Wapping, the United Kingdom’s most iconic print site closed its doors in April 2008 with a final run of approximately 60,000 copies of The Sunday Times, ending a 22-year stint. All of the newspapers previously printed at Wapping moved to News International’s supersite in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, the biggest newspaper print plant on the planet. The Sun and The News of the World had already made the move earlier this year.

In the mid-1980s News International’s owner Rupert Murdoch decided to move the company and presses out of Fleet Street to Wapping. This move provoked 6,000 trade unionists to go on strike on January 24, 1986 in protest. News International countered by serving dismissal notices to everyone who took part and replaced them with non-printers – a controversial move as most of Fleet Street’s print sites could only employ union members. Several of the marches and protests turned violent with 393 police officers injured and 900 people convicted of offences associated with the protests. The strike finally ended in February 1987.

Murdoch decided in 2004 that a new, 660 million pound facility would be built in Broxbourne and unlike the previous move, there were no incidents. The final night in Wapping was an emotional one for many as it signaled the end of an era.

Tags: print site, united kingdom, wapping

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