PRESS RELEASE: 14/6/18
Luton Culture Trust wants to hear from people who worked or know people who worked at Hat Works – believed to be Luton’s oldest listed hat factory
Luton Culture charitable Trust is carrying out research to inform the refurbishment design of the oldest hat factory in central Luton and wants to hear from anyone who worked there from 1930s onwards. Now known as Hat Works, this former hat factory is currently being restored as part of Luton Culture’s Hat District project. The project aims to provide much needed workshops and co-working space for creative industry start-ups and entrepreneurs who would like to develop their creative ideas, services or designed products.
Karen Perkins, Director of Culture and Engagement at Luton Culture said:
“We are very interested in stories, photographs or objects that former workers may be willing to share. These stories could inspire future users of Hat Works."
Hat Works is believed to be the oldest hat factory in Luton. Built sometime between 1840-1860, this Grade II listed building, constructed of Luton grey bricks, was used in the hat manufacturing industry from 1881 until 2006.
External photo of Hat Works at 47 Guildford Street 2018
The companies that operated from Hat Works were Durler and Suter, Herbert Brown Ltd, C H Young, Bridgewater Millinery, Maurice Simons and Maurice Davis, which closed in 2006.
Old Maurice Davis window signage in Hat Works
If you or a family member worked at Hat Works, then we would really like to hear from you. Call 01582 546719 or email: rhcenterprises@btinternet.com.
More information on the Hat District project can be found at www.hatdistrict.co.uk, with information about Luton Culture at www.lutonculture.com.
Facebook:@TheHatDistrict
Twitter: @TheHatDistrict
Instagram: thehatdistrict
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
For general press enquiries please contact Emily.Finney@lutonculture.com or call 01582 878123.
ATTACHED IMAGES AND CREDITS
Hat Works external view – photo credit Luton Culture
Old Maurice Davis window signage in Hat Works - photo credit Shaun Armstrong Business Photography Services www.mubsta.com
About Luton Culture
Luton Culture Trust is an independent charity and company limited by guarantee established in 2008. We produce and present year-round programmes of activity across our two theatres, museums, arts centre, gardens, historic hat factories and network of libraries. We deliver and develop library services for Luton Borough Council and we also manage the town’s heritage collections and archives. We have a collection of over 2 million artefacts, and we hold the most extensive and complete hat and headwear collection in the UK and the Mossman carriage collection at Stockwood Discovery Centre is the largest in Europe. In addition, we have an incredible resource of over 1.5m local photographs and maps and provide access to millions of books through the London Consortia. We are proud to be based in Luton and we welcome thousands of regular local and regional users to our 15 venues. We also invite the wider international community to engage with this incredibly diverse and stimulating town through our cultural offer.
We contribute positively to the social, economic and cultural prosperity of our home-town Luton and surrounding regions. We improve lives by delivering our priorities through:
regenerating and promoting heritage and raising awareness of our environment
providing access to learning, information and culture for everyone through libraries
increasing engagement in exemplary arts through diverse activity, venues and off-site programmes
contributing significantly to the economy by providing jobs, workspace and investment
contributing to the visitor economy through the promotion and animation of our 3 core sites
Caring for our environment through recycling, local sourcing and energy efficiency.
investing in skills, developing talent, commissioning research and collaborating in order to foster growth
Luton developments in the news
Luton has been the subject of several news reports nationally, with regard to its outstanding location, including:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/30/britains-desirable-locationluton/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38554793
The Hat District Project
The Hat District will become a dynamic ecosystem of growing talent and enterprise. The Trust will curate and care for a vibrant mix of creative industries, workspaces, activities, shops, bars, cafes and arts across the neighbourhood. By 2022, the Hat District will be brimming with artists, makers, students, producers, visitors, learners and creative businesses, ideas, skills and knowledge. This creative ecosystem will self-feed and grow strong through a charitable approach to shared learning and re-investment.
The Trust will encourage individuals and micro-businesses to progress from Hat Works to the Hat Factory Arts Centre work and production spaces and then progress onto Hat House. Hat House will target established creative and digital businesses to set up their own independent work spaces on full commercial rents. All established businesses will re-invest their time, expertise and opportunities (and rent) into the ecosystem and those creative practitioners starting their careers. Established businesses will benefit from being part of the creative cluster, networks, ethical and cultural environment and have access to new talent and ideas. Collectively, this will be a creative ecosystem that generates growth, innovation and creative industry success.
