The history of Cresta Silks: Follow the silk walk around Welwyn Garden City

Photograph of the interior of Cresta Silks factory in Broadwater Road, taken from the 'Industry At Welwyn' brochure produced by the Welwyn Garden City Company Ltd c1939 to encourage manufacturers to locate to WGC. (Image: Image from the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive.)

An interesting way to spend half an hour in Welwyn Garden is to take the Cresta Walk.

Start at one of the Sectional buildings on Broadwater Road, such as occupied currently by Topps Tiles.

These flexible units were built by the Welwyn Garden City Company in the 1920s to attract start-up companies.

Cresta Silks scarf produced for Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee from a design by Oliver Messel. Messel's original design was created for the Queen's Coronation in 1953 and incorporated gold leaf. This Silver Jubilee version has silver coloured highlights and was given as a gift by Cresta to 'special customers'. Donated to the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive by Jeanette whose father was employed by Tom Heron as an accountant having not long arrived in the UK as a refugee as a result of World War Two. (Image: Image from the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive.)

One was taken in 1929 by Tom Heron, who wanted to create a business producing and marketing block printed silk garments for discerning women.

He had started making blouses when only 21 in Leeds, then moved to Cornwall to work for Cryséde, a leading designer of silks. He was successful there but felt he could do more.

Choosing Welwyn Garden because of its forward looking image – and because the Company provided essential funding – he set up Cresta Silks.

Cresta advertisement published in the 15th annual Welwyn Drama Festival programme of 1948. (Image: Image from the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive.)

Heron employed modern artists to design his products, including his young son Patrick, who went on to be an outstanding figure in British art.

He chose modernist Wells Coates to design his retail shops, in London, Bournemouth and Brighton, which broke new ground. They attracted go-ahead women who wanted reasonably priced but stylish and well made clothes.

Cresta Silks Ltd invoice dated 20th September 1940 for Audrey Owen's wedding outfit - a coat and dress which came to a total of £12. The company’s stationery was designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer who later became famous for his London Transport posters. (Image: Image from the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive.)

Cresta flourished. They moved in 1938 to a new building, our second stop, beside the railway station in the town centre, with a shop and factory behind.

Heron had to conform to neo-Georgian styling because of planning restraints. It stood in splendid isolation on the corner of Howardsgate/Stonehills.

Now it is McDonald's. Stonehills has been narrowed and a matching building has been infilled.

Howardsgate's Woolworths store in what used to be the Cresta Silks factory and showrooms. McDonald's and the Woolwich Building Society occupied it later. Photographed in February 1975 by Ken Wright. (Image: Image from the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive. Copyright Ken Wright.)

Silk was hard to come by during the war so Cresta turned to wool.

Heron helped his country by joining the Board of Trade to set up the Utility Clothing Scheme, which provided well-designed clothes at minimum cost.

In 1951, with Heron looking to retire, the business was taken over by the Howardsgate Trust, which had been set up to facilitate disposal of the assets of the Welwyn Garden City Company when it had been wound up.

In 1954 Cresta moved to Welwyn Stores, also owned by Howardsgate.

Photograph of Cresta employee Joan on her wedding day wearing a dress made by Cresta Silks. Joan joined the company when she left school at 14 in 1935 and was still working at Cresta as a designer in 1975, when a local paper carried an article celebrating her 40 years service. (Image: Image from Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust archive.)

Our walk concludes in the toy department of John Lewis. Imagine it full of machinists, working behind windows which were blacked out (and still are) because residents objected to seeing a factory on Parkway.

Cresta continued successfully for some time but moved away from block printing.

Debenhams bought it in 1957, moved it out of Welwyn Garden, then closed it in 1980.

Tom Heron was a remarkable man and an important citizen of Welwyn Garden. We will write more about him in our next article.