Hoover Building

History

It was built for The Hoover Company in 1933, and was designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners.

In 1938 Building No 7 was added, as the factory canteen.

John Betjeman described it as, "a sort of Art Deco Wentworth Woodhouse – with whizzing window curves derived from Erich Mendelsohn's work in Germany, and splashes of primary colour from the Aztec and Mayan fashions at the 1925 Paris Exhibition."

Second World War

During the Second World War the Hoover Factory manufactured aircraft parts. Cleaners were still being produced, but output was much lower than previously. The buildings were camouflaged to avoid being bombed by German aircraft. The building's staff set up their own Home Guard unit.

Hoover's UK expansion

After the Second World War an additional five-storey building (No.8) was built and stood to the north of the site alongside building No.5. Hoover continued manufacturing upright cleaners at the Hoover Building until the early 1980s when production was moved to the Cambuslang facility. The office remained open at the site for a few more years until it too was eventually closed and Hoover left the site. The building remained empty for many years, slowly falling into disrepair.

In 1980 the original building and in 1981 the canteen block were granted a Grade II* listing.

Tesco

In 1989 the supermarket chain Tesco purchased the Hoover Building and sixteen of the seventeen houses that backed onto the Hoover site.

In popular culture

In 1980 Elvis Costello recorded a song called "Hoover Factory". It includes a brief description of the building and its position in London, and appears on the album Get Happy!!.

In Season 1, Episode 10 of Poirot, the exterior of the building was used for the Farley's Pies factory.