At the Guinness brewery established at Park Royal in West London in the mid-1930s, workers enjoyed a well-paid job for life, one where they could enjoy free meals in silver-service canteens and restaurants. During their breaks, they could explore acres of parkland planted with hundreds of trees and thousands of shrubs. After work, they could play over thirty sports or join one of the theater groups or dozens of other clubs. On retirement, they received a company pension from a scheme to which they had never contributed a penny. They worked in buildings designed by an internationally renowned architect whose task was to create a building that would last “a century or two.” Voices of Guinness tells the story of the brewery from its planning to its 2005 closure, showing how the history of one plant reveals a much wider picture of changing attitudes to work and organizations in contemporary society. Voices of Guinness draws on extensive oral history interviews with staff and management as well as archive and photographic sources to explore the experience and meaning of work, the ultimate loss of employment, and deindustrialization for Guinness workers. It will be crucial reading for anyone interested in work history, contemporary organizations, and industrial loss.
