Fletton - Industry

Industry

The sub-soil is Oxford Clay, the character of which led to the establishment of large brickworks. The area gave its name to the Fletton Brick Company and to Fletton Brick in the nineteenth century, when a large area of land was auctioned off to investors; this eventually became the London Brick Company, now owned by Hanson Plc. The dominance of London Brick in the market during this period gave rise to some of the country's most well known landmarks, all built using the ubiquitous Fletton. During the 1950s the requirement for workers in the brick industry was far greater than that available locally and many Italians—initially housed in the old prisoner of war camps and in barracks and hostels belonging to the company—were recruited in the southern regions of Puglia and Campania.

By 1960, approximately 3,000 Italian men were employed by London Brick, mostly at the Fletton works. Very soon after the first men had arrived, they were followed by around 2,000 Italian women, some of whom worked alongside the men, whilst others worked in sectors such as clothing, rubber, ceramics, food processing, agriculture and the NHS. Consequently Fletton has a significant Italian population today. The Fleet complex, off the High Street, has been managed by the Italian Community Association since it opened in 1985.

Historically, diesel manufacturers, Perkins Engines (previously Joseph Farrow's canning factory) and Bennie Lifts (later Kone) also gave work to a large number of people locally. Elliot Medway, manufacturers of mobile classrooms, occupied a site on Glebe Road until its demolition in 2008 to make way for the South Bank development.