NEWSLETTER NO. 69 EARLY SPRING 2007

EDITORIAL

A happy New Year to all and I hope you enjoyed a pleasant Christmas. The first half of the 2006/7 lecture programme seems to have flown by and Jane has already booked the dates for the 2007/8 lectures and is working on developing the programme. The dates for the first lectures in the 2007 programme are 6 October, 24 November and 8 December so put them in your diaries now. Following the successful talk on Granary Wharf and the Leeds Canal Basin, several members suggested that we should have a walk around the area to see the changes first hand, following the Section AGM on 21 April. I thought this was a good idea and perhaps it might encourage more members to attend the AGM, which I will try to keep to a minimum time. We will meet after lunch at 2pm by the statue of the Black Prince in City Square, Leeds. Members who can’t make the AGM are welcome to join in the afternoon. Although I will try to keep AGM business to a minimum, it is always good to hear from members in the session that follows. So if you have slides (personally I always enjoy the views of past excursions just to see how sites – and hairstyles - have changed in only 20 or so years) or another form of short presentation, let me know either at the February or March meetings or give me a call.

On the subject of lunch, we always invite our speaker to lunch following the morning lecture and we now eat in the Victoria in Great George Street, which is behind Leeds Town Hall. It has some splendid Victorian décor, a large non- smoking room and a good range of food and beer. Why not join us after the lecture and have an informal discussion with the speaker and other members of the section.

Members may recall that the main Society asked the section to help in arranging a series of excursions during 2007 with an industrial theme, the details of two of these have now been finalised – exploring the Upper Luddenden Valley on the weekend of 24th/25th March and a coach trip to Hawes on 14 April. Full details are given later in the Newsletter. The third event will be field day in Goole on 20 May, details on this to follow. I hope that the events will be well attended by Section members and also that any non Section members will be encouraged to join.

I had planned to issue a separate subscription reminder to Section only members in early December, but somehow time seemed to pass too quickly, so I have enclosed a reminder that subscriptions are now due for 2007 with this Newsletter. If you have already remembered that subscriptions are due in January and have already paid, well done and thank you! Your 2007 membership card is enclosed. If you are a member of the main Society, you will receive your subscription reminder direct from Claremont. I would be grateful if you are intending to renew your membership (and I hope you will) you will do so promptly.

Welcome to Miss F Chambers and Mr F Jordan who are new members since the last Newsletter. I am aware of one member who is helpfully supplying membership leaflets to York Library. If other members would be willing to do the same in their local library or information centre then copies of the membership leaflets are available from Claremont or let me know and I can supply you with some.

I shall be compiling the next Newsletter after the AGM in April which will include the usual reports on the 2006/7 lectures. News items, details of events and short articles from members are always welcome, thanks to David George who has sent an item in for this Newsletter. These do help me to fill the pages, so please send them in.

Margaret Tylee

NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

The main Society’s AGM was finally held on 28 October 2006; it was originally scheduled for 24 June and I did manage to attend on behalf of the Section. The major item of discussion was the report of the strategy group who have produced a long term strategic plan for the Society. (Main Society members should have received a copy but copies are available from Claremont). The main aims of the Society are: • the maintenance of a library and archive • the holding of meetings • the publishing of a range of material • the making of grants for work It was recognised that the financial management of the society needs to be improved and that more needs to be done to increase the membership and develop partnerships with regional bodies.

The problem with the accounts (which led to the delay in holding the meeting) was discussed. The auditors were not happy with the way in which the subscription income and membership records were linked and consequently the accounts were qualified. Specifically the membership figures and by direct association, the subscription income, do not take account of whether the member has actually paid the correct rate of subscription or any subscription at all. The Society has now co-opted a membership secretary who will be working to ensure the subscription information is accurate. There was an election for the Management Board with 5 standing for 4 places. A reminder: nominations for the Management Board and Council for 2007/8 must be submitted to the YAHS Secretary no later than 31 March 2007.

I asked about progress for the “grand plan” to refurbish and develop Claremont. Members may recall donating to the fund from the Section as well as giving individual donations. The reply was that it had been put on hold with the refurbishment of the kitchen being the one of the outcomes so far (which is a great improvement over what was there previously). It was reported that any outstanding money in the development fund set up specifically for the plan would be repaid back to donors. We await this!

