Type S.M.W. 'N' units : Hayes, Bromley & Oxhey : Crittall Windows : Catalogue No. 163 : Crittall Manufacturing Co. Ltd. : Braintree, Essex : 1953
In 1953, for the first time since 1922, Crittall Manufacturing issued a general catalogue and description of their works, processes and products. It is a glorious volume, at 22 pages, and was designed for them by John Lewis and printed at the noted works of W. S. Cowell in Norwich. In many ways it echoes the fine contemporary catalogues of their rivals, Henry Hope's of Smethwick, with whom they would eventually merge in 1965 bringing together their expertise and markets in windows and associated building ironmongery. Crittall's had their origins in the Essex town of Braintree in 1849 and began to manufacture windows in 1884. They jointly purchased the important German Fenestra patent in 1907 and the following year became established in the US market. After WW1 the company began to manufacture "standard" metal windows, to standardised dimensions as as house building increased, along with a more streamlined aesthetic that favoured minimal steel windows in the 1930s, the company expanded. By 1953 they had manufacturing plants in Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Silver End, Paisley and Colwick as well as works in Darlington. They also had overseas plants in Auckland, Dublin, Dunedin, Düsseldorf, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Port Elizabeth, Salisbury, Toronto and Waukesha.
The catalogue is lavishly illustrated with examples of their products installed since WW2 across a variety of buildings including housing, commercial and industrial structures both in the UK and abroad. Despite various claims for steel framed windows, notably that they did not warp like timber frames nor, if works treated and zinc plated they required less painting, the windows did have drawbacks; most notably in the form of issues around heat loss and condensation and very few 'originals' are now to be found. Later generations of steel framed windows, still manufactured by Crittall, are effectively double glazed units and have overcome many of the original failings.
The three schemes seen here are; Bourne Way (Kemsing Court) in Hayes, Kent, by Dalgliesh & Pullen : a group of houses by the same architects on London Road, Bromley in Kent : Houses on the London County Council overspill estate at Oxhey, near Watford, in Hertfordshire, attributed to Cyril H. Walker, Director of Housing & Valuer.
Type S.M.W. 'N' units : Hayes, Bromley & Oxhey : Crittall Windows : Catalogue No. 163 : Crittall Manufacturing Co. Ltd. : Braintree, Essex : 1953
In 1953, for the first time since 1922, Crittall Manufacturing issued a general catalogue and description of their works, processes and products. It is a glorious volume, at 22 pages, and was designed for them by John Lewis and printed at the noted works of W. S. Cowell in Norwich. In many ways it echoes the fine contemporary catalogues of their rivals, Henry Hope's of Smethwick, with whom they would eventually merge in 1965 bringing together their expertise and markets in windows and associated building ironmongery. Crittall's had their origins in the Essex town of Braintree in 1849 and began to manufacture windows in 1884. They jointly purchased the important German Fenestra patent in 1907 and the following year became established in the US market. After WW1 the company began to manufacture "standard" metal windows, to standardised dimensions as as house building increased, along with a more streamlined aesthetic that favoured minimal steel windows in the 1930s, the company expanded. By 1953 they had manufacturing plants in Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Silver End, Paisley and Colwick as well as works in Darlington. They also had overseas plants in Auckland, Dublin, Dunedin, Düsseldorf, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Port Elizabeth, Salisbury, Toronto and Waukesha.
The catalogue is lavishly illustrated with examples of their products installed since WW2 across a variety of buildings including housing, commercial and industrial structures both in the UK and abroad. Despite various claims for steel framed windows, notably that they did not warp like timber frames nor, if works treated and zinc plated they required less painting, the windows did have drawbacks; most notably in the form of issues around heat loss and condensation and very few 'originals' are now to be found. Later generations of steel framed windows, still manufactured by Crittall, are effectively double glazed units and have overcome many of the original failings.
The three schemes seen here are; Bourne Way (Kemsing Court) in Hayes, Kent, by Dalgliesh & Pullen : a group of houses by the same architects on London Road, Bromley in Kent : Houses on the London County Council overspill estate at Oxhey, near Watford, in Hertfordshire, attributed to Cyril H. Walker, Director of Housing & Valuer.