Hornflowa

Hornflowa, the old button factory on the Glasson Industrial Estate, Maryport, was the second largest button factory in the UK and employed up to 400. Set up by a Mr Krauss, it was said to have the best working conditions of any factory in the area. Dr F M Herzberg was managing director from 1943 to 1958. He came to this country in 1939. As the name suggests, the buttons were originally made from animal horn or hoof and later of compression moulded plastic (urea formaldehyde) which was tumble polished to give a glossy appearance. Locals and workers were apparently very happy when the smell associated with the production of horn buttons disappeared. Hornflowa was celebrated in a series of postcards by Lawson Wood, a British Painter. The factory continued under Czech ownership to 1955 when it was sold to British Industrial Plastics (BIP) and then to Turner and Newell who closed the Maryport factory in 1958.