NEWS ITEMS Engineering consultants Atkins have completed a study into the feasibility of restoring the Barnsley and Dearne & Dove canals to create a Yorkshire Waterways Ring. The study recommends that the restoration should go ahead and is likely to cost £258million. This figure includes the restoration of the Elescar and Worsborough spurs of the Dearne & Dove and the extension of the Barnsley Canal to Barugh; none of this work would be necessary to recreate the Waterways Ring. The work is likely to be carried out piecemeal over the next 30 years.

Three industrial sites in Yorkshire have recently been given grade II listing. Braime’s Pressed Steel Works, together with offices and workshops in Hunslet Road, Leeds dates from 1911-13. The terracotta front is finely detailed with Art Nouveau floral motifs which are echoed in the stained glass of the windows. Not what you would expect from an engineering works. The company was founded in 1888 to make oil cans but later expanded to make all types of steel pressings. In Sheffield, the Horn Handle Works at 32 Broom Close is a fine example of a 19th century workshop which contributed to Sheffield’s cutlery industry. The building has many decorative features and is largely unaltered, but currently boarded up and awaiting sympathetic restoration. Finally something completely different – a sighting tower at Ilton near Harrogate built in 1903 for Harrogate Corporation to aid the alignment of the Carlesmoor Aqueduct which supplied Harrogate with water from the Roundhill Reservoir. It is 14m high in dressed stone with buttressed piers and is unusual because most towers became redundant and were demolished once construction was completed.

Gayle Mill, the subject of our January 2007 lecture, features on the front of English Heritage’s report on the State of Yorkshire and the Humber’s Historic Environment 2006 part of their wider report on the state of the historic environment. It is available along with all the regional reports at www.heritagecounts.org.uk.

News of more industrial site developments in the Leeds area. The development of the Tower Works by ISIS Waterside Regeneration is expected to provide 150 homes and 150,000 sq. ft. of commercial floor space. ISIS has also received planning permission to develop Granary Wharf with 273 apartments, offices and a hotel. Phase two of the Round Foundry regeneration project has started. It will comprise offices at the Dry Sand Foundry, 101 Water Lane and the Engine House. Otley Riverside Holdings has received outline planning permission for residential use, restaurant, offices, pub, hotel, retirement complex and surgery at Garnetts Paper Mill, Otley.

A new interactive map has been launched which celebrates the role ofHolbeck’s pioneers of the industrial revolution in the development of the area and shows how their legacy is being preserved as the Holbeck Urban Village begins to take shape. The Living Map can be found at www.holbeckurbanvillage.co.uk

The West Riding was a major centre of the tanning industry from at least the 16th century and an excavation by ARCUS, the University of Sheffield’s archaeological consultancy has unearthed the remains of a tannery including ten tanning pits in the Westgate area of Wakefield. It is hoped that some of the remains can be preserved in the Arts Centre being built on the site.

Still on the subject of tanning, the University of Bradford, School of Management has produced a website chronicling the history of Pittards from its origin in Somerset in 1826 to recent times when it acquired the Leeds firm W H Miers in the mid 1970s. The company produced high quality leather for luxury goods, fashion accessories and sports equipment. The decision to close the Leeds factory at Cross Green and transfer the work to Yeovil and Asia led to the study which is recorded at www.bradford.ac.uk/pittards.

The future of Whirlow Wheel on the Limb Brook in South West Sheffield is in doubt. It is one of the few surviving water powered cutlery and edge grinding wheels in Sheffield and unusually for Sheffield, the waterwheel was replaced in 1901 by a turbine which is still in place but unused. The building dates from 1803 and has long been used as a park store. It is suffering from vandalism and decay but there are no funds available for repairs.

The water corn mill at Crakehall, near Bedale in North Yorkshire, which was open to the public for many years, has closed. Two 18th century water corn mills near Leeds have been recommended for recording prior to their demolition; they are the Horsforth corn mill in Millbeck Park and Collingham Old Mill, where the waterwheel has survived.

FUTURE EVENTS

1 Feb Nikolaus Pevsner – The Buildings of Leeds – Sue Wrathmell. Skipton & Craven Historical Society (SCHS) talk. Swadford Centre, Swadford Street, Skipton, 7.30pm. £2 for non-members of the SCHS.

