Photographs of the construction of the factory for Treforest Silk Printers on Treforest Trading Estate, taken by Leonard Taylor, commissioned by engineering firm Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Treforest, 27 March 1938 - 21 May 1938

Disgrifiad

Three black and white photographs of the constriction of the factory for Treforest Silk Printers, from a series of ten albums commissioned from photographer Leonard Taylor by the engineering firm Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, who acted as consultants on the creation of the Treforest Trading Estate. The photo albums were deposited at Pontypridd Museum by the granddaughter of the photographer.

Treforest Silk Printers Ltd was founded in 1924, by Kurt Jellinek, a refugees from Nazi-Europe. It produced screen-printed real and artificial silk goods. The factory was located at Unit A11 Treforest Trading Estate. The company was still trading from the estate in 1977.

The first image shows the steelwork in progress.

The second image shows the completed steelwork and the roofing in progress..

The third image shows the completed unit.

The first photograph is from Album A, the second and third photographs are from Album H.

Treforest Trading Estate, near Pontypridd, was set up as part of the Special Areas Act of 1934. The Act was created to help parts of Britain with high unemployment, and it offered support to businesses to set up in these areas. When the Nazis began seizing Jewish businesses in Germany in the years after 1933, many Jewish refugees fled here to establish their businesses with help from this scheme.

By May 1940, 55 businesses started by Jewish refugees were running at Treforest. They provided jobs for around 1,800 local people.

Sources:

Beebe, Tiffany, Britain’s special areas and the refugee crisis (2024) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c04a1a0d2897409d84ee2169cfb4f914 [accessed 26 September 2024]

Parry-Jones, Cai, The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales (doctoral thesis, Bangor University, 2014)
https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/20579001/null [accessed 26 September 2024]

Refugees from National Socialism in Wales, Treforest Trading Estate https://wp-research.aber.ac.uk/nsrefugeeswales/history/life-for-refugees-in-wales/treforest-industrial-estate/ [accessed 26 September 2024]

Rhondda Cynon Taf Library Service Digital Archive, Treforest Silk Printers Ltd https://www.rctourheritage.com/quick-search?q=treforest%20silk%20printers&WINID=1727345805983 [accessed 26 September 2024]

Depository: Pontypridd Museum.