G Yorke & Sons Broom Works, England

G Yorke & Sons Broom Street Works was a factory located in Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands of England. The factory produced brooms which were renowned for their quality and durability. The factory closed down in 1980, and stood derelict for over four decades. Inside there are many rusty machines, set against a beautiful backdrop of natural decay and peeling paint. I photographed this small but fascinating location several times in 2022 and 2021. Sadly it was demolished sometime in 2022.

G Yorke & Sons Broom Street Works, Hanley

George Yorke formed G Yorke & Sons in Stoke-on-Trent, England in 1888. The company started out producing draught excluders and rapidly rose to become one of the main manufacturers of this product in the UK. Over the twentieth century, the firm expanded, and by the 1950s, it was one of the world’s leading makers of draught excluders.

G Yorke & Sons also made a large range of brooms at their facility on the ironically named Broom Street in Hanley. The brooms produced here were well-known for their durability and excellent workmanship. The portfolio of brooms was quite diverse, covering a wide range of bristled products. As well as traditional hand brooms, they also made push brooms and carpet brooms. The brooms were fashioned from a range of materials including traditional straw and wood, as well as more modern plastic and nylon construction. G Yorke & Sons brooms were sold to a range of clients, including retail stores, hardware stores, and online retailers.

Unfortunately, the firms fortunes began to change in the 1970s. Without doubt an important factor was cheaper imports from other countries began to flood the market. As a result the Broom Street Works facility was closed in 1980 when operations became uneconomic. The closure of the Broom Street Works facility was a huge setback for the firm, which never recovered and went bankrupt in 1983. Following this the assets of the firm were sold, the staff were laid off. The closed factory left to decay for over 40 years, with many of the old machines remaining inside.

Ultimately the Broom Street Works plant was finally dismantled in 2022, and with it another piece of Staffordshire history is lost to the bulldozers.