In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi, the "father of radio" opened the World's first radio factory in Hall Street, with about 50 workers. In 1920 the factory was also the home of the first official sound (radio) broadcasts (radio people could listen to from a long way) in the United Kingdom. In 1922 the world's first "regular" radio broadcasts started at the Marconi Research Centre at Writtle near Chelmsford.