Benjamin North and Sons Furniture Factory (former)
Location/Address
Old Oxford Road
Piddington
Bucks
Type
Description
Original redbrick built furniture factory buildings
Statement of Significance
Asset type
Former furniture factoryAge
1902Architectural and Artistic Interest
Group Value
Associated building and purpose-built workers villageHistoric Interest
In 1902 Benjamin North was told that the land that they were using in West Wycombe to store timber was wanted by the Great Western Railway company. Sir Robert Dashwood, who owned most of the village, would not allow any of his estate to be used as a timber-store. It is not certain why, but the factory certainly spoiled the appearance of West Wycombe, and was very noisy. Benjamin was therefore effectively forced to move from the village and he managed to find a suitable area of greenfield land at Piddington, only a just over a mile away. It was large enough for the factory including the timber-store, and also for some housing.. Some say that this land at Piddington was sold by the Dashwoods to Lord Carrington to pay off a gambling debt and Carrington then sold it on to Benjamin North. Construction of the new factory began late in 1902. The work involved the installation of a “monster boiler” which weighed over 18 tons and had to be transported along the main street through West Wycombe to the factory. When the work was completed in August 1903 all the construction workers, totalling about 75, were treated to a dinner in the factory. When the new factory opened, hardly any of the new houses destined for the workers had been built, so they had to walk, or take the horse-drawn bus if they could afford it. The workers asked the bus company to run an extra service at 7pm to High Wycombe, otherwise people had to walk several miles home. The title deeds of the Piddington houses included rules set by Mr North :- • All house plans to be approved by Mr North. • No “intoxicating liquors” to be sold - because Mr North was a supporter of Wesleyan Methodists. A visiting minister even thought he should shut down the village pub. None of the buildings to be used for a chair factory or sawmill “or for any offensive noisy or dangerous trade”. So he did not want competition, but this almost admits a chair-making factory can be offensive, noisy and dangerous! Just before Christmas 1904, the factory finished an order for the seating at the London Coliseum theatre, including “very handsome settees made of rich mahogany and inlaid”, and started another order for the Haymarket. Employees had worked overtime, so it paid for their Christmas. As a keen Methodist, Benjamin recognised the important contribution his workers made to the success of the business and sought to reward them. For example, in 1909 300 staff went to Weymouth by train and had steam-boat trips along the coast and motor car and char-a-banc tours. In 1910 they went to Portsmouth. The North company continued to thrive through the two world wars. During WWI they were engaged in the construction of airplane wings, which required modification of the factory so that each wing could be moved out onto the waiting transport. These wings may have been for the enormous Handley Page bombers which had a 100ft wingspan. In WW2 the firm probably made components for the all-wood airframe of the Mosquito. North’s made chairs and stools for the coronations of George V (1911), George VI (1937) and Elizabeth II (1953). According to various dealers and auction rooms these are now worth around £1,500 each! Benjamin died in 1925 and was succeeded as managing director by his eldest son Benjamin Stephen North. In 1956 the firm was taken over by the High Wycombe-based company Gibbons & Tilbury, but continued to trade as B. North & Sons. Two large fires in 1970 and 1976 badly affected output and a large loss was made in 1976-77. These losses continued and the firm ceased manufacturing on December 31, 1979. The firm Davison Highley leased the factory in 1980 and now use Computer-Aided Design (CAD) for their furniture. They make some very high-end bespoke items for businesses, hotels and airports, and many of the large sofas seen on TV programmes including BBC Breakfast, The One Show and Graham Norton. The buildings make-up what is now called the North Estate, so Piddington still remembers its founder Benjamin North today. (Simon Cains for the Woodlanders’ Lives and Landscapes project)Images and Documents
Date Listed
n/a
Last Updated
25 May 2023