Linoleum Town

Ever wondered where Lino started out. It was first patented in 1858 by a man called Frederick Walton. It was so called from the Latin names for the components being coarse linen cloth(linum) covered with oxidised oil (oleum).
He bought a facory in my local town Staines and production boomed. Queen Victoria had Staines Linoleum installed in the Windsor royal stables, and in 1907 The White Star Line installed the product on all it's ships. The factory grew to more than 45 acres employing 3000 despite the fact that the patents had expired and others had cashed in, but Staines never lost it's lead.
Sadly after the centenary I'm the early 60's a demand for vinyl flooring started to hit the business and the company left the town for good in 1970.
Today the huge factory site has made way for a cinema, car parking and shops and the only reminder of the towns legacy is this statue in the highstreet.