Industry and Innovation

This investigation looks at the wealth of inventions that sprang from the Lea Valley and the growth of many major businesses in the region. Among the many colorful stories and characters are Charles Babbage, the Victorian "inventor of the computer," the electric light bulbs produced at the Ediswan factory, the world-famous Gestetner copying machines, and the opening of the first Thermos manufacturing facility that opened in Tottenham in 1908.