NEWSLETTER NO. 72 EARLY SPRING 2008
EDITORIAL
A belated happy New Year to you all and welcome to another Newsletter and another year. I hope you all had a good Christmas break and are looking forward to the remainder of the Lecture Programme. You will have seen from the programme that we are planning a local walk in the afternoon of the AGM on 12 April. Robert Vickers and I are working on this and will have the details soon, but I can say that it will be another walk looking at remains of industry in Leeds south of the River Aire. We will meet at 2pm in City Square by the Black Prince statue. We are also planning an industrial history walk around Bradford on Sunday 4 May. The exact route is to be finalised but we will meet outside St George’s Hall (corner of Bridge Street/Hall Ings, not far from Bradford Interchange station) at 11am, finishing around 4pm, with a lunch stop to be taken at a city centre pub/cafe. The next Newsletter may be too late to include the details so we will be giving information at the lectures and if you are interested please contact Robert nearer the time. Janet Senior in the YAHS Library has also organised two events this year which will be of interest to members and details of these are given below – so some events to look forward to after the lecture programme finishes in March.
A reminder: at the AGM on 12 April we will be electing the officers for 2008- 2009 and nominations for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair, and Lecture Secretary. Membership Secretary and Newsletter Editor are welcome. Also it is some years since we had anyone occupying the position of Excursions Secretary but if any member is willing to organise a visit or walk with an industrial theme, please let me know. Also a reminder has been included in the Newsletter for section only members that their 2008 subscription is now due. It remains at £11 a year, which I hope you think still offers good value and you can continue to support the Section. Many thanks to those members who have already paid – if so then your 2008 membership cards will be included with this newsletter unless you have already received them personally from me. The good news is that our lecture Secretary Jane Ellis has booked the lecture dates for 2008/9 and the first lecture on 11 October 2008 is already booked, when Section member Professor David Perrett, President of the Newcomen Society, will be speaking on “Days at the Factory” a title taken from George Dodd’s book published in 1843. His theme will be why are we interested in studying people at work and what do we learn from that study. I suggest you put the date in your new 2008 diaries now!
Those of you who attended the November lecture will be aware that Claremont’s ageing slide projector finally gave up the ghost, fortunately our Lecture Secretary was able to rush home and bring her own projector so the lecture was able to proceed, albeit somewhat delayed. Also fortunately, the speaker in December brought along his own digital projection equipment, the January speaker used the overhead projector which still works and we have an offer from a member for a loan of a projector until the situation can be satisfactorily resolved. (See News from Claremont for the latest information).
Did you receive any interesting industrial history books for Christmas? If so, a reminder that book reviews are always welcome; even older published books are worth including because it is surprising what you can find available via on-line book suppliers.
Welcome to new members who have joined since the last Newsletter: Mr & Mrs J Luxton, Miss C Farmer, Mr A Robinson, Mr M Roe and Miss A Davies. I hope you will be able to make some of the Section’s events during 2008.
I shall be producing the next Newsletter after the AGM in April so please send me any items of news, short articles, book reviews, details of your research interests etc by mid April. Adrian Bailey has sent me some thoughts on the demise of British manufacturing which I have included so perhaps your thoughts on this would also be welcome.
Margaret Tylee
NEWS FROM CLAREMONT
The saga of the projection facilities at Claremont continues. The Section made a request after the 2007 AGM to the YAHS Management Board for the purchase of new and up to date projection facilities and had offered to part fund via Section funds. Having heard nothing a response was chased in early December 2007 and the following was received from the YAHS General Secretary:
“ At the moment we are in the process of applying for grant funding to purchase a data projector and a computer which can be used to run it and to replace our slide projector and overhead projectors as well, both of which are rather ancient (as you know). If we did purchase this equipment prior to a response from the grant giving body, I’m not sure whether they would give us a grant… This is something that has been of concern for some time and unfortunately the YAHS finances have not permitted us to make these purchases without at least the guarantee of the finances being in place to pay for them. Hopefully we shall have some good news in the New Year, although that does not help your Section and those others that have meetings in the meantime. Thanks again for your kind offer and we do hope that the situation will be improved in the near future.”
So we must wait a bit longer. There are several precedents of organisations successfully receiving grants from bodies such as “Awards for All” for projection equipment. Let’s hope we shall be another. . A reminder to main YAHS members that nominations for the Management Board and Council are invited to be received no later than Monday 31 March 2008. All nominees must be members of the YAHS and nomination forms are available from the Hon General Secretary, Jo Heron from 1 March onwards. Elections will be held at the YAHS AGM due to be held on Saturday 21 June 2008 at 2pm.
Assistant YAHS Librarian Janet Senior has organised two forthcoming events which are likely to be of interest to members. Main YAHS members will receive details and booking forms direct but as a reminder I include information here. On Sunday 20th April, Erik Matthews will be leading a walking tour of Saltaire. The proposed programme is to meet at Shipley at 10am, walk along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to Saltaire, visit Salt’s Mill where lunch will be provided and then take a conducted tour of the buildings that make up the village. Cost, including lunch, will be £12.50 for members, £15 for non members. Bookings to Janet at Claremont by 28th March. Please note that numbers will be restricted to 20.
