Home Name

Burberry

Date

1856

History

Burberry’s Hackney factory was in operation from around 1953. At the time, they shared a factory with another East End clothing manufacturer called Polikoff’s at 29-53 Chatham Place. A company called GUS (Great Universal Stores) took over Burberry in 1955. By 1991, around 315 people were employed at the Chatham Place factory. It is fairly certain that various outerwear was manufactured here, such the famous Burberry trenches, but not much else is known about any other types of garments.

There were other departments in operation in Burberry’s Hackney site besides outerwear production. Sarah Ainslie’s 1995 ‘Women at Work’ photo series (held at Hackney Museum) shows employees in knitwear, childrenswear, accessories and administration.

In 1999, Burberry's changed its name to Burberry. The Burberry factory on Chatham Place is now split into residential and retail space, featuring a Burberry outlet store.
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