*THREAD *
Long before Apple & Google, there were the Siemens brothers

Engineering geniuses from Berlin who, in 1863 moved to London & launched one of the most innovative factories in the world

A miniature Silicone Valley in Charlton

Changing the world

One invention at a time

In 1874 this factory produced thousands of miles of cable.

Using their own cable laying ship, the CS Faraday, they connected the world by laying transatlantic cables

On her maiden voyage, the CS Faraday braves storms and icebergs in order to connect Ireland with New Hampshire.

She went on to lay eight transatlantic cables which is more than any other ship before or since

Michael Faraday was a close friend of the brothers. He'd discovered the principles of electro magnetism in 1830, but it was the Siemens Brothers who allowed for electricity to become economically feasible

Made in Charlton, high voltage cables helped electricity spread like fire

In 1881 in Godalming, Surrey, the first electric street lighting was switched on.

The factory in Charlton manufactured the arc lamps that soon lit factories, public buildings, streets and city squares.

Factory workers produced half a million bulbs every single month