17 replies to this topic

[Gary C]

On a fair number of occasions in the last 2-3 years, I have been contacted though my website (www.yesterdaysracers.com) about the Firestone Building in Brentford, West London. I have just been e-mailed by a former employee, Pete Lenthall, here is part of his note :

' I have just seen your photos on your website of the site of the Firestone building, they brought back lots of fond memories for me. I started work there in 1965 and left just prior to it's closure. I actually was involved in the making of the Racing Tyres. I remember we had to work more than a 12 hour night shift to produce a set of tyres for the Indy 500. The old ones, complete on their wheels were flown in,especially, to Heathrow, by private jet, collected one afternoon, we made a new set(s) and they were sent back the following day! I do remember hearing that the demolition team moved in, overnight, and knocked the building down although it was a listed building. A tragedy however. I did hear about the GT40 being displayed but never got to see it. I did get to see Mr.Harvey Firestone when he visited the plant, being driven around on a tow truck! Incidentally, it was a miracle the building lasted as long as it did, as most weeks there was a fire there and invariably we would come to work and have to wait while the pumps emptied the floors of water from the sprinklers and firemens hoses. It was all a long time ago now, after working there for 11yrs of shift work I regret I never persued the opportunity that came my way to go to Firestone's, Acron, Ohio plant, to be trained as one of the racing team, changing the tyres/wheels on race events. Thanks again and good luck for the future with your racing &website. Pete Lenthall.'

Anyone else have any memories of the Firestone Building??

[RS2000]

Yes, it was not so far up the road from my school. A neighbour, the father of a friend, worked there - and died of lung disease at a comparatively early age.
I recall Trico had a place a bit further towards London and they supplied me with screen washer pumps, tubing, wipers etc. for my first International Rally.
Ford "competitions department", such as it was, was at Lincoln Cars across from Firestone before moving to Boreham and becoming a legend.

[MCS]

I remember it well from when I lived in Chiswick. Much like the Gillette building - further down the A4 towards London, of course - and the Hoover Building on the A40, they were all iconic, landmark buildings.

But I never understood why the Firestone building didn't have a preservation order.

It simply disappeared - I think only the gates remain.

The Hoover building frontage is still in place with a Tesco supermarket in what was once the old building and the Gillette building is "untouchable" - they even have trouble making internal modifications.

I also remember Trico's building - a typical factory, but very run down towards the end. I leased them a computer system in 1990 and they were struggling with cash. They were called Trico Folberth and relocated to Wales. Their building was demolished around the same time as the Firestone Building... End of an era really.

In fact most of what once was on the Great West Road has gone or changed beyond recognition.

[Mal9444]

It did get a preservation order - just after it had been sold to a developer.

And when they came next day to pin the PO on the door, they found someone had tipped-off the developer and he had knocked the entire building down the night before! It was quite a cause celebre at the time.

Thanks for the link to your site, Gary, at the top of the thread. I would not have known of it otherwise. Very interesting. Nice little car.

[Gary C]

and further to my piece on the website, does anyone else remember the Le Mans winning GT40 being put on display on one of the plinths out of the front of the Building?

[Terry Walker]

The gates, and much of the fence along Western Avenue, remains. I walked past the site a few times in June and wondered about the obviously old (and neglected) fence in front of the shiny new buildings up the slope. Firestone. If I'd known, I would have taken some pics and added it to the TNF Guide to former Premises saga.

[RS2000]

I think I can remember the Le Mans Ford on display. A former school mate was more into racing then and I think dragged me up there to see it, although I was becoming totally immersed in rallying to the exclusion of all else by that time.
Re previous post, Firestone, Gillette etc. was The Great West Road, Hoover was Western Avenue.

[Gary C]

Terry (et al), please go to this page on my website for a little more info & pictures :
http://www.users.glo...ctory/index.htm

[MCS]

Originally posted by RS2000
Re previous post, Firestone, Gillette etc. was The Great West Road, Hoover was Western Avenue.

Indeed, as quoted - A40.

Blimey, great link Gary and so similar to the frontage of the Hoover building.

The wrought ironwork on the gates is interesting. About a mile away in Chiswick - the first home of Honda in the UK I believe - there was similarly intricate ironwork in the fencing that surrounded the original building on the corner of the Chiswick High Road and Power Road, with the word "Honda" inscripted every couple of yards.

However, I noticed recently that the fencing has completely gone and in its place are large boulders as part of a display of Honda's road cars - it's now a showroom.

Further up the High Road, The Chequered Flag garage has completely disappeared - it's now flats.

All very, very sad.

[MCS]

Originally posted by Terry Walker
The gates, and much of the fence along Western Avenue, remains. I walked past the site a few times in June and wondered about the obviously old (and neglected) fence in front of the shiny new buildings up the slope. Firestone. If I'd known, I would have taken some pics and added it to the TNF Guide to former Premises saga.

