NEWSLETTER 68 AUTUMN 2006 >

EDITORIAL

Welcome to another Newsletter and season of lectures. I hope you have had an enjoyable summer. I spent an interesting week in Jersey where there are still many remains of the World War II German Occupation including gun emplacements, watch towers and underground bunkers. There are also working granite quarries, a desalination plant, lighthouses and a thriving port at St Helier. There are no railways left in Jersey but the old St Helier to St Aubin railway which opened in 1870 is now an attractive footpath and cycle path. The line was extended to Corbiere in 1899 where there is a spectacular lighthouse, but closed in the early part of the 20th due to the rise of motor transport.

I have just returned from the annual AIA conference which this year was held in the Isle of Man and based in a comfortable hotel in Douglas instead of the usual student halls of residence. Although the hotel was comfortable, it didn’t cope very well with 120 people all turning up for breakfast at 8am! We saw a good range of IA including the famous Laxey Wheel and trips on the Manx Electric and Steam railways, not to mention the horse trams. I will produce a full report for the next Newsletter.

I am looking forward to our 2006/7 lectures. As you will see from the enclosed details, our Lecture Secretary Jane Ellis has put together an interesting and varied programme. We have strayed into the mid 20th century with the talk on English Heritage’s Defence of Britain project and the reminiscences of the Barnbow Tank factory. Jane has suggested that additional information about the lectures be provided on the programme sheet to encourage a greater attendance. To accommodate this, I will be producing a separate membership renewal form for section only members to use when the subscriptions are due in January 2007. If you are a main society member, then you will receive your membership renewal information directly from Claremont. Let me know what you think of the new arrangement. I make my usual reminder that suggestions for future speakers are always welcome.

Also enclosed are the minutes of the 2006 AGM, it was poorly attended but if any member has a correction to the minutes please contact me with your proposed amendment, contact details as usual at the end of the Newsletter.

Our excursion to Ackroydon is reported in more detail later, again it was poorly attended and unfortunately even the walk leader failed to turn up, so the small party guided itself with the aid of a useful leaflet produced by Calderdale Council.

Section only members should all by now have received their membership cards for 2006, if any member has not received one please let me know. Cards for 2007 will be issued when 2007 subscriptions have been paid. It is important that you have your membership cards with you when visiting Claremont, otherwise you may be charged for access to the facilities such as car parking and higher photocopying charges. No new members to welcome since the last Newsletter. Don’t forget that membership leaflets are available at Claremont and if you would like spare copies of the lecture programme to display at your workplace let me know (or make your own copies).

I shall be producing the next Newsletter in January 2007, so please let me have your news items, details of future events, reports of visits etc or longer items for inclusion as soon as you can. I hope to see you at a forthcoming lecture.

Margaret Tylee NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

There have been difficulties this year in processing the annual accounts in time for the scheduled Annual General Meeting of the main Society due to have been held on 24 June. The AGM was due to take place on 16 September where the major topic for discussion will be the Society’s Strategic Plan. However I never received any notification/confirmation of the new date, so I don’t know whether it happened or not. The Programme of Events leaflet gives notice of the 2007 AGM to be held on 30 June 2007 with nominations for the Management Board and Council to be submitted no later than 31 March 2007. The Society is also looking for a Membership Secretary and volunteers to help with the running of Claremont, to advise on Health & Safety matters and to help with fund raising. If you can help in any way, please contact Jo Heron at Claremont.

A reminder that non members who wish to use the Library at Claremont will be charged £4 for a full day session, also non members are charged 55p for an A4 photocopy and 80p for an A3 sheet. Society and Section members are charged 10p and 20p respectively for photocopies. NEWS ITEMS

English Heritage has recently completed a survey of the country’s military aviation sites which has resulted in several sites being listed for the first time. Two are in Yorkshire. One is RAF Catterick which started life as a Home Defence Station in 1914 and is regarded by English Heritage as the best preserved fighter sector station in the North of England retaining a group of First World War hangers. The site is not open to the public. However the second site is open and visitors are welcome to the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington near York. It was originally a grass airfield but hardened runways were built in 1942 and it became the base for 77 Squadron RAF. The 1940s control tower is listed, one of only a handful to survive in its present state of preservation. The museum is open daily 10am to 3.30pm in winter and 5pm in summer.

