Context 165 - August 2020

C O N T E X T 1 6 5 : A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 39 Food and drink MADELEINE RIGBY A new purpose for the Horlicks Factory Planning permission has been granted for a scheme that will reinstate the Horlicks Factory as a local landmark in Slough, celebrating the area’s industrial past and the history of the product. Only a select few products can truly claim to be iconic, but Horlicks, the eponymous sweet malted drink is, arguably, one of them. From its beginnings in Chicago in 1873, Horlicks’ pio- neering use of vacuuming technology created a ‘food drink’ made from dried milk, malted wheat and barley.The company’s British headquarters, a large red-brick factory, was built in Slough in 1908, and Horlicks quickly became a household name that endured throughout the 20th century. Today the name conjures up a range of asso- ciations. Some think of Horlicks tablets, which were included in army ration kits during the first and second world wars. Others may remember the, at best, questionable science behind the ‘night-starvation theory’ that was used to market the product in the 1950s. For many, it conjures up wholesome childhood memories of being brought a hot milky Horlicks in bed by a par- ent or grandparent. The Horlicks Company in Slough was economically and socially important, employing thousands of people over its 110-year operation. These are just some of the reasons why the Horlicks Factory is a local landmark and well-loved building. When news spread of the imminent closure of the factory in 2017, the fate of the building was a cause for concern. The factory was locally listed in 1999 and the company’s own dedicated war memorial was listed at Grade II in 2017. The factory itself did not meet the requirements for statutory listing when the pair was assessed by Historic England in 2017. Luckily the factory was acquired by Berkeley Homes, which had the vision of designing a housing scheme on the site that focused on the main factory and celebrated its history. As the planning and heritage consult- ants, one of Lichfields’ roles was to identify what was significant about the buildings, the memorial and other features within the grounds, and to advise on how those features and their settings could be preserved and enhanced, while introducing a new use. The historic factory was built in three main phases in 1908, 1929 and 1939. It has been extended and altered many times over the past century, but its key recognisable features have endured.The crenelated square clock tower with tourelles, the iconic red Horlicks sign fixed above the parapet (albeit a modern replacement) and The Horlicks Factory in around 1930 The crenellated clock tower