This large purpose-built factory was commissioned by Simeon Simpson – one of the largest manufacturers of top quality men's clothing in Britain during the interwar years. Established in 1894 as a bespoke tailoring business Simpson moved from a small factory in Middlesex Street, E1, to Stoke Newington Road in N16. The building is in a stripped Classical style with Art Deco details. This symmetrical building was designed by Hobden and Porri in 1929. They designed a number of buildings in Stoke Newington, including Clissold Road Swimming Baths (demolished 1997). The building is three-storeys and has a steel frame and reinforced concrete floor. It is clad in artificial Portland stone. The façade has grand, double-height metal windows extending from the ground floor to the first floor. Between the windows are artificial stone columns topped with simple pyramidal motifs. Along the top of the building there is a ribbed frieze. An additional rendered floor has been added when the building was converted to flats. The majority of windows in this section (Nos. 2-4 Somerford Grove) have been replaced in grey aluminium, which whilst replicating the originals in terms of sub-divisions, are wider in section, creating a much heavier effect. The factory was where DAKS trousers were manufactured. They were trousers with a patented self-supporting waistband that no longer required braces to hold them up. The success of this product enabled Simpson's to finance the building of its flagship store on Piccadilly, which opened in 1936. The extended factory covered almost 200,000 square feet and, reputedly, up to 3,000 people were employed there.
Simpson House together with its extension and Olympic House, on Somerford Grove, is an imposing and impressive factory building that gives Stoke Newington Road a distinct feel. It was Simpson’s main manufacturing facility from 1929 to 1948. The building also holds much historical value as it was the place where the famous DAKS brand was developed and first produced in 1935. The success of this this product enabled Simpson's to finance the building of its flagship store on Piccadilly, which opened in 1936. This factory building marks the transition of East London’s ready-to-wear clothing industry from small-scale manufacturing in the backs of houses to modern large-scale production in purpose-built factories.
Ad hoc additions - Buildings added after the bulk adoption resulting from the Love Local Landmarks project in 2012
These buildings were identified by the Love Local Landmarks surveyors, and added to Hackney's Local List in 2012.
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