A large factory complex of 1908 by the Horlicks company engineer A G Christiansen, expanded in part by T H F Burditt during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

The Horlicks factory complex of 1908 by the company engineer A G Christiansen, expanded during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, is not listed for the following principal reasons:   Degree of architectural interest:   * despite some good quality detailing, and the regimented early-C20 factory design is clearly influenced by the earlier factory in the USA, it is old-fashioned for a building of 1908; * the later extensions have a standard architectural treatment for their date and type; * the piecemeal nature of the site’s development, and the use of lesser quality materials such as uPVC windows, has had a detrimental impact on its functional coherence and architectural character; * there is no physical evidence of technical innovation in the structure of the building, or the manufacturing process.   Degree of historic interest:   * the level of integration and holistic care displayed at the site in the early C20 is not unusual for a food manufacturer of this date; * although the site is associated with a nationally recognised product, this is insufficient to overcome the lack of architectural special interest.  

The Horlicks Factory in Slough was built in 1908 at a cost of £28,000 and was designed by the company engineer A G Christiansen. The external design was based on the company factory Number 2 building (1902) in Rascine, USA, where the wider factory complex was started around 1890 and completed in 1905. The site for the English factory was chosen for its close proximity to the railway and the burgeoning road network. The building used an iron frame and was faced in brick. It was laid out as a large three-storey rectilinear block, seven bays long, and included a crenellated clock tower, large factory chimney, single-storey boiler room, water tower with garage below, and a warehouse to the south-east of the site.   Horlicks was established in the USA around 1882 by James Horlick and his brother William. The Horlicks recipe combined dried malt and wheat flour with milk to produce a dried powder which could be made into a hot drink. It was marketed as being nutritional and was an instant success. Horlicks was supplied to Edwardian Arctic expeditions and the mountaineer Richard Byrd named the Horlicks Mountains on the Ross Ice Shelf in return for their sponsorship. The drink was also used on by Amundsen and Scott during their North and South Pole expeditions. During the Second World War Horlicks tablets were sold as a sweet and used as an energy-booster by the armed services. They were also included as a key component of aircrew escape kits.   The integrated production of Horlicks required malted barley, wheat flour, and fresh milk to be delivered as raw materials, and the company owned a dairies in Ilminster, Somerset. Large quantities of fresh water were also required, and wells were drilled on-site to feed the water tank. The barley and flour were milled and a mash was created for the enzymatic reactor. Once the mash matured, milk was added and then the mixture was subjected to an evaporation process, and baking. The product was milled again to a fine powder and then bagged for delivery. Materials and end products were moved by a fleet of Horlicks lorries, or by trains which were loaded or unloaded at a dedicated railway siding. Horlicks also used commercial travellers who drove branded company cars and vans around the country selling the company's products. Horlicks developed a holistic approach to the welfare of its staff throughout the inter-war period and the on-site facilities eventually included a social club, playing fields, tennis courts and a canteen cum theatre.   In 1929, the factory underwent major expansion and the 1908 block was extended westwards by a further seven bays. In addition, a fourth storey and replacement roof to match the extension were added to the 1908 building, which included removal of the crenulations. Around 1930 the boardroom was fitted out with decorative panelling, a fireplace and fitted cabinets. By 1932 a small projecting extension had been added to the north of the 1908 block, and by 1939 the west end of the factory had been extended to the north and south, expanding the western elevation by a further seven bays. From 1939 the architect T H F Burditt (1886-1969) was known to be associated with Horlicks and therefore he is likely to be responsible for alterations from this time until the 1950s. Burditt also designed a concrete framed factory in 1929, for the Kosmos company in Baldock. There, he combined a concrete frame with Egyptianate style ornament, and was praised for 'dispelling the myth that concrete cannot be beautiful' (Pearson 2016). The successive expansion of the Horlicks Factory was necessary in response to growing demand for the product across the world, and to create offices for the company staff.   Around the Second World War, a number of buildings were added to the north-east of the site including a second warehouse building, and two air-raid shelters. The factory was probably identified as a 'key point' (a factory that was crucial to wartime production), and the shelters were constructed in 1939, when the Civil Defence Act made their provision mandatory. Also around this time, three more storeys were added above the boiler room, and a large single-storey range was added to the north. In addition, the location for the clock on the main tower was repositioned and the clock face replaced. The 1908 warehouse to the south-east of the site was also successively extended during the earlier-C20.   In the late 1950s the northern range was increased in height to four storeys to a design by the architect A J Stribling, and further extended to the east, allowing production to increase to around 14 million kgs of Horlicks annually. In 1969 Horlicks was acquired by the Beecham Group, which in 2001, became GlaxoSmithKline. Production at Slough is due to finish in July 2018.

