Major rescue from the Firestone Factory, Great West Road, London

Charles Brooking is a fascinating and knowledgeable collector of architectural detail, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail, and as Surveyors we find his lifelong quest to collect British building details unique, informative and valuable and a collection that must be kept intact for years to come. If you need help and advice with regard to building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, dilapidations or any other property matters please free phone 0800 298 5424.

The following is one of a series of interviews with Charles Brooking, Historic and Listed Buildings Detail Expert, The Brooking Collection of Architectural Detail and a Surveyor where we have recorded his comments and various aspects that have affected windows and doors and other collectibles. The interviews outline how his collection started and built over the years and gives an insight into the amazing architectural features housed in his fine collection.

Surveyor: Another building you rescued architectural items from was the Firestone Factory?

Charles Brooking:  Yes, the Firestone Factory is an interesting well known iconic building. It was in 1980 and it was August Bank Holiday news: Trafalgar Estates rushed in and demolished the Firestone Factory before anyone could stop them on the Monday, the building was designed by Wallace Gilbert, 1929 and was a marvellous glazed building with an Egyptianesk façade.

Rescue defined

Charles Brooking defines a rescue as saving a window or door or staircase that would be doomed.

Charles Brooking was a pioneer in the rescue of architectural detailing as many years ago it was very much considered a strange and an unusual past time to want to rescue old parts of buildings with everything new and shiny being so important.

Surveyor: Where was the Firestone Factory?

Charles Brooking:   In Great West Road in Brentford, and it was built in 1929. The windows were made by Henry Hope of Birmingham and were semi-industrial, with opening side hung casements and then pivoting above, a grid, they were industrial windows with fenestra joints or locked by joints, similar to those used in Battersea Power Station. So there is an opening light at the bottom, within a large grid of fixed lights and then you've got a pivoting light above; typical industrial arrangement, semi-industrial. They had fenced off the offices internally with boarding on the Friday and they had got a contractor to come in with a ball and chain on the Saturday and smash the whole front off, so it couldn't be Listed.

I went up the following week.

The Firestone Factory

The Firestone Factory is an iconic building built in 1928 designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners as the first overseas factory for The Firestone Tyre Company. The building has an Art Deco style architecture and is a landmark whilst travelling either to or from London on the Great West Road . The frontage was demolished with the gates, railings and piers remaining; on what was called the Golden Mile of industry buildings.

Surveyor: So, they were trying to do this work before they got the Listing through?

Charles Brooking:  Yes, it was all in the news, everything. It was the reason for the founding of the 1930's Society, which is now the 20th Century Society. I went up by train, got off at Brentford with my tool bag and went onto the site, there was no-one around then, so I went through the rubble and found bits of the Egyptian capitols and other items. I was featured in the Building Design magazine!

Surveyor: Building Design magazine?

Surveyor: Building Design magazine?

Charles Brooking:   Yes, and others. I also found and rescued bits of the Henry Hope's windows. Next time I went there I bumped into the foreman who had heard about my museum and wanted me to pay him to reclaim anything. I told him that I only wanted a few bits as I was just running a little museum giving him a five pound note.

Surveyor: £5?

Charles Brooking:  Yes, £5! - I struggled back on the train with as much as I could rescue it was so dammed heavy! Anyway, that was an interesting rescue, because it just showed how you can preserve something from the wreckage of ruthless destruction.

Surveyor: Are you the only person that rescued items from the Firestone Factory site?

Charles Brooking:  Yes, it's now in the London Museum – the glazed faience.

Surveyor: The London Museum ?

Charles Brooking :  Yes, in City of London , in London Wall, but I don't know whether it's on display or not?

 Surveyor: In the early 1980s did you collect any other items in London ?

Charles Brooking:  Yes, in 1982, when I was sponsored by Scott Brownrigg & Turner Architects in Guildford and they were at Bradstone Brooke, (they sponsored me for a few years, which was a great help) they were just about to start work on No. 6 Belgrave Square, which was designed by Bess Amey and was actually built by Thomas Cubitt in 1826, (I think the Duke of Norfolk lived there for a time). They were going to take out many of the original fire grates, some of which were what are known as Burton grates, which were very, slightly Egyptianesk in their form and neo-classical - incredible pieces.

I managed to recover very good examples of sash windows with crown glass from the groom's accommodation in the mews, they were 16 paned sash windows as well as a lot of interesting ironmongery.

The ironmongery recovered helps to show the evolution of ironmongery and a social hierarchy of sash pulleys, for instance, the best being on the first and second floor, the ground and first floor had the best quality axle pulleys, then the best quality frame pulleys were on the principal bedrooms, less good quality pulleys, but reasonable, were in the children's bedrooms. Cast iron could be found in the

servant's bedrooms and in the maid's accommodation cast iron, but in the housekeeper's sitting room: brass faced pulleys, because it was the housekeeper - all those little details were taken into account!

 Surveyor: Just explain what a flat frame pulley is?

Charles Brooking:  

Flat Frame Pulley Defined

It is a type of sash pulley, set in a D-shaped frame, which is often cast in one piece, but is actually around the pulley. It has just got a simple rod passing through the pulley, rather than the pulley having its own axle, which has better wearing qualities. The actual axle has its own bearings, which bear on the case, whereas a frame pulley just has a simple little rod going through where the pulley runs round.

That's the general sort of understanding of a frame pulley, but axle pulleys are the better quality types, which were introduced in the 1760's.

Surveyor: Sash pulleys can very accurately date the building ?

Charles Brooking:   Yes, I've got 20,000 of them which need to be sorted and broken down into date order for students and architects to view.

I started actually covering the history of sash pulleys in 1967 and it sounds nerdish, it sounds weird, it sounds peculiar, but they are very useful in dating the window and joinery and sashes.