The last monument to Britain's Subsea Cables Industry
by Allan Green
Because of its listed status, Enderby House must be maintained within conservation guidelines, but Barratt has not yet defined its future use. That is why interested individuals, including some from the submarine cable industry, have set up the Enderby Group, to find a secure, relevant and long-term use for the property that recognises and honours its role in the telecommunications revolution which started at this location over 150 years ago. In the past few years the building has been vandalised but is currently being conserved and protected by Barratt. Their architect's site model shows a pristine and extended Enderby House alongside the proposed Greenwich Cruise Liner Terminal and jetty. To the rear and overshadowing all are the proposed multi-storey apartment blocks which are already being marketed.
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| Enderby House before it was vandalised |
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| Enderby House in 2014 - the only building on the riverfront that has survived redevelopment |
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| The factory continued to make subsea telecoms cable, which were loaded onto cable ships via cable handling gear |
The Alcatel-Lucent site behind the new development remains the oldest subsea telecommunications manufacturing site in the world and the last in the UK. This industry has been British dominated for over 130 years. Today, the economies of many countries around the world quite literally depend upon access to the internet and its highways of fibre optic subsea cable.
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| The Barratt architect's site model shows a pristine and extended Endery House alongside the proposed Greenwich Cruise Liner terminal and jetty |
Porthcurno Telegraph Museum: www.porthcurno.org.uk
The Enderby Group: www.enderby.org.uk
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