A large factory complex of 1908 by the Horlicks company engineer A G Christiansen, expanded during the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.   MATERIALS: the main building is constructed of light-red brick over an iron frame. The doors are predominantly timber, and the replacement windows are simulated sashes in uPVC. The 1950s extension has a concrete frame faced with brick pilasters, metal strip glazing and aluminium spandrel panels.    PLAN: the main range faces south, with office accommodation concentrated to the west end and manufacturing concentrated to the east. Also to the east, there is a clock tower, factory chimney, and boiler room. The west end is narrower than the east and the main factory entrance is located to the west end on the north side. The main range is connected to a mid-C20 north range. Further east from the main factory building, there are two warehouse buildings, a former garage, and two subterranean air-raid shelters.    EXTERIOR: the principal southern elevation is a continuous range formed of the 1908 factory (east end), and the 1929-1939 extensions (west end). The range is faced with light-red brick in an English bond, over four storeys and a basement. The ground floor is partially obscured by a mid-C20 raised loading dock and glass canopy. There are a number of round-headed timber loading doors, and a mid-C20 projecting open-sided concrete pallet dock. The regularly spaced windows above are uPVC replacements and have six over six panes under segmental brick arches. They are ranged across 13 bays, and are separated by tall brick pilasters, with the majority of bays having three windows on the lower three storeys, interspersed with pebble-dashed decorative panels. Across the top of the range there is a brick cornice surmounted by a parapet, which hides the flat roof behind. Towards the western end of the main range one bay also has three small windows set into the parapet.   On the roof of the main range there is a late-C20 large illuminated 'HORLICKS' sign formed of red letters, which are supported on a metal frame. At the west end, the last bay projects forward and has a single window to each storey. At the east end of the main range there is a four-storey crenellated tower which is surmounted by brick tourelles at each corner, but otherwise follows the architectural treatment of the main range. It has a high-set mid-C20 clock face which is formed from illuminated metal hands and time-segments, fixed directly on to the brickwork. To the east of the tower there are a further ten bays over three storeys which are more utilitarian in appearance and have one over one uPVC windows. In front of this section, there is a tall circular brick chimney, which rises from a square base, and tapers up to a circular collar of projecting engineering bricks. To the left of the chimney, the main range projects at ground-floor level.   The western elevation of the main range is similar to the southern elevation, but the 15 bays are narrower, and have a single window on each storey. The central bay has a small brick pediment over the second-storey window. This elevation also has small eight-paned uPVC windows to the fourth storey. This treatment is repeated on the western end and the northern side of the main range. The northern elevation has a central projecting entrance block, of three bays divided by pilasters, under a cornice and pediment. There are stone steps up to a green-hued stone classical doorcase which has a cornice supported by console brackets, above a dentil frieze. Under the cornice the stone is inscribed with the word 'OFFICES'. The paired timber entrance doors have three square panels, with inset paterae, and sturdy brass handles with scuff-plates embossed with the company logo. Above the doors there is a frieze of timber nail-head detailing, surmounted by a moulded rectangular timber panel. Either side of the doorcase, there are decorative cylindrical metal lamp holders, which have ribbed metal supports for an integral glass lantern. On the first-storey the central window has a small brick pediment. The main pediment stands above a cornice which has a large inset stone panel inscribed with the word 'HORLICKS'.   The eastern end of the northern elevation is more utilitarian and formed of a mixture of regular brick or metal-clad bays. From the main range there are two connecting corridors to the northern range. The more western corridor has three storeys above a roadway, and is characterised by metal-strip windows separated horizontally by light green metal spandrel panels. The eastern corridor is similar in form to the main range and is of two-storeys, over a brick vehicle archway.The northern range is modernist in character, with its steel frame clad in plain brick pilasters under deep eaves, with alternating strips of light-green aluminium spandrel panels, and metal, strip windows. The ground floor has plain brick elevations, and concrete lintels above uPVC casement windows. To the east end, the northern range is more industrial in character and clad in corrugated-metal.   INTERIOR: the floors of the original 1908 building are predominantly large open-plan industrial spaces separated by cast-iron round or square section columns. The round columns are stamped with the company name ‘EDWARD WOOD & CO LTD OF MANCHESTER'.  The first three floors have cedar floorboards while the later fourth floor is concrete. The stairs are narrow and have a circular brushed steel balustrade over closed panels. Further to the east there is a set of stairs that can be removed to form a shaft for moving large equipment between the floors. The basement and ground floors of the 1929 extension are also largely open plan, while the upper floors of this section, and all the floors of the 1939 extension contain offices. These consist of multiple smaller rooms, either side of a spine corridor, with many subdivided by modern plasterboard partition walls. The main entrance vestibule and reception area are plain in design, and to the south there are imperial stairs with a chunky square-section timber balustrade, above closed panels. The northern range is arranged as large open-plan rooms for manufacturing and storage.   