Carreras Cigarette Factory (Greater London House)
Two giant black cats guard the door: a London factory built like an Egyptian temple, in the year of Tutankhamun fever.
At a glance
The Carreras Cigarette Factory on Mornington Crescent, now offices called Greater London House, was built in 1926–1928 for the Carreras tobacco company. In the wake of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, the architects M. E. and O. H. Collins, with A. G. Porri, dressed it as an Egyptian temple, complete with two huge black cats at the entrance.
Key facts
- Location: Hampstead Road, Mornington Crescent, London
- Architects: M. E. and O. H. Collins, with A. G. Porri
- Built: 1926–1928
- Style: Egyptian Revival Art Deco
- Today: offices (Greater London House)
History
Carreras made the Black Cat brand of cigarettes, and when Egypt was the rage after 1922, the firm built a temple to tobacco. The long façade was painted in bright colours, with a solar disc and papyrus columns, and two giant black cats, sacred to the goddess Bastet, flanking the door.
Stripped of its Egyptian details in a 1960s conversion to offices, it was restored to its full theatrical glory in the 1990s, cats and all, one of the boldest Art Deco buildings in London.
What you see
The front runs long and low, a row of brightly coloured columns under a winged sun-disc, the whole borrowed from the temples of the Nile. Replicas of the two black cats sit guard at the entrance. It is industrial architecture turned into pure spectacle, a billboard for a brand made of stone.
Practical information
- Open: an office building; exterior viewable any time
- Cost: free to view from the street
- Best for: the Egyptian façade and the black cats
- Time needed: 15–20 minutes
Getting there
The building faces Mornington Crescent, directly above Mornington Crescent Underground station (Northern line), a short walk from Camden Town and Euston.
Nearby
- Camden Town — the market district to the north
- Euston station — a short walk south
Sources
- Wikipedia — Carreras Cigarette Factory
- Historic England — listed building / heritage record
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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