Up: Hayward
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behind him the striking successes achieved in Reform glazing
and light constructional work. Soon the directors and their agents
were surveying London and its environs for a convenient site to which
part of the production might be transferred. This was planned to
take place gradually so as to disturb production as little as possible.
After several possibilities had been examined
and dismissed as not possessing all the qualities required, six acres
of land at Enfield in Middlesex were purchased. The selection of this
site was governed by three factors. It was near to a railway, adjacent
to the main London road to the North and not far from the River Lea with
direct access to the Thames.
As a preliminary, the company asked their
architect, A. T. Davies, to prepare plans for a building 160 feet square
and consisting of four 40 feet bays. These were to accommodate the Stair
and Door Departments which it was proposed should be the first to be moved
from Southwark. Orders were given early in 1920 to the various
contractors and by April 1921 the new building was completed. The Enfield
project, a long cherished idea, became an accomplished fact.
"Haywards of the Borough," an association both
of names and ideas, was so well known that it was considered too good an
asset to throw away. Moreover, some reluctance was felt at the idea of
leaving the Borough, where from those early days, Haywards had made their
wares under the eye of partners and later directors who had rubbed
shoulders daily with their workmen and forged the close personal
relationship which had served so well. Expansion, nonetheless, was not
only desirable but inevitable. Central direction of the firm's affairs
must obviously continue. Enfield, of course, was some distance out of
London. This prompted the Board to retain headquarters and part at least
of the Union Street works for that section of the manufacture more
usefully carried out in the Borough.
This resolved, the Orange Street factory built
in 1918 was sold to the Scandinavian Belt Company, and the lantern light
and
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