Built by Morris Cohen to produce veneer for the construction of Spitfire cockpits, as well as propellers and plywood for Mosquito aircraft. The plaque on the building says it existed from the 1930s, but Derelict London By Paul Talling dates it from 1943 and gives the name of the company as CHN Veneers. A Tower Hamlets planning document says "Chisenhale Road already had factories in the 1850s and is still dominated by the Chisenhale Works (now Chisenhale Gallery) established by Morris Cohen for the manufacture of veneers. It was rebuilt in 1942 to supply veneers for fighters and bombers." It was bought by the Borough of Tower Hamlets and leased to a group of artists who re-opened it as the Chisenhale Gallery.
'Veneer' often refers to a single thin layer of wood but in this context it means plywood, a few such layers glued together.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
