34 replies to this topic

[pyrotechnist]

When Standard Fireworks first started out they were a thriving business. In 2003 I did my work experience at Standard Fireworks and had the opportunity to have a guided tour around the many small huts which once were used to create some of Britain’s all time favourite fireworks.


Recently I was hoping to go and revisit Standard Fireworks and have another look around, but on closer inspection of an aerial view of Standard Fireworks I have come to notice that the majority of it has been knocked down . Below is an image of how Standard used to look:



This is how Standard Fireworks now looks:



It is a shame that such an old time favourite is now a thing of the past and 300 or so buildings that once was used to build fireworks have gone within the last year and buried under cement. It also seems that some of the remaining buildings have been burnt looking at how dark they seem .

If anyone has any pictures of the factory when it was in use or just after of any buildings or tools etc can you please PM me or post the images?

[Firefiend]

You get quite a good view on Flash Earth if you type in the HD4 7AD postcode.

http://www.flashearth.com/

Another good old firework factory is at SO20 8DX. still intact, but sadly they stopped producing fireworks in 1954 !!!

Edited by Firefiend, 07 July 2008 - 05:46 PM.

[concept]

I think that is the old wallop's site, considering that the name of the company occupying the place now is called wallop defence systems LTD. Do you think if I E-mailed them nicely they would let me have a tour of the place? I wonder if any of the machinery is still there or it has been cleared out.

[Firefiend]

I'm pretty sure that nothing of the old firework manufacturing plant is still there, although the shed layout and barriers can be seen. I know of people who have contacted them before with no luck. You have to bear in mind we are talking over 50 years since they stopped manufacturing fireworks. Wallop actually acquired a few of their old fireworks back (mentioned in Issue 53 of Fireworks Magazine). The fireworks are extremely rare and generally sell for around £100 a go, on the rare instances which they come up for sale.

Edited by Firefiend, 07 July 2008 - 06:51 PM.

[pyrotechnist]

Alot of machinery was left behind within Standard which will have now been skipped . One shed was packed full of sevies, other sheds contained rocket presses and others bits of old machines or tools for roman candles and cakes etc. It was amazing though when walking around the place and trying to imagine which shed did what and all the tools they had wasting away there.

[David]

Standards Wikipedia Page is good- it would be well worth adding the information discussed in this thread, too.

Its actually been quite a lively page.

It was originally written as a rather open and shameless (and unjustified) advert - "Standard is the best and most popular brand in the UK and always has been" etc

It was then flagged as an advert, and heavily editted to read (taken from the history):

Standard Fireworks is a brand name of the Black Cat Fireworks Company, based in China. Until 1998 it was a family owned firm based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.[1]

Standard Fireworks was formed in 1891, by a man named James Greenhalgh. Production of fireworks by the company was based in Hudderfield until the early 1990s, when the company started to import fireworks from China. The Company still has offices in Hudderfield where the products are labelled and delivered from. The workforce now is mainly Polish migrants, previously, during the 1980s Standard employed nearly 1000 local people engaged in the making of fireworks.

Standard is probably Britains best known fireworks company. In the 1950s and 1960s the brand was very hard to get hold of for retailers- Shops wishing to stock Standard products had to wait years for an account with the company.

Standards range was typically fireworks price coded by number. The smallest were fountains, catherine wheels and little Roman Candles, the larger pieces included big rockets suppiled with a slot-in stick. They also supplied selection boxes of small fireworks. They also organised public displays for the people of Hudderfield.

Whilst the standard brand still exists its market share has vastly decreasing. ASDA, a previous stockist, now supplies TNT fireworks due to mutal ownership by the Wal-Mart group. Yorkshire business such as Great Northern Fireworks and Epic Fireworks aim to concentrate sales on their own brands. Standard is also not regarded highly by many firework enthusiasts.[3] Furthermore Black Cat appear to be concentrating new pyrotechnic effects on fireworks sold under the Black Cat name. It may well be the case that in time Black Cat will stop using the Standard name altogether, and one of Britains best known brands will disappear.


Personnally, I think that is a very interesting account, but it reads more like an opinion piece than an encyclopedia article. Does raise some interesting points though.

It wasd previously very much a Huddersfield brand, now gone overseas- no longer local, now international.

As a Consumer brand (which it always was) it is in, as they say, freefall. I don't know many places that stock it now.

Edited by David, 10 July 2008 - 12:35 PM.

[pyrotechnist]

It is a shame that the factory is no longer with us , I had some good memories of that place and still am angry at myself for not getting anymore tools.

[maxman]

What about composition details? Were they all secret? There must be someone who knows what comp went into a snow storm or how trafic lights were made up? There must be folk out there that used to work in these factories that would have some fantastic input on these pages. How I'd love to recreate some of these gems

[pyrotechnist]

I have a small book I got given from a guy at Standard called Bob detailing the price of materials for rockets and some diagrams and photos of fireworks being made etc.

[David]

My aunty worked for Standard, not in production but in the offices in some limited secretary-office role for a while. She is 60 now so this would have been just over 40 years ago.

She tells the story of being asked to constantly make announcments over the PA system for one of the (female) workers to come and see the manager in his office. Turns out said worker and the manger were having an affair, hense all the little meetings!

Anyway, thats one of the story, probably much has changed in the telling over time. But it does evoke and imagine of the old British factory similar to that of the toliet factory in the Carry On film ie, hijinks and schemes etc.

[maxman]

Ohh an affair! Now thats what I call a dangerous explosive situation!

[cooperman435]

I recently had a conversation with someone I get supplies from, the company in question used to sell BP to Standard and she on a few occasions visited and was shown round the factory.

I think she was a little surprised as to my interest and couldn't recall much of interest unfortunately.

[pyrotechnist]

What sickens me the most is I took a lot of pictures while having a tour around the old huts etc and the film has been lost so the only pics I have are from the main entrance.

[pyrotrev]

I'm going up there next week to pick up some candles - I'll ask if I'm allowed to take a few pics.

[pyrotechnist]

Ok that will be great if you can get some and post here etc.