A hidden model village

Broadheath Industrial Estate has the distinction of being the first industrial Park in the world, at its centre and the only complex left is the Linotype Works.

The Linotype and Machinery Company opened a factory in Broadheath in 1897. At the height of its success, the firm employed more than 10,000 people to make typesetting machines for the national newspaper industry.

Between 1897 and 1901 the Linotype Company built houses for its employees and provided football grounds, tennis courts, bowling greens, a cricket ground, a playground for children and allotments. The rents charged were only about half of the market rate. Estate roads, which are tree lined, were named after various directors of the company and each house has a garden to the front and rear.