The fence along the A4...




The gates are now officially "out of bounds" with a tie across to prevent access...

[David M. Kane]

Great shots, how sad however that the heirs couldn't keep it going.

[Henk Vasmel]

A colleague of mine recently left our company, to start working for Firestone Europe (Firestone Industrial Products Europe, ARNHEM, The Netherlands).
This is a new company, not involved with tyres, certainly not racing tyres, but still part of what was Firestone, now owned by Bridgestone.
Somewhere in that company, the old Logo was found, that used to be on the Brentford building. Unfortunately, it had deteriorated quite a bit, but it now is restored and is due to get a place of honour again. Now there are a lot of stories about the Brentford building, but unfortunately not much proof.
We have found a picture of this building, with the Firestone logo proudly in place. But there is also the story of a Le Mans winning Ford GT40, displayed in front of that building. Some investigation has shown that this must be 1075, the Wyer-Gulf GT40, that won twice, both in ’68 and ’69. Now they are looking for a picture of that GT40 In front of the Brentford buiding, preferably with the logo recognizable. It need not be high quality, just good enough to be put in a picture display illustrating the history of this logo.

Some pictures of the logo as it is today:









I hope someone is able to help my friend.

[retriever]

This is a thread that could and should run and run - historic 20th century art deco and thirties modernist buildings. Close by the Hoover building on the Perivale trading estate where our good friends Menoshire reside are a goodly number of buildings of that era, some with curved windows reminiscent of the time - wonder if they have preservation orders.

And what about those fabulous pre war petrol filling stations where vehicles drove in underneath and the pumps were located inline with the pillars holding up the overhead first floor structure. Some exist down in Devon on the old A38 and elsewhere, more than likely now with a car dealership or some other non automotive function now in place.

Finally is that original the pipe Elephant at Camberley? I remember passing it at its original concrete works location many times in the 1950s and 1960s as I travelled past in a Royal Blue Bristol coach on the way to visit my grandmother in Uxbridge or on the way back home to Somerset.






www.nynehead-books.co.uk

Edited by retriever, 04 April 2010 - 23:23.

[PonysiteEd]

Are there any pics available off the Lincoln Cars dealership (early Ford Performance base) opposite of this Firestone building as one of the above posters stated?

[Doug Nye]

Terry (et al), please go to this page on my website for a little more info & pictures :
http://www.users.glo...ctory/index.htm

Gary - on your website you mention the factory as having been the location at which Firestone made its racing tyres in the '50s-60s-70s etc. I don't think they began making racing tyres there until 1964ish. Site's great fun by the way - and EXTREMELY nostalgic...

DCN

[Eric Dunsdon]

It did get a preservation order - just after it had been sold to a developer.

And when they came next day to pin the PO on the door, they found someone had tipped-off the developer and he had knocked the entire building down the night before! It was quite a cause celebre at the time

A similar thing happened to the AC Delco building alongside the A5 in Dunstable. Now a housing project!.

[Pullman99]

It did get a preservation order - just after it had been sold to a developer.And when they came next day to pin the PO on the door, they found someone had tipped-off the developer and he had knocked the entire building down the night before! It was quite a cause celebre at the time.

The destruction of the Firestone building did cause huge controversy at the time but did pave the way for urgent recognition and listing of a wide variety of 20th Century buildings under threat of redevelopment. Basically, the Government refused to grant emergency listing and by the time this was underway the developers had moved in and more or less destroyed everything to the extent that very little fabric of the building could even be kept for reference or museum display. It also led to the formation of The Thirties Society which has evolved into The 20th Century Society. Their prime aim is to focus on architecture and design but this does not, of course, preclude transport. Link to their site below.

20th Century Society website

Another factor in alerting people to that period was "The Thirties" exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery in 1979. This was shortly before Roger Milner's drama "Speed King" - about Sir Malcolm Campbell - was shown by the BBC and the reproduction 1935 Blue Bird (exhibited ever since by The Lakeland Motor Museum) was displayed on the Hayward's roof! a great sight for anyone on Waterloo Bridge. Hugely inspirational.

[jatwarks]

For years through the late 1960s & 1970s I travelled along Great West Road atop a number 91 bus every weekday. In my twenties, I took it all for granted; Gillette clock tower, Lincoln Cars, Pyrene, Firestone, Trico, Lucozade and along Chiswick High Road past Honda & Chequered Flag; then walking past P & M Racing under the railway arch in Acton Lane.

I clearly remember the Gulf GT40 on display, on the plateau of the concrete stairs from the central gates: Having seen it win at Le Mans!

The developer demolished the frontage of the building only, initially, the bit that had the Preservation Order applied. Same thing happened to Kensington Town Hall.