On the first floor of the 1929 extension to the southern range, there is a boardroom fitted out with moulded paneling in the Art Deco style. The room has decorative hardwood timber panelling or pillasters to three walls, and the timber detailing includes the skirting and floor, with the overall design enhanced by careful selection of wood type, shade, and grain. To the south side of the room there is a single moulded timber chimneypiece with a panelled overmantel. The fire surround includes an integrated and geometrically shaped clock with a black minimalist face, and similar integrated calendars to either side. To both sides of the fireplace there are built-in timber console tables underneath square drop-down doors, which have timber nail-headed knobs. Moulded timber pilasters with stylised stepped Art Deco capitals rise from behind the console tables, and frame each bay. The doors and windows have stepped moulded architraves, and the windows have segmental arched heads. At both ends of the room the panelling houses two drop-down doors, and cupboards which have twin doors, geometric brass handles and glass shelving. The ceiling has plaster Art Deco mouldings, comprising a central circular light in a star shape from which sunbursts extend out across the room in the shape of a closed fan, and then form recessed triangular panels above the windows to the north, and between the timber piers to the south. The walls also have stepped and fluted plaster panels which extend to the ceiling and integrated triangular Art Deco light sconces are mounted on the walls.  At the eastern end of the room there are two small storage areas behind doors inset within the panelling. The western end is similar but also contains the entrance door with vestibule behind. The hardwood door has a conical brass handle, and contrasting central timber panel with a high-set porthole window. On the second floor above there is a Directors dining room which is more traditionally inter-war in character. It has timber architraves and multi-panelled timber doors with four centre-arched ‘Tudoresque’ heads.   On the first floor of the 1939 section to the north-western corner there are four timber-panelled directors rooms off a shared timber-panelled vestibule. These are plainer than the boardroom and their three quarter height fielded-panelling, which has a cornice and a dado rail, is more C18 in character. Each room has a fireplace with a moulded timber surround. On the top floor at the western end there is a former canteen for the offices, which has a number of small glass fronted cubicles located along its side walls. At the northern end there is a functional stage. The main room has a quadrant vaulted ceiling and high-set clerestory windows with multiple panes. The doors are timber and some have port-hole glazing.   SUBSIDIARY STRUCTURES   GATES, PIERS, AND FLANKING  WALLS. To the west of the site, the main vehicular entrance is flanked by brick built gate piers in an English bond, surmounted by stepped stone coping. To both sides there is a gated pedestrian entrance of similar design. The gates are cast-iron and formed of vertical square-section railings with a spiked finial, and similar dog bars. They have three horizontal bands embellished in a nail-head pattern, and the upper part of the gates is cross-braced. The railings are of a similar design and run along the top of the low boundary walls to either side. The boundary walls are also constructed of brick and are coped in chamfered stone. The wall to the southern side steps up the hill.   To the south-east of the site there are two detached WAREHOUSE BUILDINGS. The southerly example is early-C20, and is built of brick in an English bond. It is long and rectilinear, and is formed of a two-storey office located to the west end, a central warehouse section, and a former social club to the east. The structure is gabled at either end, with a shallower pitched roof between, and the office section to the west end has two late-C20 casement windows to the first floor, beneath a stepped gable. The long elevations are in 18 bays divided by plain brick pilasters, and have a moulded, brick dentil cornice. The roof is pitched, and raised above the office section. The offices have eight over eight timber sash windows to the ground floor, and four by four paned casement windows above. The warehouse section has a single tall segmental-headed window per bay, the majority of which have a fixed single pane of obscured glass. The final bay of the warehouse section has a tall timber vehicular loading door. The social club section is symmetrical and formed of a tall single-storey. It has two sets of round-headed timber doors, which stand beneath round-headed sash windows, consisting of three over six panes. The two bays between the doors and single bay on either side have tall round-headed sash windows, which have six over six panes.   The northern warehouse was built during the Second World War in a stripped and functional style. It is a long and rectilinear single-storey building which is gabled at each end, and has a shallow pitched roof. It is brick built in an English bond and has multiple 12 paned metal casement windows, under plain concrete lintels along each elevation. To the eastern end there are a number of loading bays, most of which have been in-filled with brick or boarded up. The principal loading bays have a higher-set lintel, and one example retains its multi-paned timber doors.   The former WATER TANK AND VEHICLE GARAGE is also designed in a stripped and functional style. It is located adjacent to the boiler house, and is a tall structure of four storeys, surmounted by a cast-iron water tank. The garage is brick built in an English bond and the principal southern elevation is formed of four bays separated by simple brick pilasters. The three bays to the west end have a late-C20 metal garage door on the ground floor and large multi-paned metal windows to the upper storeys, except for the middle bay which is blind on the third and fourth storey. The most easterly bay has a recessed entrance set into a plain brick architrave, and the upper storeys have similar fenestration. All openings are supported by plain concrete lintels. The east and west elevations are largely blind and the northern elevation is similar to the southern, but there are no garage doors on this side.   There are two largely subterranean AIR RAID SHELTERS to the north-east of the site. They are adjacent to each other and around 30m by 5m in plan. One runs east-west and the other north-south, forming an L-shape. The shelters are of a similar design and the visible section takes the form of a shallow-domed concrete rectangle which rises around 0.25m above the surrounding grass. Along the ridge of the dome there are a number of small circular opening some of which have been filled in and some have a metal ventilator shaft. The example which runs north to south has an upstanding entrance at each end, and the east-west example has a single upstanding entrance (the other having been removed). The brick-built entrances are triangular in profile, and have timber plank doors and corrugated metal roofs. The interior was not inspected.