| Summary : Moorfield Works was the second factory for the Sunbeam company. The early cars were made in premises situated on the St Luke's side of Upper Villiers Street. In 1905 work began on a new factory to be known as Moorfield Works on the opposite side of Upper Villiers Street; the accommodation included an erecting, finishing and coachwork shop. These works were formally opened on 15 October 1907. In 1909 the firm took on Louis Coatalen as Chief Engineer. Coatalen set about making the works self-sufficient by reorganizing them to produce all of their own components. Between then and 1914 paint, gearbox and engine erecting, finishing, coachsmiths, body, machine and detail shops were built. After World War I Sunbeam was the first British car manufacturer to reorganize its machine shop practices away from the wasteful 'batch' system to the more efficient 'flow' system. In 1920, as a result of the economic difficulties affecting many European car companies, Sunbeam joined forces with Talbot of London and Darracq of France to form the Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq, or 'STD', combine. The works were further reorganized around 1924 with the addition of new engine erecting and machine shops, together with a new foundry and pattern shop. Following growing competition from the larger British firms such as Morris and Austin, the combine collapsed around 1934 and the British elements came under the ownership of the Rootes Organization. The remainder of the Sunbeam Co., which also manufactures trolleybuses, aircraft, and motor cycles, thrived and used the Moorfield Works until after World War II. In 1946 it was bought by the Brockhouse Group and in 1948 sold on to Guy Motors. The latter built a new factory at Fallings Park c1953 and concentrated all production there the following year, leaving Moorfield Works redundant. They were sold off into multiple occupancy. Today, the main Sunbeam production area forms part of the works of the Torrington Company. |