I hadnt realised this factory had closed down when i recently passed it and saw the estate agents sign outside. Thought i better take a look CWS actually stands for Cooperative Wholesale Society and this section of Shields Road was once a hive of activity here is a short history copied from Wiki
Pelaw came into being due to the huge Victorian factory complexes of the CWS or Co-Operative Wholesale Society which was the manufacturing division of the then burgeoning Co-Op company, which grew up along the length of the Shields Road. This mile long stretch of red-brick industry was home to factories making clothing and textiles, furniture, pharmaceuticals, household cleaning products, quilts, books and magazines and the world-famous "Pelaw" shoe polish. These factories created Pelaw and were practically its sole employer during most of the twentieth century but due to inevitable foreign competition, the prevailing economic climate and government policies of the times, the majority of the factories were closed and demolished between the mid 70s and early 90s to be replaced in recent years by modern housing estates. The shirt factory has since closed in recent years too being a private concern at the time of closure.
Onto some pics
A couple of externals to start with
Its on 2 floors this being the ground floor
upper floor
plenty of coat hangers and the odd samples.
plenty of light coming in from the glass roof
Finally a couple from this small attic space with some records mainly from the late 1970s to early 1980s.
It was good to get around this place as it has a lot of history but it was sad to see it so stripped and empty apart from a few odds and ends. Thanks for looking.
Pelaw came into being due to the huge Victorian factory complexes of the CWS or Co-Operative Wholesale Society which was the manufacturing division of the then burgeoning Co-Op company, which grew up along the length of the Shields Road. This mile long stretch of red-brick industry was home to factories making clothing and textiles, furniture, pharmaceuticals, household cleaning products, quilts, books and magazines and the world-famous "Pelaw" shoe polish. These factories created Pelaw and were practically its sole employer during most of the twentieth century but due to inevitable foreign competition, the prevailing economic climate and government policies of the times, the majority of the factories were closed and demolished between the mid 70s and early 90s to be replaced in recent years by modern housing estates. The shirt factory has since closed in recent years too being a private concern at the time of closure.
Onto some pics
A couple of externals to start with
Its on 2 floors this being the ground floor
upper floor
plenty of coat hangers and the odd samples.
plenty of light coming in from the glass roof
Finally a couple from this small attic space with some records mainly from the late 1970s to early 1980s.
It was good to get around this place as it has a lot of history but it was sad to see it so stripped and empty apart from a few odds and ends. Thanks for looking.
