Former Aviation Factory, Kingston upon Thames, Greater London
This aeroplane factory was built in five main stages in the years 1913-18 with some minor additions made in 1935-36. The oldest part is at the centre of Canbury Park Road. It was originally a single storey shed with two storey offices on either side that masked the shed from the road. It is probably the oldest purpose built aeroplane factory in England and no other site saw the design of so many outstanding aircraft. From 1912-20 the factory was occupied by the Sopwith Aviation Company formed by Sir Thomas Sopwith. The company produced the Sopwith Camel (1916-17) and the Snipe (1918) which was designed here. The Sopwith Camel was a single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. From 1920 the factory continued as the H G Hawker Engineering Factory. Under the famous designer Sydney Camm (1893-1966) the Hawker Fury (1931)and the Hawker Hurricane (1933) were designed on this site. The buildings were later occupied by Kingston Polytechnic then by Kingston University engineering department. The university left the building in 1994.