10 Feb The Barnbow Lassies – Carole Smithies. Industrial History Section lecture. 11am. Claremont.

17 Feb Watermills of the Rother Catchment – Christine Ball. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) talk. Rotherham Central Library & Arts Centre. 10.30am.

19 Feb Swedish Iron for Sheffield Steel – why pay more? – Rod Mackenzie. SYIHS talk. Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield. 7.30pm

24 Feb Archaeology and Industry in Manchester. A one day conference exploring the industrial diversity of Manchester to be held at the Trafford Park Heritage Centre, Eleventh Street, Trafford Park. Cost £15 including buffet lunch. For more details and booking contact 0161 9807612; email [email protected] or check the website www.mrias.co.uk

24 Feb Railway Ramblers Video Day. York Railway Institute ground floor lounge from 11am. Entrance £2 per person. Lunch available in the lounge but must be ordered by 11am. 3 Mar Brighouse to Ravensthorpe. Railway Ramblers 8 miles linear walk with pub lunch which includes crossing the newly opened Bradley Viaduct on the Calder Valley Greenway. Meet Brighouse Station at 10.20am

17 Mar The Defence of Britain Project – Roger Thomas. Industrial History Section lecture. 11am. Claremont.

20 Mar A Technology that Changed the World – how the wide strip mill came to Europe – Jonathan Aylan, Kenneth Barraclough Memorial Lecture. 5.30 for 6pm. Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield.

24/25 Mar Wainstalls & the Upper Luddenden Valley. A YAHS study weekend organised with the Industrial History Section and the Halifax Antiquarian Society. Full details given elsewhere in the Newsletter.

26 Mar Land Surveyors and Canals: the work of the Fairbank family of Sheffield – Adrian Padfield. SYIHS lecture. 7pm Barnsley Central Library, Shambles Street, Barnsley.

14 Apr In the Footsteps of Marie Hartley. A YAHS/IHS field trip by coach in memory of Marie Hartley to study the local industry in Wensleydale. Full details given elsewhere in the Newsletter.

14/15 Apr AIA Ironbridge Weekend at Coalbrookdale. The theme this year is Roads: Characteristics and forms of transport. Full details available nearer the time or from the AIA website at www.industrial-archaeology.org.uk

16 Apr Damstead Works, Dronfield and Spindle Making in the Sheffield area – David Rance. SYIHS lecture. 7.30pm. Kelham Island Museum.

21 Apr AGM and Members’ Session Industrial History Section. 11am. Claremont. To be followed by a walk around Granary Wharf and the Leeds Canal Basin. Meet 2pm at the Black Prince statue, City Square, Leeds.

5 May The Compleat Local Historian: a tribute to Kate Mason. A YAHS day school organised with the Olicana Historical Society to be held in the Memorial Hall, Addingham. Morning lectures, including Steve Moorhouse on the Plumtree Banks iron working site, and afternoon visits. Cost £8. Details and Bookings from Ron Samuel, 12 Queen’s Drive Lane, Ilkley, LS29 9QS. ? 01943 601160. Closing date for bookings is 20th April.

12 May EMIAC 73 Peat, Paddles and Pumps. 73rd East Midlands IA Conference hosted by the Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology to be held at Boston, Lincs. In the morning speakers will cover the development of fen drainage engines, river and tidal engineering. The afternoon will have site visits. Details and booking from SLHA c/o Jews Court, Steep Hill, Lincoln LN2 1LS

20 May Goole, town, docks and shipping. A YAHS field day organised with the Industrial History Section. Details available nearer the date from Claremont.

21 May The legacy of Sheffield’s Turnpike Roads – Howard Smith. SYIHS lecture. 7.30pm. Kelham Island Museum. Heritage Walks in Calderdale

David Nortcliffe has sent me an outline of this year’s Heritage Walks in Calderdale programme. The full details and dates will not be available until mid February but David tells me that there will be at least a dozen walks that have industrial history interest. These will include • The old handloom weaving hill villages of Heptonstall, Luddenden and Mankinholes • Settlements where power weaving and spinning for wool and cotton took place such as Hebden Bridge, Ripponden, Lumbutts and Elland • 19th century urban development at King Cross near Halifax, the area around Wainhouse Tower, Copley and Norwood Green

If any member would like to be added to the emailing list and receive the programme electronically when it is available please email [email protected]. The walks are mainly on Sunday afternoons and cost £3 each.

