Leatherhead & District Local History Society - Streets and Roads

from Kelly's 1950 Directory - private addresses have mostly been omitted below

Little Bookham Street

LUDC 1965-67
The Bookham Engineering Co Ltd
Old Atlas Works, Little Bookham, Surrey
Steel Fabrications, Profile Cutting, General Engineering

LUDC 1965-67
THE BOOKHAM ENGINEERING CO. LTD.
T. P. Aumonier is managing director of this firm which was founded in 1947. The Company was originally concerned in the overhaul of tractors and stationery engines, but in the last fifteen years it has concentrated almost entirely on fabricated steelwork specialising in welded assemblies to fine limits such as engine bed plates, chassis, and parts for diesel and electric fork lift trucks, passenger lift frames, pile driving equipment, etc.

A certain amount of general steelwork including staircases, platforms and steel framed buildings is also carried out. The Company are official contractors to the War Office, The Ministry of Works, the G.P.O., etc., and have many large and well-known firms as customers. Many of the products are indirectly exported.

[The site has a long industrial history which has been traced by Peter Tarplee in his book Past Industries of Ashtead, Leatherhead and Bookham, L&DLHS, (2010), ISBN 978-0-9552785-5-6, 82pp, £8.99 plus p&p from the Society or in good local bookshops or Amazon. What follows is a brief summary:

Thomas Gillett completes an engineering apprenticeship and set up an engineering works, known as the Atlas Works, next door to his home at Vine Cottage (now known as Grapevine Cottage) in Little Bookham Street.
1912 Gillett becomes MD of Gillett Stephen & Co Ltd
1913 Gillett AMIEE 1916 FMIEE
WW1 Manufacture aircraft parts and engine components; 1919 Gillett awarded MBE
1916 Workforce increased to 120; 1917 via Waring (of Waring & Gillow) Merrylands Hotel (founded by Temperance campaigner Mrs Mary Chrystie) bought to meet need for more space and is converted to offices.

[A new factory, the New Atlas Works built in the grounds for Gillett Stephen & Co. Enlarges factory space from 2,000 square feet (Old Atlas Works) in Little Bookham Street 56,000 square feet including New Atlas Works.
1926: New Atlas Works extended to 84,000 square feet
World War II: Factory now 120,000 square feet. The works has own power house containing two 300 kVA alternators driven by Beilis and Morcom reciprocating steam engines. Very advanced factory for its time with modem machining facilities as well as a laboratory.]

Bookham Engineering Company/Old Atlas Works
Bookham Engineering Company was founded in 1947 with T. P. Aumonier as managing director and they took over the Old Atlas Works in Little Bookham Street. Originally they overhauled tractors and stationary engines but later they concentrated on steelwork fabrication and wrought iron work. They specialised in welded assemblies to fine limits such as engine bedplates, chassis and parts for fork lift trucks, passenger lift frames etc. A certain amount of general steel work including staircases, platforms and steel-framed buildings was also carried out.

After twenty years in Bookham the firm moved to Kingston Road, Leatherhead, just north of the railway bridge. They remained there at least until the 1970s.

The factory in Bookham was demolished in 1968 and flats named ‘The Blackburn’ now occupy the site.

LUDC 1965-67

Little Bookham Common Kelly's 1950 Bookham Grange Hotel (Mrs. E. L. Buckmaster, propr.), Little Bookham common, t2742 & 2606 LUDC 1950 Bookham Grange Hotel 4 minutes from Bookham Station LUDC 1950 Bookham Grange Dancing Club Principals: Frank Allen, Mickie Allen Modern Ballroom Dancing	LUDC 1950	LUDC 1950
LUDC 1965/67 Bookham Grange Hotel Bookhams Premier Residential Hotel Weddings, Private Parties, Dancing	LUDC 1965/67

Streets and Roads LITTLE BOOKHAM

Streets and Roads
LITTLE BOOKHAM