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| What: |
Historical Site |
| Where: |
Where Sainsbury's is now |
| Then: |
Up to 1900, the site was mostly a walled garden and orchard with part of the area occupied by a small ironworks. Later, James Apperley founded the Dudbridge Patent Machine Works to manufacture textiles here; H G Holbrow manufactured steam engines and J D Humpidge manufactured gas engines. In the late 1920s, Hampton cars were assembled here. Many locals may remember the cupola iron furnaces, which were local landmarks from the last manufacturing company of Lewis & Holes Foundry |
| Now: |
Sainsbury's supermarket.
Described as "the Boadicea of Dudbridge", local resident Eileen Halliday, refused offers from Sainsbury's to purchase her cottage on the corner of this site in 1996. Attracting attention from the national press, she won her battle and the road and car park had to be relocated. But Sainsbury's did acknowledge the historical heritage of this site and built two 17th Century doors into the walls of the supermarket, one of which has the clothier's mark of Daniel Fowler, dated 1646. | |
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