Another Restoration series has been shown on BBC2 over the summer. The 7 September programme featured sites from the North and Howsham Mill in North Yorkshire was the winner of this heat. Unfortunately it was not the overall winner in the final losing out to Chedham’s Yard in Warwickshire, a 19th century wheelwright and blacksmith’s forge which has been left untouched for over 30 years. Newsletter 66 included information about the project to restore the Mill as an educational resource centre promoting renewable energy using the reinstated waterwheel to generate electricity. Section members Bob and Mary Steeds have visited the Mill recently and have reported that it is a very interesting site with a lock on the River Derwent Navigation adjacent to the Mill and the footbridge to the Mill going over the lock chamber. The Mill is open on the first Sunday in the month.

Leeds City Council and Yorkshire Forward are consulting on the development of a Holbeck Urban Village. Proposals include sound engineering and light installations in the Dark Arches, creating the disused railway viaduct into a skywalk route, adding a new bridge across the canal and opening up the Tower Works as a new public canal side concourse.

The Millennium Galleries in Sheffield is holding en exhibition celebrating James Dixon & Sons, one of the most largest and prolific manufacturers of cutlery, flatware and holloware in Sheffield. James Dixon and Thomas Smith established their company in Silver Street, Sheffield, producing articles made from Britannia metal and pewter. The company moved to the Cornish Place Works in 1822 and by the time of its centenary in 1906 the workforce had increased to around 1,000. The exhibition is called Silver City and runs from 5 August to 29 October. Associated with the exhibition are lunchtime talks on the company given by John Bradshaw who has been researching the history of the company. There is one on the 11 October, 1-2pm.

Bradford Council have produced a free leaflet describing four self guided walks in and around Saltaire, now designated a World Heritage Site. The walks are Saltaire Village Heritage Walk; Aire Valley Woodland & Water; Shipley Glen & Hirst Lock and Tong Park Dam.

Still on the subject of Saltaire, it has been designated an Anchor Point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage. This is a network of the most important industrial sites in Europe and currently includes sites in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany. The Anchor Points will be the starting point for a variety of regional and themed routes. Other Yorkshire sites on the Route are Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield and the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield. More details about the Route can be found on the website www.erih.net.

The Standedge Visitor Centre re-opened in summer 2006 situated near to the entrance to the Standedge Tunnel at Marsden on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. Unlike the previous arrangement, entrance to the Visitor Centre is free where there are displays on the Tunnel’s history and the restoration of the canal. 30 minute boat trips into the Tunnel are available costing £4 for adults, £3.50 for concessions and £3 for children (5-15). There is also the opportunity to travel through the whole of the tunnel on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, cost for this trip one way is £8 and must be pre-booked three days in advance by calling the customer services office on 01977 554351 (Mon-Fri). The Visitor Centre is open until 29 October 10am – 5pm but is closed on Mondays & Fridays.

Sheffield Archives have reported that the Wharncliffe Muniments have been accepted by the Treasury in lieu of inheritance tax and will belong to the nation but will be available at the archives, where they had previously only been on deposit. The papers are a valuable source of local information from the Middle Ages to the 20th century and of particular interest to industrial historians are the records relating to the development of the Wharncliffe Silkstone collieries, the Wortley Forges, local railways and waterworks.

Still on the topic of archives, hundreds of years of canal and waterway history is now available through an online waterways archive which brings together information held in 15 archives across the UK. The catalogue includes references to plans, drawings, accounts and photographs. The originals cannot be viewed online but the catalogue gives a detailed description and location of the archive where you can find the original. There are over 40,000 items recorded and use of the catalogue will make research into the industrial heritage of waterways much easier. The catalogue is free to use and can be found at www.virtualwaterways.co.uk.

The National Railway Museum has successfully bid for £995,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to go towards the funding of the Search Engine project. This will enable the NRM’s library and archive collection to become open to the public. The funding will be part of a £3million project to create a National Centre for Railway Knowledge which will be available for the public to be able to use without having to make prior appointments to use the archive collection. The Centre will also house the Railway Community Archive which will allow members of the public to add their family stories to the Museums’ archives and gain access to oral history and moving images via audio-visual booths. It does however mean that because of the building works required to create the Search Engine, the existing Research Centre at the Museum will be closed until the autumn of 2007.

