The Kodak Works, Harrow was a photographic manufacturing plant and research and development centre on Headstone Drive, Harrow, North West London. Built by the American Kodak company in 1890, it was their largest factory in the United Kingdom and at its peak in the mid-20th century employed up to 6,000 workers. Production of photographic film ended in 2005 and the plant closed its doors in 2016.
The factory was built in what was then farmland in the hamlet of Wealdstone in Middlesex, directly to the west of the railway line that stops at nearby Harrow & Wealdstone station. Kodak purchased 7 acres (2.8 ha) of land and the plant opened in 1891, Kodak's first manufacturing facility outside the United States where production was running in Rochester, New York. Initially the factory developed and printed photographs of clients. [1] In the next 20 years the factory expanded. [2] Eventually film rolls and photographic paper were also being produced at the plant.
Added to the factory was a museum, sports facilities, and a research laboratory which worked in parallel and competed with that in Rochester and other international Kodak centres. [3]
At its peak during the 1950s, about 6,000 workers were employed at the site. By then, the facility covered an area of 55 acres (22 ha). [4]
As Kodak was beginning to struggle owing to the growth of digital photography, the commercial feasibility of the Harrow site declined and was being wound down in the 2000s. [5] Some parts of the site were demolished, others were sold or leased. In 2005, film production ended at all Kodak plants in the UK, and in Harrow 600 jobs were lost. Nevertheless 1,400 employees continued to work at Harrow. [6] Harrow was also planned to become Kodak's UK headquarters; however in 2005 it was decided to keep the headquarters in Hemel Hempstead but at a different site. [7] [8]
Following Kodak's bankruptcy in the U.S. in 2012, the future of the site was unclear. The British spin-off Kodak Alaris took control of the site in 2013 and its association with the original American Kodak ended. At this time, Harrow was the global manufacturer of all Kodak colour negative paper. [9]
The laboratory at Harrow opened in 1929 and at one point served as Kodak's European research centre. [10] [11] The facility closed in the 2000s.
In 1927, a museum was opened at the site. [12] The 1947 published book The Kodak Museum, A Permanent Exhibition Illustrating the History of Photography and Some of its Applications in Science, Art and Industry is an illustrated catalogue of the collection at the Kodak Museum. [13] The museum at Harrow closed in 1985; the items are now at the National Science and Media Museum. [14]
The nearby Headstone Manor Museum also has a collection of items relating to the Kodak factory. [15]
The sports ground located on the west side of Harrow View and contiguous with Headstone Manor was made for the employees at the plant and included facilities such as tennis courts and rifle ranges. Kodak F.C. was formed in 1935 for workers at the factory. They currently play at Boxtree Park in the Middlesex County Football League. [16] [17]
During the 2000s as Kodak in Harrow downsized, the sports ground was leased. A leisure centre run by Nuffield Health operated at the grounds but it closed in 2011. [18]
On 13 April 2016, Kodak Alaris announced that the Harrow facility will close down, citing "drop in demand coming into the factory". By this time only 250 people were working at the site. [19] It finally closed in December 2016. [20]
The site was purchased by developers Barratt and Hyde who planned to build 2,000 new homes along with new facilities. [21] The development is called Eastman Village, paying homage to the founder of Kodak, George Eastman. The 213 feet (65 m) tall chimney of the factory, which has been a local landmark, is being retained. [22]
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak, is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated in New Jersey. It is best known for photographic film products, which it brought to a mass market for the first time.
George Eastman was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream. After a decade of experiments in photography, he patented and sold a roll film camera, making amateur photography accessible to the general public for the first time. Working as the treasurer and later president of Kodak, he oversaw the expansion of the company and the film industry.
Wealdstone is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates most of Harrow's industrial and business designated land. Wealdstone was the location of the Kodak Harrow factory; it closed in 2016. Wealdstone is centred on the High Street, and much traffic is bypassed from here by the George Gange Way flyover built in 1996. Its western boundary is formed by Harrow View, across which Headstone Manor lies, whereas on the east is Byron Park and the Belmont Trail. Harrow & Wealdstone station and the council offices are located at its southern end.
