Before Eastman Village was filled with new flats, parked cars and estate agent signs, it was home to something very different: the iconic Kodak factory. For 125 years, it dominated the Wealdstone skyline (and job market), with its tall chimney puffing away while thousands of local residents helped produce the film, paper and photographic goods that captured memories around the world.
The story starts in the late 1800s when George Eastman, founder of Kodak, decided to expand beyond the United States. In 1891, he opened Kodak’s first manufacturing plant outside of America – right here in Harrow. Back then, Wealdstone was a quiet patch of farmland, but that didn’t last long.
The factory began with photo developing and printing, but it didn’t stop there. By the early 1900s, Kodak Harrow was making its own photographic paper and roll film. Jobs followed, and so did people – by 1911, the local population had jumped from around 2,500 to nearly 12,000. Many of the new workers were women, making Kodak one of the first big employers in the area to offer women a foot in the industrial door.
By the 1920s and 30s, Kodak Harrow was not just a factory – it was a mini town. In 1927, they opened their own Kodak Museum on site (a kind of Instagram for camera nerds, before Instagram was a thing). Two years later, a research lab followed, putting Harrow on the map for photographic innovation.
Kodak also looked after its staff. There was a sports ground, social clubs, and Kodak F.C., the company’s football team. If you worked there, chances are you also played tennis, joined a club, or knew someone who did.
During World War II, the factory supported the war effort with materials for military photography. In a heartwarming move, Kodak even helped 156 employees’ children escape the Blitz by sending them to stay with families in the US. They were affectionately called the “Kodakids” – probably the only kids in Harrow with American pen pals and a taste for peanut butter before it was trendy.
The post-war years were Kodak’s heyday. By the 1950s, the factory had expanded across 55 acres and employed over 6,000 people. It was one of the biggest employers in the borough, and quite possibly the reason half of Wealdstone’s sandwich shops stayed open.
Kodak Harrow was a major player globally too, producing colour photographic paper and shipping it across Europe. That big chimney you can still see today? It was part of the power station keeping the place running – and served as a very handy landmark for giving directions.
Things started to change in the 1980s and 90s. With digital photography on the rise and film sales dropping, Kodak began scaling back. The Kodak Museum shut its doors in 1985, and bits of the factory were slowly sold off.
By 2005, film production had ended in the UK, and Harrow’s role was reduced to making photographic paper. The workforce shrank, and the factory – once bustling with thousands – began to feel the squeeze of the digital age. In 2012, Kodak’s parent company filed for bankruptcy protection, and although a new firm, Kodak Alaris, took over, the writing was on the (darkroom) wall.
In 2016, Kodak Alaris announced the Harrow site would close. Only around 250 staff remained, many of whom had spent their whole careers there. By December, the machines were switched off for good, bringing 125 years of local history to a close.
But that wasn’t the end of the story…
The huge site was snapped up by developers, and today, it’s known as Eastman Village – a nod to Kodak’s founder. The transformation has brought hundreds of new homes, shops and plans for community facilities. It’s modern, sleek, and a far cry from the industrial site it once was.
That said, not everything old has been knocked down. The factory’s 213-foot chimney still stands tall – now restored and serving as part of a new energy centre. It’s one of the few reminders of the past in a place that’s otherwise full of marketing hoardings and fresh paint.
Kodak wasn’t just a workplace – it was part of the fabric of Harrow life. Almost everyone in the borough knew someone who worked there. It helped shape the area’s growth, provided skilled jobs, and gave people a sense of community.
Even now, museums hold Kodak artefacts, and locals still share stories and photos from their time “at Kodaks”. For many, the phrase “Kodak moment” brings back more than just memories – it recalls a time when Harrow was home to one of the most important photographic sites in the world.
And while Eastman Village looks to the future – with a new Morrisons supermarket coming soon, that tall chimney ensures Harrow’s industrial past hasn’t been entirely forgotten.
Seamus Donaghy is a freelance writer with a strong interest in Harrow’s local history. Originally from Sligo in the Republic of Ireland, Seamus moved to Harrow with his family when he was seven years old and grew up in Wealdstone. He has lived in the borough for more than 30 years and writes about the people, places and stories that have shaped Harrow over the years.
