Foster Printing Presses, Goss Printing

A works which started as a foundary and became a printing press manufacturer has been in Greenbank Street for around 170 years (since 1835).

Joseph Clayton built the Soho Foundary to make steam boilers in 1835. In 1887 it was taken over by Joseph Foster and Sons a printing machine maker.

Joseph Foster, 1831 - 1913, set up in Avenham Street in 1860 and built the Web Printing Press as invented by Walter Bond a foreman at the Preston Guardian. The Times of London used the press which was called 'the Prestonian' (ref People of Old Preston, Keith Johnson).

In 1885 in the US Fred and Sam Goss set up their business and in 1935 Goss took over the Preston factory.

The factory had the reputation of having highly skilled workforce, as producing printing presses was precision work. However the workforce declined from about 1000 to 350 in 2006. Early in 2006 the closure of the factory was announced by Goss International.

As a personal recollection from my earlier days it was always regarded that the Goss skilled workers were high calibre similar to the toolmakers at BAC / British Aerospace.

The Discover Preston display at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery contains this model press.