Pictures from the Heritage Archives

We need a cup, happy to beg, or borrow, but prefer not to steal.

As work at The Armstrong Siddeley Centre, Pentre continues to make good progress our thoughts are beginning to turn to the cabinet displays which will continue to tell the Parkside story.

Over the years odd pieces of crockery have been passed to the Trust for safe keeping. Plates of varying sizes, Saucers, but never a cup!

This made us curious, and from two sources we heard what we were assured was the explanation. As always there were slight variations to the tale. 

Briefly it went thus. Maintenance work was being carried out on the exterior of one of the company’s storage buildings and when it was completed the foreman instructed a junior member of the work-gang to sweep up and burn the rubbish. This he did and found a set-back rear doorway, just the place to gather everything up. He set fire to his tidy bundle and wandered off, job done.

Unfortunately the door, though secure, was not fireproof and by the time the ensuing fire was noticed from the front of the building it was all a bit too late. Estimates of the cost for replacement of the building vary greatly as one would expect but we can be sure that the crockery stored there was badly affected. All cups fragmented from the heat, but, rather like trying to burn a book, the stacked plates survived, but were not unblemished. In the picture above note the large plate to the rear is a darker colour, and on the left side there is a crack, also surface galze is rippled.

Back in the day there was a variety of crests and the quality of the china varied according to the place of usage, works canteen, executive suite, special occasion, promotions or celebration meals. An expendable every day item, easily broken and unlikely to be preserved when demolishing for repurposed building. We just hope someone out there has a spare cup and would like to help complete our display.