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION EXCURSIONS 2007

I am pleased to report that we have four excursions planned for 2007; three have been arranged jointly with the main Society and co-ordinated by Janet Senior, the Assistant Librarian at Claremont. Main Society members will have received the details of the first two and members attending January’s lecture were able to take away booking forms, but for section only members and a reminder to all, the details are given below.

The Upper Luddenden Valley. A study weekend 24/25 March 2007

Saturday 24 March: lectures at Claremont, 10am – 4.30pm (buffet lunch included in the cost). Topics will include mills, quarries, water supply, ironworking and farming.

Sunday 25 March: Field trip to the Luddenden Valley, 10am – 4.30pm. Visiting ironworking sites, mills and dams.

Cost for members of the YAHS, Industrial History Section or Halifax Antiquarian Society: Saturday only £15; Sunday only £10; full weekend £20 Cost for non-members: Saturday only £17; Sunday only £12; full weekend £25. Booking to Janet Senior at Claremont enclosing cheque made payable to the YAHS.

In the Footsteps of Marie Hartley. A coach trip to study local industry in Wensleydale Saturday 14 April 2007

Programme will include a conducted tour of the Wensleydale Creamery (including a cheese tasting), a visit to Gayle Mill and possibly Askrigg Mill, reception at the Hawes Museum and a visit to the Burtersett Candle Mill. The cost includes lunch in the Wensleydale Creamery restaurant. The coach will leave from Claremont at 8.45 and will return from Hawes at around 4.30pm back to Leeds.

Cost for members of YAHS or Industrial History Section: £25 Cost for non-members: £30 Booking to Janet Senior as above

Walkabout in the Granary Wharf/Leeds Canal Basin area Saturday 21 April 2007

An opportunity to see for yourself this area which was described in Jacqueline DePelle’s December lecture and discover the changes which have taken place. Meet after the Section’s AGM at 2pm next to the Black Prince statue in City Square Leeds and the walk will probably take about 2 hours.

Goole, town, docks and shipping Sunday 20 May 2007

A field day looking at the development of this inland port at the junction of the Aire & Calder and the River Ouse. Details of the day are still to be finalised and will be available shortly. I will be able to mention this at future lectures and hopefully the late Spring Newsletter will be out in time. I suggest you contact Janet at Claremont nearer the time if you are interested in the visit. REPORTS OF VISITS, LECTURES AND SHORT ARTICLES

Association for Industrial Archaeology Annual Conference 2006 – Isle of Man Held at the Claremont Hotel, Douglas. 8-14 September 2006.

The 2006 Conference broke with tradition by being based in a 3 star hotel rather than an academic institution and student halls of residence. This made for comfortable surroundings but meal times were somewhat chaotic, with long queues for the serve yourself buffet dinners and for a free table at breakfast. I did feel somewhat sorry for the non AIA paying guests who soon learnt that arriving for their breakfast after 9am was definitely preferable. However the rest of the conference arrangements more than made up for this. There is no IA Society on the Isle of Man, so the conference was organised by members of Manx National Heritage, the Isle of Man equivalent of English Heritage and National Trust combined in that it is a government body which also has membership. This meant there was another break with tradition in that there was no gazetteer produced for the conference; instead we were given a copy of Industrial Archaeology of the Isle of Man, first published in 1993 and updated hot off the press for the 2006 conference. The conference followed the usual pattern of lectures and excursions and for once I did stay for the whole week, although I didn’t take part in all the excursions. The introductory lecture on Friday evening was given by Frank Cowin, a Trustee of Manx National Heritage (MNH). He reminded us that the first AIA conference was held in the Isle of Man in 1973 and AIA President Angus Buchanan, who was present in 1973 later showed some slides of the event. An important point to note was that there is no coal on the island but it is rich in minerals and has plenty of water, so the use of water power in metal mining was extensive. The great waterwheel at Laxey is an icon for the island. Flax was grown for linen production. Being an island there was a lot of small ship building and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was formed on the island. Tourism became a prime industry, and was served by an extensive transport system of narrow gauge steam railways, electric trams and the famous horse trams, and of course we must not forget the TT motorbike races. A good overall introduction, which covered a wider theme than just the industry.

