Industrial History Online
Ovaltine factory
Key Words :- factory
Viewing the Site :- External can be viewed from the public highway and the train.
Address :- Ovatine Drive, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, WD4 8GZ
Grid Ref :- TL 0776 0260
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.711793 , Long -0.441709
Local Authority :- Dacorum Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Hertfordshire
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Site Dates :- 1913 - 2002
Description and History of Site:-
The main art deco factory site is now converted to housing. The later ancillary extensions have been removed and replaced with housing.
The factory was built by A Wander Ltd, the UK division of the Swiss company manufacturing Ovaltine.
Coal was brought from the Midlands by canal via the wharf to satisfy the requirement for copious steam. Deliveries of raw materials and finished product was always by road, though tin plate was delivered from Wales by train. A separate can manufacturing line made the company self-sufficient in packaging. In all, 6 artesian wells were sunk, for process water and cooling.
The company was established as a socially responsible employer, being both worker-friendly and environmentally conscious. Staff were provided with a large dining room, a lounge, a ‘well-sprung’ ballroom, bowling, tennis and croquet courts, social clubs and even an on-site doctor, dentist and sunray room! The grounds were laid out with gardens that extended across the railway line to the egg and dairy farms – all in promotion of the healthy image of the product. It was advertised as “The Ovaltine Factory in a country garden”.
1909 A. Wander Ltd was set up in Britain. All product was imported until the Kings Langle factory was commissioned.
1911-13 The original factory was constructed, complete with chimney. It opened in 1913 with 13 employees
1924-29 Construction of the extant art deco factory by C. Miskin & Sons of St Albans.
1925 The tin shop was built to make tins on site. By this date there were eleven drying chambers and three packing lines in the main factory.
1960 A major upgrade of equipment, with the drying chambers replaced by 8 band dryers.
1967 A. Wander taken over by Sandoz; it merged with Ciba Geigy in 1996 to form Novartis
2002 The factory closed
Further Reading and References:-
Spain, A+D. ‘A Taste of Ovaltine. The Official Story’, Battleford Books, 2002
Smith, Tim and Carr, Bob. 'A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Hertfordshire and the Lea Valley'. Association for Industrial Archaeology, 2004
Howes, Hugh. 'The Industrial Heritage of the Chilterns'. Chiltern Society, 2025
https://www.kingslangley.org.uk/ovaltine.html
https://trmt.org.uk/local-history/our-businesses/ovaltine
https://threeriversmuseumtrustblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/the-ovaltine-factory-kings-langley/
Help us improve this entry
Grid Ref :- TL 0776 0260
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.711793 , Long -0.441709
Local Authority :- Dacorum Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Hertfordshire
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Site Dates :- 1913 - 2002
The main art deco factory site is now converted to housing. The later ancillary extensions have been removed and replaced with housing.
The factory was built by A Wander Ltd, the UK division of the Swiss company manufacturing Ovaltine.
Coal was brought from the Midlands by canal via the wharf to satisfy the requirement for copious steam. Deliveries of raw materials and finished product was always by road, though tin plate was delivered from Wales by train. A separate can manufacturing line made the company self-sufficient in packaging. In all, 6 artesian wells were sunk, for process water and cooling.
The company was established as a socially responsible employer, being both worker-friendly and environmentally conscious. Staff were provided with a large dining room, a lounge, a ‘well-sprung’ ballroom, bowling, tennis and croquet courts, social clubs and even an on-site doctor, dentist and sunray room! The grounds were laid out with gardens that extended across the railway line to the egg and dairy farms – all in promotion of the healthy image of the product. It was advertised as “The Ovaltine Factory in a country garden”.
1909 A. Wander Ltd was set up in Britain. All product was imported until the Kings Langle factory was commissioned.
1911-13 The original factory was constructed, complete with chimney. It opened in 1913 with 13 employees
1924-29 Construction of the extant art deco factory by C. Miskin & Sons of St Albans.
1925 The tin shop was built to make tins on site. By this date there were eleven drying chambers and three packing lines in the main factory.
1960 A major upgrade of equipment, with the drying chambers replaced by 8 band dryers.
1967 A. Wander taken over by Sandoz; it merged with Ciba Geigy in 1996 to form Novartis
2002 The factory closed
Spain, A+D. ‘A Taste of Ovaltine. The Official Story’, Battleford Books, 2002
Smith, Tim and Carr, Bob. 'A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Hertfordshire and the Lea Valley'. Association for Industrial Archaeology, 2004
Howes, Hugh. 'The Industrial Heritage of the Chilterns'. Chiltern Society, 2025
https://www.kingslangley.org.uk/ovaltine.html
https://trmt.org.uk/local-history/our-businesses/ovaltine
https://threeriversmuseumtrustblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/the-ovaltine-factory-kings-langley/
The compilers welcome corrections or additional information on all sites.
Any information provided will be verified before appearing on the web site.
Email comments
Contributor :- Robert Mason - 30 September 2023
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Robert Mason
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Robert Mason