Interested in water towers? The British Water Tower Appreciation Society has been formed to provide a forum for the exchange of information, research and record the history and development of water towers. Membership costs £5 per year and details can be obtained from Holton House, Southwold Road, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8PW.

David Cant reports that the next NEIA Panel meeting will be held on 28 October 2006 at the Streetwise Museum in Hull. If members would like David to report any activities or raise any issues please contact him at 3 Middle Hathershelf, Luddenden Foot, Halifax, HX2 6JQ. FUTURE EVENTS

5 Oct

The Growth of the Bradford Woollen Industry – Stan Hall. Skipton & Craven Historical Society (SCHS) talk. Swadford Centre, Swadford Street, Skipton at 7.30pm. £2 for non members of the SCHS.

7 Oct Ship Building through Time – John Buglass. Industrial History Section lecture at Claremont. 11am.

8 Oct

A Day- School in memory/honour of John McDonnell. Helmsley Arts Centre, Helmsley 10am –5pm. A series of talks celebrating John’s contribution to the local history and archaeology of the area, including several on iron working. Cost is £10, including tea/coffee. Details and booking from Graham Lee, Senior Archaeological Conservation Officer, North York Moors National Park Authority, the Old Vicarage, Bondgate, Helmsley, YO62 5DP.  01439 770657 or email [email protected]

7/8 Oct

Leawood Pump on the Cromford Canal. The 1849 Pumphouse will be in steam 12 noon – 5pm. Admission free. Also on 8 Oct the 1829 Middleton Top Engine House on the High Peak Trail will be in action from 10.30am – 5pm with a small admission charge.

13 Oct

New Mills Industrial Archaeology – Derek Brumhead. Manchester Region Industrial Archaeology Society talk held at Dept of Archaeology, University of Manchester, All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester. 7pm.

14 Oct

EMIAC 72. Railways & Quarries of Wirksworth. 72nd East Midlands Industrial Archaeology Conference organised by the Railway & Canal Historical Society. Further details from RCHS c/o 141 Allestree Lane, Allestree, Derby, DE22 2PG.

14 Oct

Upleatham Circular. Railway Ramblers 13 mile circular walk (may be shortened) linking various ironstone mine branches. Bring packed lunch and meet at 10am on the loop road in Upleatham, SW of Saltburn. GR 632194. More details from Jane Ellis  0113 265 9970.

15 Oct

Ulverston – its History and Heritage. Autumn Conference of the Cumbria Industrial History Society, at The Lanternhouse, The Ellers, Ulverston. Cost for non CIHS members is £13, buffet lunch available at £10. For details and booking information contact Ron Lyon  01768 88708 or email [email protected].

4 Nov

18th Century Watercourses on the North York Moors – David Taylor. Industrial History Section lecture at Claremont. 11am. 7 Nov

An Industrial Miscellany – Andrew Robinson. Halifax Antiquarian Society lecture. 7.30pm Halifax Library.

8 Nov

Hebden Bridge Weavers’ Strike 1906-1908 – Alan Fowler. Hebden Bridge Local History Society talk 7.30pm Hebden Bridge Methodist Hall, Market Street.

10 Nov

Let Electricity do it – Electricity up to 1950 – Colin Hill. Mytholmroyd Local History talk. 7.30pm Mytholmroyd Methodist Church, Scout Road.

10 Nov

Opencast Reveals the Past – Alan Davies. Manchester Region Industrial Archaeology Society talk. 7pm. Details as above.

16 Nov

From Sail to Steam – Capt Gareth Davies. SCHS talk. 7.30pm Details as above.

18 Nov

Archaeology Day School organised by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Service at Leeds Metropolitan University (Beckett Park Campus). Cost £12 with a buffet lunch available for an additional £6.95. For more information contact Linda Birch  0113 289 8280 or email [email protected].

22 Nov

New Road 1806-2006 – the development of Hebden’s first bypass – Diana Monahan. Hebden Bridge Local History Society. Details as above.

25 Nov

South Yorkshire Archaeology Day to be held at the Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, Sheffield 10am – 4.30pm. Cost £10, includes tea and coffee. Speakers to be announced, more details available at www.sheffield.gov.uk/syas or  0114 2736354.

