RISING FROM THE ASHES

A serious fire at Jaguar’s Browns Lane factory could have easily spelled the end for Britain’s famous car manufacturer but, as archive footage shows, it would take more than a blaze to put Sir William Lyons out of business

On the evening of Tuesday 12 February 1957, at around 5:45pm, after most of the workforce had left the premises, a major fire broke out in a small section towards the north end of the factory. An area of 400 square feet (37 sq/m) was destroyed and some 156,000 square feet (14493 sq/m) was badly damaged. Considering that the factory was 400ft (122m) wide in five spans of 80ft (24m), with a 30ft (9m) flat-roofed annex on each side, the damage was major. Most of the roof lining was burnt away and the protective metal covering of the steel sheets was either melted or burnt off.