industrial
12 Ossory Road, London, UK, SE1 5AN
Join The Bottle Factory and Kaymet for a tour bringing urban industry on Old Kent Road to life. Meet the creative community of makers based at The Bottle Factory – a lovingly-restored Victorian warehouse quarter – including London’s oldest gin-distilling family. And visit the Kaymet factory, proud makers of hand-made anodised aluminium design classics since 1947, just a few doors down.
Elephant & Castle
Elephant & Castle
172, 453, 63
The end point of the tour will be Kaymet which is: Kaymet Works, 52 Ossory Rd, London SE1 5AN
The tour will include a visit to the first floor of The Bottle Factory which does not have lift access and is only accessible by stairs
Visitors should be aware that there may be strong smells of roasting coffee and gin botanicals during the tour
Guided tour
11:00–12:30
A free walking tour of the history, makers and creatives of the Bottle Factory and local makers in and around the Old Kent Road.
How to book
Please create a free visitor account to book your festival tickets.
Guided tour
13:00–14:30
A free walking tour of the history, makers and creatives of the Bottle Factory and local makers in and around the Old Kent Road.
How to book
Please create a free visitor account to book your festival tickets.
The Bottle Factory, located just off Old Kent Road, is a restored Victorian warehouse complex with a rich history as a bottling factory. Originally built in 1895, it was home to J. Mills & Sons, a well-known London bottling company specializing in mineral water, lemonade, and ginger beer. The factory operated for nearly a century before being repurposed by London-based developer Fabrix. Today, it serves as a vibrant hub for creatives, makers, and urban industry businesses, while retaining its industrial heritage.
Kaymet are producers of aluminium trays, trolleys and electric table hotplates - classic designs that have evolved over the years, and feel fresher today than ever.
The company has been proudly hand-making anodised aluminium ware in London since 1947 and was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen in 2018.
The items, still hand-made in the factory today, sell in a collection of wonderful shops around the world, including London's finest department store.
The tour will bring the history of manufacture and design on Old Kent Road to life, though the lens of the growing number of present-day makers based on Ossory Road, just south of Burgess Park.
We'll hear from London-based developer Fabrix about the history of The Bottle Factory as a Victorian lemonade factory, as well as their approach to its sensitive restoration as home to a new community of makers, creatives and urban industry stalwarts.
You'll have the chance to visit the rich mix of makers now based on site, from London's oldest gin-distilling family Thames Distillers to the capital's most sustainable, all-electric coffee roastery The London Coffee Company, and design-led bio-based paint manufacturer Atelier Ellis, as well as a host of other creatives.
After The Bottle Factory, we'll wander further down Ossory Road to tour the Kaymet Factory - makers of anodised aluminium design classics - and the London Stone Company.
