This is the Thamesmead Industrialised Building Factory. The Greater London
Council (GLC) opened the factory in 1968. It produced concrete structural
units. These units were used to build the newly planned town of
Thamesmead. Henry Grant photographed the building in the late 1960s.
New town
Thamesmead is a new town. It was created in 1965 on land reclaimed from
the Plumstead Marshes between Woolwich and Erith. Due to the high risk of
flooding, all the houses and shops were built raised off the ground. They
were linked by foot and cycle paths. Any drainage problems on the marshes
were solved by making a series of lakes and canals in the area. A pumping
station at Thamesmere controlled the waterflow.
Photographer Henry Grant
Henry Grant was a freelance photographer who worked all over London. He
specialised in documenting social and political life in the capital.
