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Ideals of Industry

Everything about the making of a Burton suit in 1950 is astounding: from the factory, reminiscent of the film Brazil, to the archaic machinery and the dexterity of the workers.

Promotional 1950 45 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Yorkshire Film Archive

Overview

This film presents a complete behind-the-scenes look at the wondrous Burton Suit Factory in Leeds at a time when it was the largest multiple tailor in the world. On the massive factory floors rows of men work at benches cutting cloth with remarkable ease and scores of women sew with great precision and speed as the suits travel around on wonderful conveyer belts. They listen to music while they work, before running to be the first of the 6,000 employees to the giant canteen.

Montague Burton was just an 18 year old Jewish refugee from Russia in 1903 when he borrowed Ј100 from a relative to start his business. Like a number of Quaker fellow industrialists he pioneered a welfare system for his workers, as seen here. By the time of this film his factory on Hudson Road, with some 10,000 workers (90% women), was the biggest employer in Leeds and the biggest clothing factory in the world, and with the biggest works canteen. His suits become a synonym for quality, even the Burton fleet of vans was smart. Burtons made a number of promotional films, and there is a wonderful Candid Camera film of the brilliant Jonathan Routh trying to persuade a customer in a Burton shop to buy an oversized suit.