Building record MDR11595 - Fletcher's Lace Factory, Derby Road, Heanor

G H Fletcher & Sons Factory. Single storey lace factory with northern lights situated on the south side of Derby Road, Heanor. The Fletcher family has been making lace in Heanor since 1835, beginning at Tag Hill but moving to the Derby Road site in 1838. The present building dates from 1905. (1) In 1905 the firm of Fletchers lace makers moved from their old factory on Derby Road [SMR 20521] to a new factory. This had two shops, 62 feet long and 50 feet wide, which housed 16 224-inch and 16 176-inch Levers machines, and a third shop housed auxiliary equipment for warping and winding. In 1926 the firm became known as George Henry Fletcher & Sons. George specialised in Levers laces and silk veilings. When he retired in 1924, the business was taken over by his sons, George Collin, Frederick and Stuart. George Collin's son, Geoffrey, and Stuart's son, John, later entered the Heanor business and by 1959 the 26,105 square feet factory housed 41 raschel lace machines, 18 plain net machines and 12 Levers machines. (2)