Electricity Works
Electricity Works
Liverpool Electric Cable Company (LEC) and Mersey Cable Works Ltd were next door to each other on Lincare Lane. Mersey Cables was next to the old Coronation pub. The LEC was opened in 1901, opposite the old Vernon Pools betting house.
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The LEC started out making wire rope before converting to electric cables. Both companies produced wire in lots of different sizes and for various purposes – like cables for transcontinental telephone lines (running under the ocean). The cable would be wrapped up into giant ‘drums’ before being transported to the docks on ‘Pickford’ trailers.
Liverpool Electric Cables Advert
Did you know?
The factories also made cable for use during World War Two. ‘Indicator cables’ were designed to detect enemy submarines (such as German U-boats) which could torpedo British ships.
Liverpool Electric Cables Advert
The LEC was taken over in 1958 (later renamed ‘Vactite’). The Mersey Cable Works became ‘Enfield Standard Power Cables’ in 1961.
Vactite finally closed in 2002 and has since been demolished. ‘Enfield Cables’ is now a car dealership.
Did you know?
At Enfield, workers had to test the wire for leaks by submerging it in water – but this gave people electric shocks!
Did you know?
The factories also made cable for use during World War Two. ‘Indicator cables’ were designed to detect enemy submarines (such as German U-boats) which could torpedo British ships.
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