Saturday morning saw three lectures. The first, on Manx National Heritagewas given by Andrew Foxon and Andrew Johnson from MNH. This contained interesting facts such as there are 76,315 residents on the island, it is not part of the UK or EU but is a Dependency of the British Crown. 36% of its economy comes from the financial sector and 6% from tourism. The heritage protection arrangements differ from the UK in that ancient monuments are listed not scheduled and there are no listed buildings - they are registered. MNH looks after 13 major sites, as well as chambered tombs, hill forts and Celtic crosses. There are only a few industrial sites in its care, the most famous being the Great Laxey Wheel and the next lecture by Andrew Scarffe concentrated on the history and restoration of the Laxey site. Andrew is a member of the Laxey Mines Research Group who have rebuilt the waterwheel from the Snaefell mine on the Laxey washing floor. The main mining areas were Laxey and Foxdale, starting in the 1780s and reaching a peak in the 1870s when Laxey was the most successful metal mine in Britain producing zinc and lead with a high silver content. The mine closed in 1929 but the wheel was saved by a local business man who developed it as a tourist attraction. It was bought by the government in 1965 and is believed to be the largest waterwheel in Britain with a diameter of 72’ 6”. It pumps water from the mine via a series of pump rods carried on stone arches; the shaft is 247 fathoms deep. Andrew explained how the site had been restored and interpreted, including the restoration of part of the 19” gauge tramway that ran into the mine and the operation of the replica steam engines Ant and Bee. The processed ore was taken from the washing floors by tramway to Laxey Harbour where it was shipped to South Wales for smelting. At one time over 1,000 people worked at the mine and a thriving town including its own flour mill was established. After this glimpse of a past industry, the final lecture of the morning was on the Architecture of Tourism given by architectural historian Peter Kelly. He gave an excellent talk describing the development of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company formed by the Manchester & Liverpool Railway to enable their passengers to travel to the island from 1830 onwards. The promenade at Douglas was created in the 1870s and new piers for the steamships built. The railways were developed and pleasure gardens built particularly in the many glens around the island, one contained a unique water- powered roundabout. In 1897 the first holiday camp in Britain was established but from the 1960s onwards there has been a steep decline in visitors and many of the grand hotels have been converted into flats. The talk was well illustrated with old slides and postcards, but there was very little industry. After lunch there was a choice of three visits, a walking tour of Douglas taking in the Gaiety Theatre and Manx Museum, a visit to the Cregneash Folk Museum via the Isle of Man Steam Railway or a visit to Silverdale Glen and Castletown returning via the steam railway. I took the latter trip where we had the opportunity to ride on the water powered roundabout in Silverdale before exploring the small nautical museum at Castletown as well as the original Isle of Man Steam Packet office. The AIA awards were presented on Sunday morning followed by the AGM. A visit to Latvia is planned for May 2007 and a visit to Western Australia is being organised jointly with the Newcomen Society. The officers were all elected unopposed and there is a new AIA Liaison officer based at the University of Leicester. The 2007 conference will be held in Preston, 10-16 August, followed by Wiltshire in 2008 and Lincoln in 2009. The 2006 Rolt Memorial Lecture was given by David Gwyn with the title Industrial Archaeology beyond the Leading Sector. His theme was an exploration of how the areas of Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man developed their industries which fed into the leading sectors of iron, textiles and coal. Of particular interest was the industrial development in areas such as Ireland and the Isle of Man where there were no coal reserves, which led to the use of other forms of energy such as peat and water power. The lecture is normally published in full in a forthcoming issue of Industrial Archaeology Review. The Sunday afternoon excursions were a choice between a boat trip on the MV Katrina or a visit to Laxey via the Manx Electric Railway. Since I was visiting Laxey later in the week I chose the boat trip, which turned out to be a mistake because the weather, although bright and sunny, was windy and prevented us from carrying out the planned trip up the coast. Instead we toured the harbour and Douglas Bay. Not being a good sailor, I managed to be seasick due to the choppy conditions, although there was a comment that I was most discrete about it!

