How Lowestoft Came to Be. 75 Years On.

It was a fishing net knot and a short supply of labour in post-war London that established the Crown Artist Brush site in Lowestoft. Fast-forward to December 2021. We celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first production at the Winsor & Newton Brush Factory in Lowestoft.

This article delves into the history behind the artist brushes manufactured at Lowestoft and an overview of the Colart Factory Filming Project.

We’re proud to launch the pilot film “Lowestoft Factory Film” that showcases the people behind the brush-making.

Watch. Read. Enjoy.

By World War II, brushes were produced at the Colart site based in Wealdstone in suburban London. However, faced with the challenge of a short supply of labour in post-war London, the search for a new location began.

Tasked with a limited timeframe to secure a new site, the selection criteria was guided by two essential requirements. Firstly, a location large enough to cope with canvas priming and brush production and, secondly, and most importantly, finding a community capable of the manual dexterity requirements to make the brushes.

This dexterity is vital for a particular knot tying technique used to hold brush hairs together, known as the ‘clove hitch’. The knot used was standard in several industries such as linen weaving and the manufacture and repairs of fishing nets.

The search led to Suffolk on the East Coast and ultimately the port of Lowestoft. Here, the local economy was reliant on the fishing industry. The fishermen and their boats could be out to sea for up to ten months of the year. Their wives, skilled in repairing nets, generated a surplus labour force. These people and their skills provided the ideal solution to the manual dexterity requirements.

Negotiations with Government Departments began in 1946 to convert the old Town Brewery into a factory. The factory could produce brushes and priming canvas, particularly with ample space to house the canvas frames in the area previously used for holding the brewery barrels.

With the Government system still steeped in the war-time mood, progress during 1946 was slow, and it was not until December of that year, during the coldest winter for over a century, that production began at the ‘Winsor & Newton Ltd Crown Works’.

Today, Lowestoft has a flexible workforce of 87 people producing over 4 million brushes a year.

A huge thank you to all employees past and present and the support of the wider Colart family that makes Crown Artist Brush a place that genuinely “acts like a family” and lives our values. Here’s to another 75 years!, says Mark Brindle, Lowestoft Site Manager.