New Mendip Engineering Atworth - Synopsis
New Mendip Engineering
The New Mendip Motor & Engineering Company began life at Chewton Mendip, Somerset, under the name, the Mendip Motor and Engineering Works before the First World War.
The foreman was George Thatcher, who was later joined by his brother, Arthur, and together they planned and designed the Mendip light Car.
After the war they joined by their father and assembled 500 of the cars, which sold for £355 each.
They moved to larger premises at Southmead, Bristol, but on the death of the owner of the company the brothers came to Atworth in the early 1920s.
Here they bought a house and two tin sheds and set about reviving the firm they had worked for.
They discontinued production of the Mendip car and achieved distinction as producers of high class engineering materials.
They expanded rapidly and produced important components for the aircraft industry. The company built new workshops and in the 1940s the total workforce peaked at 600 – 200 men and 400 women.
In 1948 the business was sold to the Dowty Group, later Dowty Fuel Systems Limited.
Photo 1, 2 & 3 (circa 1948 still with camouflaged roofs from WW2)
Photo 4 This view, from 1981 and a bit further down the village, shows the Dowty engineering works.
Dowty bought the firm in 1951 and changed the name to Dowty Fuel Systems Ltd. however, it was always referred to as “New Mendip” by those who worked there!
In 1969 New Mendip had 500 employees
The factory was eventually demolished to make way for a housing development.
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