EDWIN ROGERS
1834 – 1890
Founder of the first steam laundry in Maidenhead.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Edwin Rogers, together with William Bulstrode, ran an iron foundry which stood at the bottom of Castle Hill. Edwin sold his share of the foundry to William and moved on to trade independently at Furze Platt.
Edwin built the town’s first steam laundry at Furze Platt in 1886, on a site which had previously been a poultry farm. A deep borehole was drilled to supply the laundry with the quantity of water needed, and deliveries were made by horse-drawn vans. The Maidenhead District Laundry became one of the biggest employers in the district, and Edwin had long-serving and loyal employees.
Edwin’s brother Edmund was an engineer and ran his business from premises behind the laundry. His wife Elizabeth ran an agency in Maidenhead High Street, finding places for young girls in domestic service.
Edwin died young, and his sons continued the business with Frederick Rogers as managing director for many years. It expanded in the 1920s and 1930s. It is still in family hands, operating in Furze Platt and across the country, as Clean Linen Services Ltd.
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