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Old Gillette factory in London, pics and info thread from book.

From the book, Gillette's New Palace of Industry. Architect Sir Banister Fletcher and contractors Higgs and Hill.


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OMG! Is that the factory on the Great West Road in Isleworth?
I went to school right next to it 30 years ago and have just remembered upon seeing this thread that the Gillette Clock was a very famous landmark back then.
How weird that I had completely forgotten this connection til now.
The clock was illuminated with red and blue fluorescent lights at night and was visible from a great distance.
I wonder if this is what planted the seeds of my love for Art Deco.
I have a feeling that it was demolished to make way for a B&Q warehouse, although the clock was left intact, and attending parties there are some of the defining moments of my teenage years and the '80s!
Thanks for sharing this Alex - suddenly I'm 16 again :)
 
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That's incredible, you are a real scholar in this hobby for many of us. Thank you for sharing the knowledge with is.

(I didn't thank you properly for the instruction page for the Eclipse Red Ring as it was pushed back so fast, I promptly saved the images :))
 
OMG! Is that the factory on the Great West Road in Isleworth?
I went to school right next to it 30 years ago and have just remembered upon seeing this thread that the Gillette Clock was a very famous landmark back then.
How weird that I had completely forgotten this connection til now.
The clock was illuminated with red and blue fluorescent lights at night and was visible from a great distance.
I wonder if this is what planted the seeds of my love for Art Deco.
I have a feeling that it was demolished to make way for a B&Q warehouse, although the clock was left intact, and attending parties there are some of the defining moments of my teenage years and the '80s!
Thanks for sharing this Alex - suddenly I'm 16 again :)

So you raved in the Gillette Tower clock?
 
That's incredible, you are a real scholar in this hobby for many of us. Thank you for sharing the knowledge with is.

(I didn't thank you properly for the instruction page for the Eclipse Red Ring as it was pushed back so fast, I promptly saved the images :))

Your welcome, the Eclipse are one of those scarce razors too.
 
I have a feeling that it was demolished to make way for a B&Q warehouse, although the clock was left intact, and attending parties there are some of the defining moments of my teenage years and the '80s!

I sure hope not. Up till fairly recently it was supposed to be being redeveloped as a high-end hotel, but that project seems to have fallen through. I don't know what its current state is, but it was still there as of the last time Google refreshed their Street View imagery (which looks like May 2012):

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Interesting... this blog post suggests that the building may be being used for filming of the new season of 24 that's in production.

Interesting, how on earth did you see that blog, you must be a fan of the show.

From Blog:
"With the series being set and produced in London (I hear that sets have been constructed in the Gillette Building in West London)"
 
Thanks Alex.
You know if someone were to just sort of inconspicuously meander through the back yard there with a metal detector I bet they would find a buried treasure there!
 
I sure hope not. Up till fairly recently it was supposed to be being redeveloped as a high-end hotel, but that project seems to have fallen through. I don't know what its current state is, but it was still there as of the last time Google refreshed their Street View imagery (which looks like May 2012):

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Yeah-reading further posts and other threads shows that either it was just used as a warehouse or maybe that warehouse was next door.
The 80s are a bit blurry to be honest :)
But I do clearly remember going to a party along there with my friend Kevin Butler - he was wearing a white jacket with padded shoulders and the sleeves rolled up to copy Don Johnson cos we were fans of Miami Vice, and I had a purple tonic suit on.
That was 1986 - when did Gillette stop using it?
 
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