backed onto Scarsdale Road – both roads which were lost when Burgess Park was created. The factory took up almost an entire block bounded by 4 streets – a larger footprint than Chumleigh Gardens.
- WATKINS & CO,Cowan street,Albany Road
- Cowan Street,Albany Road.