Siemans

 Since I walked the 180 miles of The Thames Path from the Barrier to its source in 2013 the pathway has been extended beyond the Barrier for a further 11 miles. This is unknown territory for me and now that my granddaughter is returning to school this week I am planning to try and complete this section. To gain access to the extended pathway you have to leave the Thames and make your way through an industrial estate.

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This disused building backs onto The Thames, downstream from the Barrier which I posted about last week. It doesn't look much  but it has an interesting history. It is known as Faraday Works and was part of a much larger building, the Siemens Brothers factory. The name comes from the cable laying ship CS Faraday, designed by William Siemens. 

The Siemens established a factory in this area in 1863 and in the 1870s history was made with the laying of the transatlantic telegraph. It cut long distance communications from days to minutes. Siemens Brothers' factory produced thousands of miles of cable to connect the world using their own cable laying ship. On her maiden voyage she connected Ballinskelligs, Ireland with Rye Beach, New Hampshire. The ship went on to lay eight transatlantic cables, more than any other cable ship before or since.

Michael Faraday, a close friend of William Siemens discovered the principles of electro-magnetism in 1830, but the invention of the dynamo by the three Siemens Brothers allowed electricity to be economically feasible. The dynamos and high voltage cables made here, enabled the use of electricity to spread across London and eventually the whole of the UK. In 1881 in the small town of Godalming in Surrey the world's first electric street lighting was switched on. The Siemens Brothers went on to manufacture arc lamps which went on to light factories, streets and city squares. 

In 1912 a new factory was built to cope with the telephone becoming the latest must-have household appliance. 

This phone was launched in 1930. It was developed by the brothers for use in the Post Office, being a big improvement on the 'candlestick' phone found in many homes and businesses. 

Early telephones and other devices needed batteries to work and these were also made here. Their advertising slogan was 'Clean. Reliable. No recharging. Made in many sizes.' The batteries were also used in cars and radios.

The factory floor workforce was made up entirely of women.

One of the Siemens Brothers' most audacious feats was during WW2. With the National Physical Laboratory, it developed a top secret cable, the 'HAIS Cable', for an oil pipeline across the English Channel to support the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. The project was known as operation PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean). After D-Day the HAIS cables were extended inland as the troops advanced; eventually they reached as far as the Rhine.

After the war the world of telecoms and electrical appliances became more and more competitive. The company went through a number of mergers and was finally acquired by GEC (General Electric Company). In 1968 the Board of Directors decided to close this factory to enable them to maintain others in the group. the GLC (Greater London Council) bought the site and it was redeveloped as the Westminster Estate which retained many of the original buildings.

This is just one of the buildings on this estate that was used by Siemens.  The latest information on its future is that this will be part of a large redevelopment area providing 500 new homes. They will probably keep the facade to the original building but I believe the rest of the buildings will be demolished. My next post will reconnect me with the Thames but I will only be able to walk a few miles as I have to return along the same path to pick up the car. I will try and use public transport at some point but for the moment that still poses a threat from the virus.

The photographs and information were taken from the billboards surrounding the building.

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