Bata shoe factory
| Bata Shoe Factory (East Tilbury) | |
|---|---|
 Bata Shoe Factory in East Tilbury, UK | |
 | |
| Built | 1932 |
| Location | East Tilbury |
| Industry | Footwear |
| Products | Shoes |
| Employees | 4,000 |
| Architect | |
| Style | Modernist |
| Address | Princess Margaret Road, East Tilbury, RM18 1 |
| Defunct | 2005 |
TheBata shoe factoryinEast Tilburyis what remains of anindustrial estateinEssex,England, which produced shoes for over 70 years. Founded in 1932 byTomáš Baťa,the factory was "one of the most important planned landscapes in the East of England" in the 20th century.[1][2]The factory closed in 2005.
Background[edit]
Bata Shoeswas founded in 1894 byTomáš BaťainZlín(thenAustro-Hungarian Empire,today theCzech Republic).[3]After the plea of a Tilbury clergyman to alleviate unemployment during theGreat Depression[4]and in part to overcome customs tariffs on foreign products,[3]construction began in 1932 on the Bata shoe factory inEast Tilbury.[5]
For the remaining years of the 20th century, the factory was an economic force in the Tilbury area. Designed by Czech architect, it created a unique model of aCompany townin Britain. Bata's vision was for a whole society, complete with worker housing, schools for their children, and entertainment.[4]
Architecture[edit]
In 1933 the first "Bata houses" for workers were built, set among gardens in a chequerboard pattern, which were distinct from the more typicalVictorian terraced housingin the area.[4]The factory's architecture "predates" and "perhaps eclipses" other British examples ofmodernist architecture,such asHighpoint Ior theIsokon building,according toThe Guardian.[5]
Designed byJan Kotěraand other Czech architects, the estate's buildings were constructed of welded steel columns, roof trusses and reinforced concrete walls - very different in style from the typical red-bricked and sloped-roofed terraces of London suburbs.[6][2]All the social needs of the workforce were met by the factory.[7]What was known as "Bata-ville" had all the services of a normal town, including a theatre, sports facilities, hotel, restaurant, grocery and butcher shops, post office, and its own newspaper.[5]
The Czech architectsFrantišek Lydie GahuraandVladimír Karfíkwere among those who designed the buildings on the site.[8]
World War II[edit]
TheGerman occupation of Czechoslovakiain 1938 caused turmoil for Bata Shoes generally, but the factory in East Tilbury thrived. "British Bata" was born.[9]
As male factory workers were called to arms, their wives often took over their jobs.[4]While in the armed forces, employees received the company newspaper, theBata Record,along with food and cigarette parcels. At least 81 Bata employees from the Tilbury factory died in the war.[4]After the war, Bata's home office in Czechoslovakia and other facilities throughout eastern Europe were nationalised by communist regimes.[3]
Latter years and demise[edit]
The Bata factory in East Tilbury operated for more than 70 years, but in the 1960s, production was gradually shifted to facilities closer to its export markets.[5]Factory downsizing began in the 1980s, and the Bata industrial estate was closed in 2005.[2][5]
"The East Tilbury (Bata) Conservation Area" was designated in 1993 byThurrock Counciland includes aGrade II listed building.[2][10]
Legacy[edit]
The factory inspired the documentary filmBata-ville: We Are Not Afraid of the Future.[11][12]
The Bata Reminiscence and Resource Centre at East Tilbury Library was set up to collect the memories of people who lived and worked within the British Bata community.
In June 2011, an interactive trail was launched as aniPhoneapp known as Thurrock Mobile Explorer. This describes a route around the Bata estate and provides information about the history as well as environment at numbered points.[13]
In October 2016, a site-specific play,Not Afraid Of The Future,was developed byEast 15 Acting Schoolstudents about the lives of people who lived and worked in the town surrounding the factory. The play was performed in and around East Tilbury, finishing at the village hall.[14][15]
Notable people[edit]
Jan Tůša, the father of BBCjournalistand presenterJohn Tusa,helped design and build the Tilbury factory. He became managing director of the British Bata company. The Tusa family lived in nearbyHorndon on the Hill,from 1939; John Tusa was born inCzechoslovakia.[16]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^"Bata Factory and Estate".European Route of Industrial Heritage.Retrieved20 April2011.
- ^abcdVaughan, David (27 August 2006)."East Tilbury: A Czech modernist Utopia on the Thames marshes".rozhlas.cz.Retrieved20 April2011.
- ^abc"Heritage: 1894-Now".Bata. 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2011.Retrieved20 April2011.
- ^abcde"Bata Reminiscence and Resource Centre".Bata. Archived fromthe originalon 15 May 2011.Retrieved20 April2011.
- ^abcdeRose, Steve (19 June 2006)."Welcome to Bata-ville".The Guardian.Retrieved20 April2011.
- ^"Bata Industrial Building Number 12, Tilbury".British Listed Buildings.Retrieved21 April2011.
- ^"Bata Estate – Factory and Model Settlement".Heritage Gateway. 2006.Retrieved21 April2011.
- ^"Bata Estate – Factory and Model Settlement".Heritage Gateway. 2006.Retrieved15 January2018.
- ^Tusa, John (21 May 2003)."The Burrows Lecture: 2003".University of Essex. Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2012.Retrieved21 April2011.
- ^"East Tilbury Conservation Area: Character Appraisal"(PDF).Thurrock Council. March 2007. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 18 October 2011.Retrieved21 April2011.
- ^Road film follows shoe empire ",BBC News, 28 August 2005
- ^https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0495576/[user-generated source]
- ^"Interactive trails to launch at Coalhouse Fort",Thurrock Gazette
- ^https://www.facebook.com/events/329876610704478/?ti=cl[user-generated source]
- ^"We Are Not Afraid of the Future @ Clifftown Theatre".
- ^Lecture by John TusaArchived8 February 2012 at theWayback Machine
External links[edit]
- English Heritage Historic Area Appraisal
- Bata Shoes corporate history page
- Bata Reminiscence and Resource Centre
- Home Guard practice at the Bata factory
- University of Essex lectureShoemakers to the world: The Bata estate on the Essex marshes, 1939–1960
- Financial Timesobituary for Thomas Bata
- Bata-ville: We Are Not Afraid Of The Future(film)
- Nearly identical Bata factory in Maryland, USA