Erection date: 27/1/1930
This stone was laid by J. Whitby, Esq, Jan 27th 1930.
From the asymmetry and the quality of the carving the '1930' looks to be a later addition. Plaques of this type normally have a year so its omission was probably an error. Wonder who accepted responsibility?
The plaque is very similar to foundation stones erected on non-conformist chapels and mission buildings, e.g. Leysian Mission or Salvation Army. It is unusual for an industrial building to have a foundation stone but we can find no evidence that there was ever anything other than a warehouse here.
Site: J. Whitby (1 memorial)
E8, Wilton Way, 23-25
Old maps show that this street used to be named Wilton Road and that this plot was vacant land until at least about 1915. The plaque is almost certainly a foundation stone and if the date on the plaque is original then the building was put up in 1930. A map from 1940s-60s shows a 'Warehouse' on this site, with a 'box factory' immediately to the west (where there is now a pair of recent but old-style houses). The WW2 bomb damage map shows that the Box Factory was struck. A Hackney planning document says "By 1952 it is shown that a Box factory and warehouse have been built in this gap {the vacant land}, .... By 1973 these two buildings have changed their use to a Bakery and Works respectively with some new garden flats located behind."
By 2020, when we visited, the building had been converted into flats.
Our colleague, Andrew Behan reported that he could find no information about J. Whitby the man, but a trawl through Post Office London telephone directories revealed:
1925, 1927 & 1928 editions: J. Whitby & Co. Ltd., Cardboard Box Manufacturers, Bethnal Green Road, E1.
1930, 1932, 1933 & 1934 editions: J. Whitby & Co. Ltd., Cardboard Box Mftrs, Wilton Road, E8.
1936 & 1937 editions: J. Whitby & Co Ltd., Cardboard Box Mftrs, 23 Wilton Road, E8.
1938 & 1939 editions: J. Whitby & Co. Ltd., Cardboard Box Mftrs, 23 Wilton Way, E8.
1941 edition (and subsequent editions) do not list this company.
These entries would seem to confirm that J Whitby's company moved to new premises in 1930 (which ties up with the date of the stone) and that the information on the maps about a 'box company' relates to this particular company. It also confirms the change of the street name from Wilton Road to Wilton Way took place around 1937/8.
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