Opened by Sylvia Pankhurst as an answer to the dozens of tiny failing workshops where women were paid a pittance. Toys were no longer being imported from Germany, so the factory employed 59 women to fill the gap. Originally they produced wooden toys and then dolls, followed by stuffed cats, dogs and bears. Sylvia took a taxi full of her wares to Selfridges new store in Oxford Street and cajoled Gordon Selfridge himself to become a stockist.
Roman Road has some interesting photos of this factory and confirms that the plaque's "babies nursery" was a creche where the women could leave their babies while they worked.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
