A Wanstead part in the History of the World

Essex Coin-op Manufacturing companyThe History of the World in 100 Objects, which the British Museum director Neil MacGregor has been running on Radio 4 in the past year, has just revealed its final object. But one of the objects nominated was manufactured in Wanstead.

A hand-held sewing machine made by Essex Engineering on Nelson Road after the War was suggested by a listener because it was “a sign of a make-do-and-mend culture – a time when people made clothes for their families to save money”.

Known as the Essex Miniature Sewing Machine, it was inspired by a toy which had been made in America. The company decided to start making a functioning version, and sold 150,000 by 1956.

The firm still operates from its neatly maintained factory just at the end of Nightingale Lane. It now designs and manufactures the mechanism for coin-operated machines. Many a pool table and laundrette washing machine have depended on it, and now the company exports its mechanisms throughout the world. As its website puts it, there is a simplicity about the notion of a coin-operated machine:

Coin slides will work in the Namibian desert just as well as in a rain forest or an Eskimo’s igloo. Coin slides are also, of course, totally free from any wiring problems allowing the device to operate anywhere – and use only the energy supplied (quite freely) by the customer!

It’s not particularly glamorous, but the tale of the company is one many will warm to. Still in family ownership, it employs about 35 people, a number it says has remained constant for the past 50 years. “It is 100% family owned and run, as near as is possible, as a family,” the company website says. “The average length of employment is around 14 years and has stayed at this level since the late 1950s.”

More information on the company here.

Ever wondered where Horsfall and Wright went?

When the shop left Wanstead High Street earlier this year (a move first revealed by Wansteadium), many wondered what the future held for Horsfall and Wright. The answer is that it’s reopened in Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire, where co-owner Steve Horsfall went to primary school.  The Berkhamstead People blog seems to know it’s on to a good thing – and if you like you can still order from them online.

Wanstead bird poisoners’ jailed

Two men who poisoned birds and a dog at Alexandra Lake on Wanstead Flats in March this year were jailed for four months each and fined £7,000 at Snaresbrook Crown Court today.  Terrance Webb, 28, of Ilford and Mark Page, 35, of Romford, were both pest control officers for Newham Council.

They stole pesticide normally used to control fleas and cockroaches, put it into some bread and laid it around the lake during their lunch-hours, then, according to reports, laughed and joked that crows had eaten the bread and died.

Among the dead were geese, moorhen, crows and pigeons, and an Alsation.  Pamela Rowe, 69, the owner of the dog, told the Evening Standard today:

“It was a twisted, evil thing they did. They were not teenagers, they were pest control officers. My dog died a violent horrible death, and he was completely innocent.”

UPDATE, TUESDAY: The Evening Standard today published a fuller account of Mrs Rowe’s anger, and published for the first time a picture of the ill-fated dog, a German Shepherd-setter cross, named Russett.

Happy birthday to us

The arrival of the 100th follower of Wansteadium on Facebook, who joins the 220 followers on Twitter and 40 people who receive new posts by e-mail, seems an appropriate juncture to mark Wansteadium’s first birthday.

From very humble beginnings to – let’s face it – a still-pretty-humble infanthood, this little blog has nevertheless had some great fun. From the cars parked next to each other which had registrations FAAK and ORF, to the sexy escort with full MOT, from the moving film about a life lived in Wanstead to the Central Line reorganization avoiding Leytonstone, this corner of E11 has proved a rewarding subject.

So thank you to everyone who has read and contributed to Wansteadium so far. Let’s hope the next 12 months live up to the first.