People At Work Gallery

Allscott Sugar Beet Factory JLP01_08_061059

Allscott Sugar Beet Factory, Allscott, Wrockwardine, Telford and Wrekin. Two Laing workers concreting the roof of a sugar silo at Allscott Sugar Beet Factory.
A sugar beet factory was at Allscott from 1927 until it closed in 2007. Laing built two sugar silos here in 1961 for the British Sugar Corporation who were the owners of the site. Each silo was able to store 10,000 tons of granulated sugar and at the time they were constructed, they were the tallest that Laing had built so far using sliding formwork. The roofs of the sugar silos were covered with Thermacoust roofing slabs and were covered with concrete and asphalt, with work on the second silo due to be completed by the middle of October 1961

© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection

Road resurfacing MOT01_01_20

Lee Road, Blackheath Park, Greenwich, Greater London. An elevator depositing debris into a cart drawn by a horse, during construction work on Lee Road, with workers from the Improved Wood Pavement Company in the background.
The Improved Wood Pavement Company Ltd was registered in 1872, having previously operated as the London Wood Paving Company. The use of wood to pave London streets had began in around the 1840s; new systems were introduced in the 1870s. A major advantage of wooden paving was that it produced less noise under horse drawn transport than the alternatives of granite or macadam, but was slippery when wet

© Historic England Archive

St Mary Littlehampton HSI01_01_002

ST MARYS CHURCH, CHURCH STREET, LITTLEHAMPTON, ARUN, WEST SUSSEX. People at work using a steam powered threshing machine, with St Mary's Church in the background, 1901-1902.
St Mary's Church was extended eastwards in the late 19th century, with a new chancel and Lady Chapel, however by 1930 the structural condition of the church was so bad that it had to be demolished. This photograph shows the building with the late 19th century extension

© Historic England Archive