This was the scene on October 5, 1911, when a devastating fire tore through the R Rowley and Co knitwear factory on Leicester’s Queen Street. A neighbouring timber yard and St George’s Church were also caught up in the inferno. The factory belonged to Robert Rowley, who had started out in business as a home frame-knitter producing garments in Wigston Street, Leicester, in the early 1860s.
He was 21 when he established R Rowley and Co in Queen Street in 1867, in a small building on the site of a wood yard where his father worked when he first came to Leicester from Wisbech. By 1881, Rowley’s was using the latest machinery and the factory, being close to densely populated areas of central Leicester, attracted an ever-expanding workforce.
Although the 1911 fire proved a major setback to the firm, remarkably, the factory was rebuilt and up and running again in just two years. The company’s recovery continued apace and its impressive new factory was extended to St George Street in 1915. During the First World War, the firm had full order books and was kept busy with military contracts.
During the Second World War, Rowley’s again concentrated on military contracts and part of the factory was turned over to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. At one time, Rowley’s was the third largest employer in hosiery and knitwear in the area – only exceeded by Corah’s and Wolsey.
Rowley’s suffered several setbacks in the 1950s. The fully fashioned stockings and knitwear departments went into decline and many workers left the industry. The family connection was severed in 1962 with the retirement of the chairman Leslie C Robertson, a grandson of the founder. The company was later sold to Courtaulds. The building has since been made into apartments.