FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 12 Your news Send your stories, letters, and photos to [email protected] or by post to The Archer, PO Box 3699, London N2 2DE. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Insta- gram @TheArcherN2. You can view our The Archer online archive at www.the-archer.co.uk Published by East Finchley Newspapers, P.O. Box 3699, London N2 2DE. www.the-archer.co.uk The factory that worked round the clock By Charles Haydn The recent lockdowns He told the story of times have encouraged the gone by when the factory, built opportunity to explore the on the site of the old Grange highways and byways of manor house in 1919-1920, East Finchley on our daily supplied diesel fuel injectors walks. My last one left me and other essential parts for a with more to think about wide range of companies such as Perkins, Rolls-Royce and than I expected. Vauxhall as well as military I’d set off to take a look at tanks and trucks during the the Tarling Road community Second World War. building off Oak Lane. Look- ing around, I saw someone Success and decline else doing the same and we An important employer got chatting. This gentleman of many local people includ- was reminiscing about past ing this gentleman’s father, times and mentioned that mother, brother and sister he’d worked at the old Simms and many of his friends and automotive factory that occu- neighbours, Simms employed pied an area of some six acres East Finchley folk across between Tarling Road, Long four shifts, 24 hours a day. Lane and Oak Lane until it On saying our goodbyes he closed 30 years ago. promised to share a selection

Industrial belt: The Simms car part factory occupied land between Oak Lane, top right, and Long Lane, bottom of photographs of the time and manufacturers lost market Simms Gardens. they accompany this article. share. Find out more about By the 1950s, the Simms In 1991, the factory ceased the former Simms fac- factory was thriving and had production altogether and the tory in our archives at expanded to include drawing site was taken over by Fair- www.the-archer.co.uk/ offices, development shops, view Homes. Two years later, archive/2002/2002Nov07.pdf. a social club and the central the first new residents moved Do you remember this factory instruction school for the into the houses and flats that or did you perhaps work there? company’s entire operations. sit on the land today, along Please share your stories with Then in 1968, Simms was roads like Taunton Drive, us. Email news@the-archer. taken over by Lucas CAV and Blackdown8535(AW)TheArcher_2ColumnAdvert:ClintonSmith_020 Close and, of co.uk or write to The 7267 Archer, 7727 5/2/14 over the following decade the course, Lucas Gardens and PO Box 3699, London N2 2DE. British car and vehicle indus- try changed rapidly. Manu- facturing in East Finchley Wish you were here: A 1950s publicity image of the plant was steadily run down as UK Your Security Collective problems ! COLINSales & LettingsSCLARE Solved creation The Brentano Suite, Lyttelton House, 2 Lyttelton Road, London N2 0EF We cover East Finchley, Muswell Hill, Intruder Alarms The East Finchley Open Hampstead Garden Suburb, North Finchley, Whetstone, Artists group has gone live Finchley Central, Barnet, Friern Barnet, Golders Green, CCTV with an exciting collective Archway, Islington and parts of the City. Access Control creation… its brand new Letting fee: 7% (= 8.4% incl vat) Sales fee: 1.5% (= 1.8% incl vat) But more importantly, a quality service to you! website. You can see Open 6 days a week Intercom Systems the end result at www. 9.30 am - 7 pm Monday to Friday 10 am - 3 pm Saturdays eastfinchleyopen.org.uk Contact us on Locks, Doors & Keys The group’s 60 artists and 07891368049 020 8444 3351 craftspeople found their old www.colinsclare.co.uk [email protected] Safes & Grilles EFOA site could not host live Locksmiths events during the lockdowns so DID YOU KNOW? they decided to use the quiet peri- ods to their advantage by creating YOU ARE GOING TO BE HAPPY a site that was more versatile. WITH YOUR NEW VARIFOCALS EFOA Chair Lesley Andrew OR YOUR MONEY BACK. said: “The teamwork and the AS SIMPLE AS THAT amount of time everyone has contributed has been amazing. IF YOU TRIED THE REST NOW TRY We are all delighted with the new CERTIFIED VARILUX SPECIALISTS site, which has become the crea- O2O 8442 O66O Securebase Ltd tive tool we need for showcasing STEWART-DUNCAN OPTICIANS 112 High Road, East Finchley, London N2 9EB our work and artists at a time T: 020 8442 0660 126 High Road, East Finchley, N2 9ED F: 020 8365 2788 when web visibility continues [email protected] to increase in importance.” 020 8883-2020 www.securebase.co.uk The Archer is a non-profit-making, non-political & non-religious newspaper, staffed entirely by volunteers.