SPINNING A YARN

Spinning a yarn – by Newsmaker PR and Video Production Ltd. Pleased to see such extensive coverage of the return of former workers to Lingfield Point in Darlington which used to be home to the massive Patons and Baldwin knitting yarn factory.   It was built after The Second World War and, when production started in 1951, it was the biggest factory of its kind in the world.  Lingfield Point’s owner Marchday has created an exhibition celebrating Patons & Baldwin, its workforce and the impact it had on the town.  Marchday has also commissioned a video featuring some of the former workers and it was a pleasure to meet and interview some of them, including 86-year-old George Grindley who worked on the site for an incredible 44 years.  The Northern Echo has run a series of stories about Lingfield Point, Patons and Baldwin and the exhibition. Go to this link to see the memories of two sisters who were part of six members of the same family who all worked at the factory in the 1970s.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/11398996.Sisters_reunite_for_modern_take_on_historic_Paton_and_Baldwins_photograph/?ref=var_0

Patons and Baldwin was a major employer and many young women, especially, went to work there after leaving school.  The factory was not just a place to work.  There was a social club, sports teams, dances and concerts.