History of Courtaulds in Flintshire under spotlight during County archives open day in Hawarden

The history of Courtaulds in Flintshire will come under the spotlight during North East Wales Archives open day in Hawarden next month.

Courtaulds had three factory sites in Flint, Aber Works, Deeside Mills and Castle Works, and two rayon production facilities at Greenfield.

At its height, the company employed over 10,000 people in Flintshire.

Hawarden records office will be hosting the open day on Saturday, 24 September 2022.

Artefacts and machinery from the Flintshire sites will be on display, courtesy of Flintshire Museums; with an exhibition about women workers at Courtaulds, created by NEWA in partnership with Glyndwr University.

Councillor Vicky Perfect, who began work at Courtaulds at the age of 15, will share her experiences of working there in the 1960s; and Sophie Fish from Flintshire Museums will give a talk on the general history of the sites, and the partnership project between AURA and the Courtauld Institute, London.

There will also be the opportunity to see a film, produced by the Women’s Archive of Wales, called ‘Voices from the Factory Floor’ on factory workers in Wales, including Courtaulds, Flintshire; and a sneak preview of a new musical written on the same theme, called ‘Tic Toc’, which will be touring around North Wales in 2023.

Behind the scenes tours of the historic Old Rectory building in Hawarden will take you to the secure, environmentally-controlled strongrooms, where unique and irreplaceable archives relating to the history of Flintshire have been kept since the 1950s.

Those attendings will also be able to visit the Conservation Studio, where the Conservator will explain techniques for preserving these fascinating items for future generations.

Proposed programme:

9.45am – Doors open

10.00am – Behind the Scenes Tour of Strongrooms and Conservation Studio

11.15am – Film: ‘Voices from the Factory Floor’, experiences of female factory workers in Wales, including those at Courtaulds sites, Flintshire.

11.30am – Talk by Cllr Vicky Perfect: ‘My Experiences of working at Courtaulds in the 1960s’.

12.00pm – Talk by Flintshire Museums Service:, ‘Connecting Courtaulds’: A brief history of Courtaulds in Flintshire and background to the Voices of Courtaulds Partnership Project.

12.30pm – Refreshments and chance to view the exhibitions – Exhibitions: Courtaulds Artefacts from AURA (Flintshire) Museums; Women Working at Courtaulds, 1931-1958, by Liz Newman (NEWA) and Suzanne Jones (Glyndwr University)

Showing from 12.45pm – Film about the musical show about Welsh factory workers, ‘Tic Toc’, containing interviews with factory workers, and extracts from the performance, with introduction by Catrin Edwards, Project Officer.

1.00pm – Behind the Scenes Tour of Strongrooms and Conservation Studio

2.00pm – Event ends

Booking is required for Tours and Talks – please contact NEWA for details, tel 01244 532364 or email: archives@newa.wales.