The Sunday evening lectures focussed on Manx Transport. The first given by Captain Jack Ronan, a retired captain from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, was a brief history of the company. The ships initially sailed from Whitehaven, with the first steamships operating from June 1815. The sailings moved to Liverpool from 1832 carrying mail or packets and greatly expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries carrying Lancashire mill workers on holiday. Steam turbines were used from 1905 and in the 1930s five new ships were built to handle the demand. The 1960s saw a decline in passengers and the decision to switch the services from Liverpool to Heysham did not help matters. An entertaining talk from one who clearly knew about the company from the inside. This was followed by Roger Carey describing the variety of transport on the island. The Isle of Man Steam Railway, a 3’ gauge railway, started in 1873 running between Peel and Douglas, extending to Port Erin in 1874 and a northern route to Ramsey in 1879. It was very focused on the summer tourist trade, eventually losing out to competing bus companies in the 1960s. Only the Douglas to Port Erin route is now open, supported by a nationalised railway and bus company, but using original engines and rolling stock. The Manx Electric Railway is also 3’gauge and runs on double track from Douglas to Ramsey. Built originally to service the tourist attraction at Groudle Glen in 1893, extended to Laxey in 1894 and to Ramsey in 1899. It is now run by Douglas Corporation. The Snaefell Mountain Railway was built in 1893 with a 3’6” gauge to accommodate a fail rail. Douglas Corporation also operate the horse trams which run along the promenade at Douglas, there are 56 horses who pull 4 return journeys each day (and were much used by conference delegates in getting to and from their hotels). Finally air services which started in 1933 were described. A very comprehensive coverage of what most of us were to travel on during the week.

The first of the all day field trips on Monday focused on mining with a choice of a visit to Laxey and Snaefell or Foxdale and Castletown. I did the Laxey trip which included a trip on the Snaefell Railway; unfortunately when we reached the summit it was shrouded in thick mist, so no views were possible. We did get a good view of the Laxey Mines complex from the train as well as the site of the Snaefell Mine. Returning to Laxey, we were able to explore the famous wheel as well as its smaller counterpart (only 50ft in diameter) on the dressing floor. We also visited a working flour mill, the only one on the island. On Monday evening there was a civic reception in the Manx Museum followed by a private viewing of the Museum. Tuesday’s trips visited St Johns and Peel or a walking tour of Douglas; I did neither, but did an independent walk, unfortunately in heavy rain for the morning. Tuesday evening’s lecture was a Magic Lantern show given by Jack Kaighan using a magic lantern dating from 1895 and glass slides of the island. The lantern originally operated using acetylene gas but had been converted to electricity. Wednesday had a choice of visits to the north of the island or a boat trip across the channel at the south to the Calf of Man. With Sunday’s experience in mind I changed from the latter trip and missed learning about bird ringing and visiting two Stevenson lighthouses. Instead I travelled to Ramsey via a deserted farm complex which contained the remains of a horse gin and then a collection of Celtic and Viking crosses displayed in a churchyard at Maughold. After exploring the port of Ramsey we travelled to the northernmost point on the island to view another Stevenson lighthouse, returning via a disused World War II airfield. Much of the trip was along the TT racecourse suitably sandbagged at various dangerous corners.

The final lectures of the conference were on Wednesday evening, starting with a short presentation on Manx Shipwrecks given by Adrian Corkhill, an author who has explored many of the 120 sites that survive from the 1,212 recorded shipwrecks around the IoM coast. He focused in depth on a couple of wrecks illustrating them with some impressive underwater shots. This was followed by Frank Cowin who described the vernacular architecture of the island. There is a wide variety of building styles and materials ranging from cobblestones, red sandstone, limestone to granite all well illustrated in the lecture. This was the end of the conference for me as I didn’t attend the trip on Thursday which visited the island’s utilities and included a visit to a power station, incinerator plant and waterworks.

For members who want to find out more about the IA of the Isle of Man, I have given a copy of Industrial Archaeology of the Isle of Man produced by Manx National Heritage to the YAHS Library.

As mentioned above, the 2007 conference will be based nearer to home at the University of Central Lancashire at Preston from 10-16 August. Details of the arrangements and programme should be available in February. Section member David George is a member of the organising committee and I hope that Section members will be able to attend at least some of the programme.

