The Hat Industry of Luton and its Buildings PRELIMS.indd 3 18/9/13 09:48:19 PRELIMS.indd 4 18/9/13 09:48:20 The Hat Industry of Luton and its Buildings Katie Carmichael, David McOmish and David Grech PRELIMS.indd 5 18/9/13 09:48:24 Published by English Heritage, The Engine House, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon SN2 2EH www.english-heritage.org.uk English Heritage is the Government’s lead body for the historic environment. © English Heritage 2013 Images (except as otherwise shown) are © English Heritage, © English Heritage. Aerofilms Collection (Figs 10 and 11), © Crown Copyright. EH (Fig 14) or reproduced by permission of English Heritage (Figs 64, 87 and the front cover). Figs 6 and 7 are © Crown Copyright and database right 2013. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data (on Figs 6 and 7) courtesy of the CGIAR Consortium for Spatial Information. First published 2013 ISBN 978-1-84802-119-8 Product code 51750 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Front cover Better known today as ‘The Hat Factory’ arts centre, All rights reserved J & K Connor Ltd’s hat factory on Bute Street, Luton, No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, is shown shortly after opening in 1927, as photographed electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or by Bedford Lemere & Co. retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. [BL29379_004] Application for the reproduction of images should be made to English Heritage. Every effort has Inside cover been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologise in advance for any unintentional omissions, which we would be pleased to correct in any subsequent edition of this book. Some of the thousands of plaster hat forms carved by hand at Boon & Lane Ltd in Luton which are used to For more information about images from the English Heritage Archive, contact Archives Services create the aluminium hat blocks upon which hats Team, The Engine House, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon SN2 2EH; telephone (01793) 414600. are shaped. [DP153620] Typeset in Charter ITC 9.5/13pt. Frontispiece Brought to publication by Rachel Howard, Publishing, English Heritage. Although Luton was known as the home of ladies’ straw Edited by Susan Kelleher hat manufacture, hats of all styles and materials were Page layout by Anthony Cohen made – including straw policemen’s helmets for summer Photographs by Steve Cole, Derek Kendall, Katie Carmichael and David Grech, English Heritage use. Graphics by Allan T Adams and Philip Sinton [Getty Images /Hulton Archive] Printed in the UK by Park Communications Ltd. PRELIMS.indd 6 18/9/13 09:48:24 Contents Acknowledgements vi Foreword vii 1 Introduction 1 2 Historic and regional development 5 The towns of the hat industry 11 3 Straw plaiting 17 Origins of the industry 17 Plaiting 21 Child labour 23 Economic and regional impact 25 Decline 29 4 Hat manufacture and trade 31 Manufacturing processes 31 Economy and organisation 37 Subsidiary industries 42 Working conditions 45 5 Buildings of the hat industry 51 Small-scale industry 51 Large-scale industry 60 London and its connections with the Luton hat industry 80 6 Conservation and the management of change 85 Notes 92 References and further reading 93 PRELIMS.indd 7 18/9/13 09:48:24 Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude for the assistance and We are grateful to all the members of the public who support provided by our colleagues in English Heritage. The responded to our requests for information posted on graphics were produced by Allan T Adams and Philip Sinton; social networks and blogs, and published in newsletters and, with the exception of those taken by the authors, the and newspapers – the information that we received was photographs were taken by Steve Cole and Derek Kendall. invaluable and although we weren’t able to include all of the Additional thanks are due to Peter Guillery, Kathryn information we received it helped us to gain a far greater Morrison and Roger M Thomas for commenting on the text. understanding of the subject than would otherwise have The assistance of the following individuals was been possible. Linda Kilpatrick, in particular, must be invaluable: Elizabeth Adey, Chris Grabham and Veronica thanked for allowing us to reproduce her memories of her Main (of Luton Culture), Gemma Pike (Luton Borough time in Luton. Similarly, the Hewitt and Ackroyd families Council), and Wesley Keir (Albion Archaeology). were kind enough to allow use to use family documents We would like to thank the individuals, local history and pictures. societies, local interest groups and heritage forums for We would especially like to thank all the householders their interest, assistance and time. Colchester and Ipswich and business owners who generously gave us access to their