Berkshire Hosiery, locally known as 'The Nylon' was the industrial showpiece of Ards. No local firm could begrudge the title to the palatial buildings which stood on Ballyharry Hill overlooking Newtownards and commanding a breath-taking view of Scrabo Hill and Strangford Lough

Aerial view of the Berkshire factory
in Newtownards after 1957

It was was a happy day for the Ards when Berkshire Knitting (Ulster) Ltd., established themselves here nearly sixty years ago. The firm brought with them a glimpse of the industrial New World in which the workers of the Ards could revel. Berkshire introduced "a new look" to our already healthy industrial scene. They added a touch of glamour to Newtownards and provided us with a pleasant contrast to the old-establiblised concerns in the area.

In 1948 the American hosiery company, then named Berkshire Knitting Mills, opened its first plant outside the United States. The site chosen was nearNewtownards, a thriving market town 10 miles from Belfast, in Northern Ireland.

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