Margaret Tylee

Model industrial communities

“ …one of his first efforts had been to build a village where every family might be well lodged….in every street there was a well; behind the factory there were public baths….the school had been raised and endowed. The men were well clad, the women had bloom on their cheeks….crime was positively unknown and offences were slight…”

This quotation from Disraeli’s ‘Sybil’ published in 1845 shows that there was a growing movement in the mid 19th century on the reform wings of the two parties to encourage paternalistic welfare policies amongst employers as a bastion against Chartism and the Radicals. The plea was taken up by a group of cotton mill owners around Bolton in Lancashire who created new model communities at Eagley, Egerton and Barrow Bridge. Operatives might enjoy two upstairs rooms and one down in stone built cottage rows. Running water was usually laid on as well as a gas supply. Meeting rooms, chapels, schools and recreation grounds were part of the plan to establish self sufficient communities. Closer to West Yorkshire the Oxford Mills Community at Ashton-under-Lyne was planned by the Liberal MP and social reformer Hugh Mason. Here the designs and styles of the houses and rents charged reflected the hierarchy of the various grades employed in the mills. The simplest houses had four rooms in all and the most elaborate, five bedrooms.

Of the industrial settlements built by manufacturers in the old West Riding, Saltaire was perhaps the most ambitious. Over 800 houses accommodated a population of over 4,000. The smallest houses were far superior to Bradford’s back-to-back unsanitary courts. The streets were open, regular and well built giving good light and ventilation. Each house had at least a back yard and was a two up and two down plan. End terrace houses for overlookers had three bedrooms, three rooms downstairs and a small front garden. Some of the houses are extremely plain; others are decorated with round headed windows and doors in the Italianate style preferred by the radical non conformists master such as Salt and the Crossleys. On the other hand, Whelan claims that Akroydon was never intended as a factory estate serving only Akroyd’s workforce. It was to be a model village not only in the architectural sense but in a social sense as well – a village of free enfranchised property owners from all economic classes.

The houses in Akroydon were built in various sizes and sold on low cost mortgages. The village was to be managed by a committee of residents, whilst for self improvement there was a working men’s college. Akroyd had already built a model village at Copley for the improvement of the social conditions of his workers. There was a subsidised dining hall, library and social club. The houses were in a Gothic revival style but were criticised by the journal The Builder as some were back-to-backs. At Ackroyden, the residents had some say over the designs and could have their names or initials carved over the doors. The principal streets are named after cathedral cities and the ecclesiastical theme is continued by the Victoria Monument (a reproduction of an Eleanor cross) in the park. The other great Halifax industrial dynasty, the Crossleys of Dean Clough Mills gave the People’s Park to the citizens of Halifax in 1857. The area around the park was developed for almshouses by the Crossleys. Adjacent to their Belle Vue Mansion are Frank Crossley’s almshouses of 1851 and the exceptionally elaborate Joseph Crossley’s almshouses in Arden Road (1863-70). The latter have all the appearance of a public school building or college in a medieval style built on three sides of a square with gardens, central tower, belfry and chapel. Frank Crossley’s houses, which front onto Margaret Street, are more modest with a small communal garden in front and towers at each end of the terrace. One was perhaps a chapel and the other a caretaker or warden’s flat. A row of more substantial middle class dwellings were also provided at West Hill Park. It is perhaps somewhat ironic that the very mills where the model village dwellers laboured from ten to twelve hours daily are today so often themselves the subject of schemes for ‘model’ apartments.

David George

References Harrop, S. A. and Rose, E.A. Victorian Ashton, 1974 Halifax Town Planning Dept. Akroydon – its past and present, n.d. Powell, K. People’s Inheritance, 1984 Caffrey, H. The Almshouse experience in the 19th century West Riding, Yorks. Arch. Journal, Vol 76, 2004, pp 223-246 Styles, J. Titus Salt and Saltaire, 1990 Whelan, A. Article in Journal of the Halifax Antiquarian Society, Vol 12, 2004, p.113

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS 2006-2007 Chairman Vice- Lecture Membership Secretary Chairmen Secretary & Newsletter Editor

Margaret Tylee Sheila Bye Jane Ellis Margaret Tylee Bill Slatcher