Calvin Woodings
discovered the foundation stone from the original Courtaulds
Research Operation building, where the first ever man-made
fabric was produced, lying forgotten at the company's old
building in Lockhurst Lane.
Confederated Builders -
a consortium of Deeley Properties and Cromwell Developments,
part of the Benfield Group - have now placed the stone in the
reception area of Tower Court - the new name for the refurbished
Courtauld's headquarters
Mr Woodings, who worked
for Courtaulds up until 1998, revealed that the historic find
was part of an interesting coincidence.
He said:
"It's great that
the foundation stone will be returned to its original home on
the Foleshill Road - it marks an important era in Coventry's
history.
"Finding the
stone came about purely through a conversation over the garden
fence with Peter Deeley who, by chance, mentioned that they
were looking for something to commemorate the history of what
is now Tower Court.
"By coincidence I
had been an employee at Courtaulds for over 35 years and knew
there was a foundation stone which had been moved from the
site. I had a feeling
it would have been taken to the Lockhurst Lane site, and
fortunately I was right.
Mr Woodings and Martin
Curtin of Deeleys donned hard hats to search for the stone and
found it in the Lockhurst Lane basement as expected.
Deeley Properties'
chairman Peter Deeley hopes the foundation stone will remind
people of the significance of the site.
He said:
"It was purely by
chance that we actually came across the original stone but we
are very pleased that we did.
"It serves as a
reminder of what Coventry has done in the realms of
manufacturing and science and nothing could be more fitting
than putting it back where it came from."
Confederated Builders is
behind the £6 million transformation of Tower Court from a
derelict industrial building and now Mr Deeley believes it has a
stirring monument.
The building, including
the famous clock tower, has undergone a £6 million
refurbishment by Confederated Builders which has transformed it
into a state-of-the-art business complex which will create
around 300 jobs.
Business services group
Capita has two floors while a separately managed business centre
with 20 serviced office suites for new and growing companies has
proved highly successful.
The focal point of the
building is an impressive glass frontage while the famous
Courtaulds' clock has been made to chime again.
Simon Brearley, who
started work at the Foleshill Road site and is now Operations
Director for Acordis Cellulosic Fibres, performed the official
ceremony.
