EKCO Tour - Southend Museums Collections Centre

A curator led tour of the world's largest EKCO collection, at 'Southend Museums Collections Centre' at Beecroft Art Gallery.

Join our senior curator in July for a specialist guided stores tour of our extensive EKCO collections, the largest in the world. EKCO is the commonly used abbreviation for Eric Kirkham Cole Limited, founded in Southend on Sea in 1924, the company went on to become one of the biggest and best known radio manufacturers in Europe. Having started with radio sets, EKCO also produced televisions, lighting, plastics, various domestic goods and aided the war effort with radar systems during WWII. In the mid 20th century, EKCO was a household name, and particularly significant for Southend, employing hundreds at the main factory in Prittlewell. While the EKCO Social and Sports Club still remains, the factory site closed in the 1970s and is now a housing development bearing the EKCO name, with a statue of Eric Cole in situ commissioned for its opening in 2020.

The tour will cover our large collection of EKCO radios, televisions and domestic goods, showcasing how the brand and technology developed across the decades and highlighting the company's place in local and global social history.

The tour will last for approximately 1 hour total, and will commence from the new SMCC reception area on the 2nd floor of the Beecroft Art Gallery.

Southend Museums Collections Centre (SMCC) officially opened on March 7th 2026. Located on the 2nd floor of the Beecroft Art Gallery building, SMCC offers the community special, previously impossible access to the entire archaeology and social history collections, and a behind-the-scenes look into museum curation, conservation and research work. For researcher access, enquiries and private bookings please contact us at [email protected].

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