J. Lyons and Co., Greenford

J. Lyons and Co., Greenford was a major food production factory located in Greenford, west London. Developed post World War I by J. Lyons and Co., covering 63 acres (25 ha) at its height, it produced tea, coffee, grocery products and Lyons Maid ice ceam. It was also where Ready Brek instant porridge breakfast cereal was developed. After the merger of Lyons with Allied Bakeries in the 1980s, and the focus of the new Allied Domecq business to focus on spirits, with the sell off of the businesses associated with the factory, the need for the facility dwindled. Redeveloped from 1998, today it is known as Lyon Way Industrial Estate.

In 1899, the fledgling J. Lyons company had purchased property near Cadby Hall at No. 62 Hammersmith Road. They subsequently bought Cadby Hall complex itself and retained the name, although the official address of the Cadby Hall complex became 66 Hammersmith Road. In time it became one of the largest food factories in the United Kingdom, growing to cover an area of more than 13 acres (53,000 m²).

However, developing a site in a fast expanding inner city meant compromise, together with large amounts of food-related diversification, resulted in stunted growth for the company in its fast growing cakes business due to the space limitations at Cadby Hall. Post World War I, the company wished to expand its cakes business on site, but concluded that to do so it needed to find a secondary site close by that would allow sufficient capacity to both house the tea and coffee business, as well as allow for potential expansion of cake production.

Transport was essential for a now international foods business, both for shipping goods in and distributing product outwards. Post the war, industry had been developing along the Grand Union Canal, north-westward from Brentford Dock to the then village of Greenford Green in Middlesex. The authorities had noticed this development, and had chosen to start development of the Western Avenue and the A4 Great West Road, both of which improved communications of the village to Central London.

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