Content can be downloaded for non-commercial purposes, such as for personal use or in educational resources.
For commercial purposes please contact the copyright holder directly.
Read more about the The Creative Archive Licence.
Description
16 black and white photographs of the construction of the factory for Treforest Chrome Leather, from a series of ten albums commissioned from photographer Leonard Taylor by the engineering firm Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, who acted as consultants on the creation of the Treforest Trading Estate. The photo albums were deposited at Pontypridd Museum by the granddaughter of the photographer.
Treforest Chrome Leather was established by H. N. Oestreicher (later anglicised to Owen), a refugee from Nazi-Europe; they produced chrome leather throughout the war and into the 1950s. The premises had a storage warehouse for raw skins, wool, and hair, a beam shop for the preparation of the skins tanning processes, a tanning and colouring room, three drying rooms, and a finishing and storage room. They production around 1,000 dozen skins per week, and employed 100-120 people. The factory was located at Unit A6 Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd. The company is now dissolved.
The first four photographs show the steelwork under construction.
The fifth photograph is a view of the factory from the west.
The sixth photographs an interior shot of the factory, showing work in progress.
The seventh photograph is a view to the south west from the factory.
The eight, ninth and 10th photographs show the factory from various viewpoints.
The 11th, 12th and 13th photographs show interior views of the factory.
The final three photographs shows residential units being built next to the factory.
Photographs 1-14 are from Album G, photographs 15-16 are from Album H.
Treforest Trading Estate, near Pontypridd, was set up as part of the Special Areas Act of 1934. The Act was created to help parts of Britain with high unemployment, and it offered support to businesses to set up in these areas. When the Nazis began seizing Jewish businesses in Germany in the years after 1933, many Jewish refugees fled here to establish their businesses with help from this scheme.
By May 1940, 55 businesses started by Jewish refugees were running at Treforest. They provided jobs for around 1,800 local people.
Sources:
Beebe, Tiffany, Britain’s special areas and the refugee crisis (2024) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c04a1a0d2897409d84ee2169cfb4f914 [accessed 26 September 2024]
Graces Guide, Treforest Chrome Leather Works Ltd (2022) https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1938_Institution_of_Mechanical_Engineers:_Visits_to_Works#THE_TREFOREST_CHROME_LEATHER_WORKS.2C_LTD. [accessed 26 September 2024]
Parry-Jones, Cai, The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales (doctoral thesis, Bangor University, 2014)
https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/20579001/null [accessed 26 September 2024]
Refugees from National Socialism in Wales, Treforest Trading Estate https://wp-research.aber.ac.uk/nsrefugeeswales/history/life-for-refugees-in-wales/treforest-industrial-estate/ [accessed 26 September 2024]
Depository: Pontypridd Museum.
Do you have information to add to this item? Please leave a comment
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to leave a comment