3 Dec

Carols & Hammers at Wortley Top Forge. A pre-Christmas event at the Forge with guided tours, Santa, carols, visiting exhibits and activities. 12 – 5pm. Admission to Forge grounds £3 Adults, £2 concessions and 50p for children. Contact Margaret Tylee if you need instructions on how to find the Forge or check the website www.topforge.co.uk. 7 Dec

Granary Wharf & the Leeds Liverpool Canal Basin – Jacqueline DePelle. Industrial History Section lecture at Claremont. 11am.

2007

24 Jan

Child Labour in the Mills of the Upper Calder Valley – Ian Bailey. Hebden Bridge Local History Society talk. Details as above.

1 Feb

Niklaus Pevsner – The Buildings of Leeds – Sue Wrathmell. SCHS talk. 7.30pm. Details as above.

24/25 Mar

The Upper Luddenden Valley, Halifax. An Industrial History Weekend organised by the YAHS and the Industrial History Section. There will be lectures at Claremont on the Saturday with field trips on Sunday. Details and cost still to be finalised but note date for your diary.

Details of the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society Lecture Programme are given below. All are welcome and there is a nominal minimum charge of £1 for non SYIHS members.

Sheffield programme held at Kelham Island Museum, starting at 7.30pm, except 20 March.

20 Nov

The Development of the Derbyshire Minerals Industry – Ian Thomas.

11 Dec

Sheffield Made Vehicles and the Kelham Island Museum transport collection – Malcolm Dungworth.

15 Jan

The Sheffield & Tinsley Canal – an archaeological study – Graham Hague.

19 Feb

Swedish Iron for Sheffield Steel – why pay more? – Rod Mackenzie.

20 Mar A Technology that changed the World: Wartime Drama, Cold War Conflict and Economic Miracle – how the wide strip mill came to Europe. – Jonathan Aylan. 16th Kenneth Barraclough Memorial Lecture held at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield 5.30pm for 6pm.

16 April

Damstead Works, Dronfield and Spindle Making in the Sheffield area – David Rance, David Wilmot & Derek Bayliss.

21 May

The legacy of Sheffield’s Turnpike Roads – Howard Smith.

Barnsley programme

4 Dec

Medieval Iron-making in South Yorkshire – Terry Gladman. Joseph Bramah lecture held at the Cooper Gallery, Church Street, Barnsley at 7pm.

26 Mar

Land Surveyers and Canals: the work of the Fairbank family of Sheffield, including the Dearne & Dove Canal. – Adrian Padfield. Central Library, Shambles Street, Barnsley at 7pm.

Rotherham programme

17 Feb

Watermills of the Rother Catchment – Christine Ball. Rotherham Central Library & Arts Centre. 10.30am. REPORTS OF VISITS, LECTURES ETC Industrial History Section Excursion to Akroydon, 6 May 2006

Only four of us who met for lunch at Dean Clough Mills prior to the afternoon visit to Ackroydon. The Mills were built between 1840 and 1870 by the Crossley family and at one time were Halifax’s largest employer. They were famed for carpet manufacture and were owned by several generations of the Crossley family until the Mills closed in 1982. The empty and derelict buildings were bought a year later by Sir Ernest and Jeremy Hall and now house an exhibition space, theatre, workshops and businesses and an excellent café bar where we had lunch. We had time to view areas of the Mills open to the public and if members have not visited the complex I can recommend it. You can also purchase a well produced and informative booklet from the book shop which gives details of the history of the Mills and the Crossley family. After lunch we walked a short distance to meet our guide by the statue of Edward Akroyd on Road by All Soul’s Church. Unfortunately our guide did not appear, neither did any other members so after waiting a while, we decided to guide ourselves using a copy of the Akroydon Heritage Trail available for a small sum at the where we started our walk. The museum is housed in Bankfield House, built around 1800 and bought by Edward Akroyd in 1838. Edward Akroyd (1810-1887) developed his father’s business into probably at the time the country’s largest worsted cloth manufacturers. He is however best known for his concern to improve the poor living conditions of his workforce, first building a at Copley in 1849 and then at Akroydon in 1861. The trail took us around Akroydon where we could view the various phases of building. There is an open square with an impressive monument called the Victoria Cross erected in 1875 and modelled on an Eleanor Cross. We were also able to view the exterior of All Souls’ Church commissioned by Edward Akroyd in 1856 from the architect George Gilbert Scott, unfortunately it was not possible to gain entrance to the interior.

The small group had an enjoyable and interesting afternoon in fine weather and I am sorry that more members could not attend.

Margaret Tylee