Factory tourism in inter-war Britain: the spectacular construction of social-democratic mass production

In the 1920s and 1930s, British mass-manufacturers opened their factories to hundreds of thousands of ordinary consumers. As the market for branded household commodities became increasingly competitive, visitors were offered a day out of mechanical wonderment and informative entertainment in hopeful exchange for loyalty at the grocers. Such tours were also a significant riposte to the radical consumerist movement and popular discomfort at the rise of monopoly combines. Organized factory tours worked hard to present capitalist mass production as a form of social-democratic progress, positioning mass production and mass consumption as the twin engines of a more equitable, abundant, and democratic society. This essay provides the first systematic critical engagement with inter-war mass factory tourism and explores four of the most popular destinations: Lever Brothers at Port Sunlight; Cadbury at Bournville; Rowntree at York; and Fry at Somerdale. It unpicks the contradictions within the attempt to turn monotonous factory work into a source of spectacular pleasure and examines the common techniques used to construct hegemonic visitor experiences.