As a Trust, we will ensure that all income generated from hires, tickets and sales will be recycled back into arts programmes, events, conservation, marketing and estate management. As an ethical landlord we are committed to safeguarding these hat buildings for arts and cultural use into the long-term.
The Hat District is considered to be the best connected creative workspace cluster in the UK, being a two-minute walk from a mainline train station (21 minutes to London) and bus station connecting the region. In addition it is only 10 minutes by car from the M1 and London Luton Airport.
The quality of arts, architecture, design, heritage and conservation will need to exceed public and user expectations and set new standards for urban regeneration in a multicultural pleural town like Luton.
Background
Following Luton Culture Trust’s successful funding bids to bring over £6million of new investment to Luton, work has recently begun to transform three former hat factories into 25,000 sq. ft. of new workspaces for creative industries enabling 133 additional jobs and providing a vibrant district that will attract 135,000 new visitors by 2022.
The Hat District development comprises three key buildings: Hat House, Hat Works, the existing Hat Factory Arts Centre and a new-build also on Guildford Street which will be called Hat Studios. The vision of the project is to create more work opportunities, amplify cultural vibrancy, preserve important heritage buildings and breathe new life into the heart of the town, by creating a bustling neighbourhood where artists, makers, students, producers, audiences, visitors, learners and creative businesses can share their knowledge and skills. The creative ecosystem will nurture and develop creative business start-ups and entrepreneurs, whilst also providing small to mid-sized creative industries with an environment in which to grow and thrive.
Hat Works at 47 Guildford Street
Work has started on Hat Works, the oldest listed hat factory in Luton, to deliver much needed emergency repairs to protect its fragile fabric. In November 2017, the windows of this historic property opened for the first time in more than ten years as part of the treatment of infestation and severe damp, which was supported by Historic England. This work is to ensure that no further deterioration occurs prior to the planned redevelopment works starting in late 2018. Architects Fleet and Y O U & M E are developing designs that respond to the heritage research and which retain the historic features of this beautiful old building, whilst embracing the new.
Funders
This important and innovative cultural project has been conceived and developed by Luton Culture Trust and made possible with investment from:
The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP)| Local Growth Fund | £3.961m
This major funding has enabled us to make significant progress in developing new creative workspace which will provide more jobs and new spaces for business. The Creative and Cultural sector is a focus for SEMLEP and is promoted through their ‘Strategic Economic Plan’ and ‘Heritage, Sports, Visitor Economy, Cultural & Creative Industry Plan’.
Local Growth Fund
Local Enterprise Partnerships are playing a vital role in driving forward economic growth across the country, helping to build a country that works for everyone.
That’s why by 2021 Government will have invested over £12bn through the Local Growth Fund, allowing the LEPs to use their local knowledge to get all areas of the country firing on all cylinders.
Some additional key facts:
There are 38 LEPs covering the whole of England
The government has awarded £9.1bn in three rounds of Growth Deals to local areas to drive economic growth.
LEPs are investing in a wider range of projects including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences.
Arts Council England | Small Capital Grant | £499,500
This significant funding is towards the redevelopment of the Hat Factory Arts Centre and will enable us to open up the centre to more people and increase access to the arts. The grant will, amongst other things, enable us to improve the quality of our theatre and music venue and provide sound-proofing so that we can deliver more high quality events.
Luton Borough Council | £340,000
This significant funding is enabling us to upgrade facilities at the Hat Factory Arts Centre, to sustain a long-term future for the building and enable the Trust to broaden its audiences and contribute even more to the delivery of Luton’s 10 year Arts and Cultural strategic plan.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) | Heritage Enterprise Grant First-Round Pass | £127,900
This first-round pass awarded is specifically for Hat Works and is a development grant to fully explore the needs and potential of the site. The findings of this funding will then inform a second round application. Luton is a priority development area for HLF who have also recently invested in the Trust’s Wardown House Museum & Gallery.
Historic England | Repairs Grant for Heritage at Risk | £44,000
The Trust applied for funding to undertake urgent repairs for Hat Works to sensitively halt the decay caused by pests and mould. This will enable Luton Culture to secure further development funding for the building.
The Architectural Heritage Fund | Project Development Grant | £25,000
This funding enabled us to commission surveys and appoint professionals to develop the design of Hat Works and to help research, and engage communities in, the history of the building to inform final redevelopment plans.