Museums allowed us access to their collections and to properties and supplied historical information. Special photograph items for use as illustrations, whilst Luton thanks must be given to Boon & Lane Ltd for allowing us to Culture and Hitchin Museum (currently accessed through interrupt their daily routine on several occasions in order to the British Schools Museum) also allowed us to use images undertake photography and filming, and to K R Snoxell & from their collection. Sons Ltd, Walter Wright Ltd and Barford Brothers Ltd. vi PRELIMS.indd 6 18/9/13 09:48:24 Foreword ‘Heritage’ is unlikely to be the first word that one associates Our work in the region over the past few years has sought to with Luton. Certainly, many people think of Luton as a new provide a sharper understanding of the significance and value town, but our work and other recent studies reveal a Luton of the surviving historic fabric relating to the manufacture with ancient roots. There is clear evidence for long-hidden of straw and felt hats and to find ways of presenting that to a Anglo-Saxon settlement and burials – indeed, there may well new and wider audience. be Roman settlement here too – and by the Middle Ages the The hat industry has undoubtedly left a mark on the importance of Luton as a thriving market town in the Chilterns, landscape of the region and many fine buildings associated and as an important ecclesiastical hub, was reinforced by the with the trade remain. It is, however, a bittersweet presence of not one, but two castles. inheritance – the impact of economic and social changes in Whilst to most people Luton is understandably associated the 20th century means that empty buildings and run-down with the motor car, the successful establishment of the areas can be seen throughout the town. This has resulted in Vauxhall factory here in 1905 was due in no small part to a completely understandable response which has tended to the existing technological and artistic skills of the local focus on piecemeal clearance and rebuilding – rather than workforce. Luton and its surrounding towns and villages repair – as a means of revitalisation, and many buildings were once the beating heart of an internationally important of interest have already been lost. The character of former industry specialising in the manufacture of ladies’ hats. The hat-working areas can be eroded by new developments, levels of production were astounding – at one stage, in the and once lost cannot be reinstated. We hope that a fresh 1930s, the region was producing over 70 million hats each understanding and appreciation of Luton’s industrial heritage year – but, with shifting economic fortunes and changing will encourage local placemakers to work together and that tastes in fashion, the industry entered a period of rapid they will put buildings associated with hat making at the decline from which it never fully recovered. centre of future regeneration schemes, thus upholding the Although the industry is deeply embedded in local identity and distinctiveness of the town. We believe that these consciousness – celebrated in the town crest and in the name remaining buildings, and the stories that they tell about the of Luton’s football team, ‘The Hatters’ – and its historical lives of ordinary people, should be a source of civic pride importance recognised by local interest groups for some for everyone locally, regardless of age, ethnicity or social time, it has been largely overlooked by the country at large. background, and are worthy of national recognition. Simon Thurley Chief Executive of English Heritage vii PRELIMS.indd 7 18/9/13 09:48:24 1-3 - CHAPTER 1.indd 8 18/9/13 09:50:55 1 Luton is a remarkable place – an energetic and youthful town which owes its current social and ethnic diversity, as well as a legacy of declining industry, to massive growth in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The town has been Introduction dominated by a Vauxhall plant since 1905, but its industrial roots run much deeper. Long before it became associated with motor cars, Luton was well established as an international centre of hat making. More specifically, Luton was the main centre of ladies’ hat production in the UK for over 200 years, with surrounding towns and villages across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex feeding into the industry and helping to make the region globally renowned. This success was founded on the earlier regional industry of straw plaiting, an occupation that was well established by the late 17th century (Fig 1). Straw plaiting received a boost during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–15, when supplies of straw plait from Italy – which had a long-established industry producing high-quality plaits in fashionable designs – were cut off and hefty import duties were imposed.