Spirella Building, Letchworth, Herts, UK - Iconic Factories on Waymarking.com

The magnificent Spirella Building was created between 1912 and 1920 as the UK manufacturing base of the famous Spirella Corset Company. Its founder, William Wallace Kincaid, (1868 - 1964) an American entrepreneur, came to Letchworth Garden City after hearing about the establishment of a new community - the world's first Garden City - and the man behind it, Ebenezer Howard (1850 - 1928).

Kincaid, like Howard, was a man ahead of his time and he commissioned architect Cecil Hignett to design a state-of-the art factory of great beauty. The factory was completed in 1920, Kincaid had achieved his goal; The Spirella Building provided the perfect environment for his workers to be happy, contented and highly productive, and was worthy of being called 'The Factory of Beauty'.

A symmetrically planned factory building grouped round 3 sides of a court yard.
This is a major work in the Arts and Crafts manner, but adapted to a monumental
scale. The 4 corner pavilions are linked by lower workshop ranges. The pavilions
have hipped tile roofs with gablets and gabled dormers. The construction is brown brick with plain stone band below eaves level and at first floor. Recessed window bays with
mullioned windows of reinforced concrete with leaded casements. Connecting
workshops with industrial glazing below segmental arches.

During the 1960s and 1970s demand waned and the building slowly went into decline. In 1994 Letchworth Garden City Corporation purchased the Grade 2* listed building. In 1997 the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation started work on the £11m restoration.

Product manufactured here: Corsetry Address: Spirella Building Bridge Road Letchworth, Herts UK SG6 4ET Web Page: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/09/2021 OrientGeo visited it