
Up: Hayward

YOR: 87 of 113
|
|

| |
glazing departments removed to Enfield. Here, the spaciousness of the
new works was in direct contrast to the cramped conditions of the old.
In 1922, two houses were erected at Enfield for
the accommodation of the Works Manager and to serve as a local office.
In November of this year, further extensions were authorised by the Board.
Another important decision at this date was to open West End offices
in Kingsway, from which place the company's London representatives could
operate with greater ease and efficiency. These new offices, being near
most of the leading London architects, spared representatives, as they
do today, the tedium and delay in continually travelling backwards and
forwards from Union Street to Central London.
A new element of competition became apparent during
the post-Great War period in the form of concrete pavement lights.
So far, this development was no more than a speck on the Hayward horizon.
It was an experiment and how it would work out was not yet known. If it
gained a foothold, then clearly it would encroach more and more upon
Haywards' trade. This new mode of manufacture did not come, as might be
expected, from a concern specialising in pavement lights and its ancillaries
but from a company originally engaged in producing concrete slabs.
The spirit of the old Hayward brothers lived on
and although the directors noted this new element with concern they did
not improvise hasty or ill-considered methods of combating the threat,
but quietly continued their own development whilst keeping a weather eye
on the situation.
By mid-summer 1923, the commitments at Enfield
had grown so heavy that it was advisable to arrange for a resident
director. H. T. Walker, who had been so closely associated with bringing
the new works into existence, was the obvious choice. He readily accepted
an invitation to take on this additional responsibility at Enfield. A
canteen was opened, cricket, football and tennis equipment was bought and
gradually the sports and social side of the company's activities assumed
an importance reflected not only in
|
|