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs – Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street, Brent to the southeast, Ealing to the south and Hillingdon to the west – plus the Hertfordshire districts of Three Rivers and Hertsmere to the north. The local authority is Harrow London Borough Council. The London borough was formed in 1965, based on boundaries that had been established in 1934. The borough is made up of three towns: Harrow, Pinner and Stanmore, but also includes western parts of Edgware.
Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in print media.
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a capture medium in photography. The light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was coated on a glass plate, typically thinner than common window glass. They were heavily used in the late 19th century and declined through the 20th. They were still used in some communities until the late 20th century.
Harrow & Wealdstone is a London Underground and railway station on the Watford DC line and West Coast Main Line in Harrow and Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow. It is 11 miles 30 chains (18.31 km) on the line from London Euston station. It is also the northern terminus of the Bakerloo line and the next station towards south is Kenton.
Harrow is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north-west of Charing Cross and 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a population of 149,246 at the 2011 census, whereas the wider borough had a population of 250,149.
Eastman Chemical Company is an American company primarily involved in the chemical industry. Once a subsidiary of Kodak, today it is an independent global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and fibers for everyday purposes. Founded in 1920 and based in Kingsport, Tennessee, the company now has more than 50 manufacturing sites worldwide and employs approximately 14,000 people.
Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of the London Borough of Harrow.
The London Borough of Harrow is one of the northern outer London boroughs: as such much of the Metropolitan Green Belt land is within the Borough boundaries. Parks and open spaces range from the large area around Harrow-on-the-Hill to the smaller gardens and recreation grounds; there are also a number of spaces taken up with golf courses. It has been suggested that Harrow is continuously losing its green space and trees.
Headstone is a residential area north-west of Harrow, London, and immediately north of North Harrow. A green buffer exists between Headstone and North Harrow that consists of a moated manor site and football and rugby pitches, making the area mostly separate from North Harrow. However, there are some points of flux and overlap. To the west the area abuts the large and predominantly agricultural pasture of Pinner Park.
Eastman Business Park, formerly Kodak Park, is a large manufacturing and industrial complex in the city of Rochester, New York, in the United States. The complex is run by Eastman Kodak and is located 3 miles (5 km) north of downtown Rochester and 4 miles (6 km) south of Lake Ontario. The complex runs parallel to New York State Route 104 and Mount Read Boulevard for most of its length. Also part of the complex is the Kodak Center performing arts center and conference facility.
Tri-X is a black and white photographic film produced by the Eastman Kodak Company. Since 2013 it is distributed by Kodak Alaris which controls the Kodak Professional product line under which it is grouped. The combination of hand held cameras and high speed Tri-X film was transformative for photojournalism and for cinema.
Headstone Manor is a 14th-century Grade I listed moated manor house in Headstone, England, and today a part of the Headstone Manor and Museum. Headstone Manor & Museum is a museum of the site itself as well as Harrow more generally. It also hosts a programme of talks, tours, events and family activities for visitors. Headstone Manor & Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, all year round. Entry to the site and the museum is free.
The Headstone Museum, also known as the Harrow Museum, is the local history museum for the London Borough of Harrow in England.
Kodak Professional T-MAX Film is a continuous tone, panchromatic, tabular-grain black and white negative film originally developed and manufactured by Eastman Kodak since 1986. It is still manufactured by Eastman Kodak but distributed and marketed by Kodak Alaris, as with other products under Kodak Professional banner.
Kodak Alaris is a British based company currently comprising two divisions: Alaris, hardware and software for digital imaging and information management; and Kodak Moments, retail photo printing kiosks and sales and marketing of traditional photographic film. The company is headquartered in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The company shares ownership of the Kodak brand with the Eastman Kodak Company.
Nellie Ivy Fisher (1907–1995) was a London-born industrial chemist and researcher who specialized in photographic chemistry and became known for her work in Australia as the first woman to lead a division of Kodak.