From diaphragm leather to a prince's herd

摘要

The leather industry in the United Kingdom has largely disappeared over the past twenty years. A handful of major operators such as Scottish Leather Group and Pittards remain, but little else. There are, of course, smaller operations supplying niche markets with a specialised product. One of the smallest, however, is rather different and has survived by specialising in a wide range of products for an even wider range of customers. Its history goes back a long way. The Metropolitan Leather Company was founded in Bermondsey in east London in 1919 to manufacture diaphragm leather for gas meters from African goatskin. Gas, a by-product of coal, was still widely used at this time both industrially and in the home for heat and light. The gas meter measured the amount of gas the customer used over a period of time so that they could be billed and the diaphragm was one of its essential components. The company therefore started life as something of a specialist.