The Tin-Roofed Homes of Hart Road: A Story of Post-War Recycling
Discover the fascinating story behind Stan Wiggins' innovative recycling of factory buildings on Hart Road, Thundersley. From humble beginnings to becoming a local powerhouse whose legacy lives on today.
DID YOU KNOW? Some of the first homes built along Hart Road in Thundersley had a rather unusual beginning.
After the First World War, local builder Stan Wiggins bought Kiln Farm Cottages and around 12 acres of land between Common Lane and Hart Road. Then he had a rather ingenious idea.
Stan bought surplus wooden factory buildings from Pitsea and brought them to Thundersley, where they were re-erected and converted into homes along Hart Road, complete with distinctive tin roofs.
It proved to be a successful venture, and the money helped Stan expand his building business. By the end of 1921, he had also built a terrace of 12 houses in Common Lane.
From these fairly humble beginnings grew C. S. Wiggins & Sons, a firm that would go on to build homes, shops and estates across Thundersley. Quite a legacy from some unwanted wooden factory buildings and a clever bit of recycling!
