Titanic Works, Lincoln

Image: © Jo and Steve Turner Taken: Unknown

Former Titanic Works and offices, Waterside South now known as Enterprise House, Witham Park House and Oak House Business Centre. The remaining former works is in three parts. The very long manufacturing bay, a shorter but still long manufacturing bay adjoining the former to the north and an office block inserted at an acute angle along the property line in the northeast. Local folklore suggests the southern bay was the same length as its infamous namesake but in fact the building was over 100ft longer than the liner at about 1,000ft (305m). From the 1946-50 to the 1985-90 OS maps the northern bay is shown almost as long as the southern bay. It was built in 1912 by Wm. Wright and architect Arthur Turner of Oldham for Clayton and Shuttleworth who built crawler tractors. From 1916 to 1919 it turned to aircraft production including Sopwith Camels, Triplane Scouts and Bristol triplanes all tested at Bracebridge Heath. In 1920 Clayton Wagons Ltd. manufactured steam road wagons, railway passenger and freight wagons and railcars here and in Abbey Works. Clayton Wagons made the Dewandre servo that was so successful in 1928 Clayton Dewandre Company was established and they subsequently purchased the Titanic works in 1929 when Clayton Wagons folded. In November 1986 Clayton Dewandre (now part of American Standard Inc) announced that it was closing down its operation over the next eighteen months, with the loss of seven hundred jobs. Up to and including the 1985-90 OS map additional building/s are shown on the west end of the southern bay that have subsequently been removed presumably during refurbishment by Simons of Lincoln in 1992. Subdivided the buildings now contain a number of businesses including Anglian Water Services, Compass FM, Sports Direct Fitness Lincoln City and Lincs FM Group. Fenestration has been considerably altered and other ancillary buildings removed from the site, particularly along Waterside South, presumably as part of the 1992 refurbishment after Dewandre’s closure in 1989.

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