Then on 17/18 May, Alan Petford will be leading a study weekend looking at the Historic Landscapes of Saddleworth. This will follow the successful format of last year’s study weekend of the Upper Luddenden Valley. There will be a day of lectures at Claremont on Saturday 17th May followed by a field trip to the Saddleworth area on Sunday 18th May. Cost will be £20 for members for the whole weekend (including a buffet lunch and refreshments on Saturday), £15 for the Saturday only and £5 for the Sunday only. Bookings to Janet at Claremont by 25th April.
MEMBERS INTERESTS
Following the introduction of this section in the last Newsletter, I have received information about another member’s interest.
Section member Robert Vickers writes that he is researching the manufacture and history of Rolls Royce armoured cars. Around 135 were built from 1914- 1917 for use in various campaigns in World War One and another 179 were built from 1920-1927 for British peace-keeping duties in Mesopotamia (Iraq), Egypt, Sudan, India etc. So far he has consulted the Rolls-Royce records at the Sir Henry Royce Foundation, which give much information about the chassis, and military records in the India Office Records at the British Library. He would like to know more about the cars, where they served, the construction of the armoured bodies for the cars and would welcome any contributions from members. He can be contacted [email protected]
Although not a member, I received an enquiry from Richard Witt, a member of Subterranea Britannica, a society devoted to the study of man made and man used underground structures. He has been researching the provision of public air raid shelters in Leeds during World War 2 and is aiming to photograph and provide a plan of each shelter. I have given him details of Roger Thomas who spoke to the section about the Defence of Britain project which included information about air raid shelters, but if any members have information about the location of shelters or would be interested in exploring and recording them, please contact Mr Witt at 17 Moorland Road, Leeds, LS8 1AL or email [email protected]
I am happy to hear from other members with details of their research interests, my contact details can be found at the end of the Newsletter.
NEWS ITEMS
The Annual Report 2006-2007 of the PRISM Fund includes details of grants awarded to a number of societies and organisations in our region. The PRISM fund is managed by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and its aim is to support organisations entrusted with the care of our industrial and scientific heritage by supporting the acquisitions and conservation of heritage objects in all fields of the history of science, technology, industry and medicine. The MLA allocates £250,000 each year to the PRISM Fund and 32 grants were awarded during 2006/7, benefiting 29 institutions. The details of awards made in our region were as follows: • Yorkshire Air Museum - £5,000 for the conservation of a 1923 WACO ‘Hadrian’ CG-4A assault glider and £5,000 for the acquisition of a Westland Dragonfly helicopter • Killhope Lead Mining Museum - £10,000 for the acquisition of a collection of fluorite crystals • Yorkshire Museum - £12,735 for the acquisition of a collection of fluorite gems • Middleton Railway Trust - £9,463 for the acquisition of a steam locomotive No.44’Conway’ manufactured in 1933 by Kitson & Co. Leeds. • LNER Coach Association (North York Moors Railway) - £7,903 for the conservation of Thompson 3rd class corridor coach No. 1623 built in 1950 at York Works.
The grade II listed building of the former Alf Cooke printworks on Hunslet Road, Leeds is likely to be converted into a business park. The plans include a refurbishment of the building, demolition of warehouses and the erection of eight three storey office blocks.
Middleton Park in Leeds has a history of coal mining from the early 17th century. The Brandling family developed the Middleton Railway to carry coal into Leeds from the Park and there are many mining remains in the Park. The Friends of Middleton Park are carrying out an archaeological survey of it as a Lottery funded community project, supervised by Martin Roe of Meerstone Archaeological Consultancy. The survey has recorded almost 280 mine shafts and found evidence of medieval management of the woodland.
English Heritage has been adding to its Images of England project which aims to provide a photographic record of every building and structure listed at the beginning of the 21st century. More than 300,000 images are available to view on the website www.imagesofengland.org.uk. More news from English Heritage – together with the Royal Commissions on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Wales, it has agreed to purchase the Aerofilms Historic Collection of 800,000 aerial photographs of Britain from Blom Aerofilms. The films provide a unique picture of the changing face of Britain from 1919 onwards. It is hoped that after cataloguing, conservation and digitisation, access to the photographs will be available.
Legrams Mill, Horton, Bradford has been listed grade II. It was a steam powered worsted mill built in 1871 to designs by the Bradford architects Lockwood and Mawson as an integrated mill with combing shed, weaving shed and warehouse. A slump in the worsted trade led to its change to a spinning mill and the weaving shed was never built. Archaeological recording has been recommended prior to redevelopment. This recommendation has also been made for Springfield Mills in Stanningley, built in the late 19th century for boot and shoe manufacture but later converted to worsted manufacture.
The Shaw Lodge Mills complex in Halifax has been listed grade II*. The firm of John Holdsworth & Co. operated a worsted manufacturing business there from 1822. The processes became steam driven in 1839 and produced medal winning worsted cloth on Jacquard looms for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The buildings date from 1830, with the offices designed by Sir Charles Barry (who also designed Halifax Town Hall) but built after his death in 1865. A grand clock tower was added in 1876. A well preserved grade II listed textile warehouse, India Buildings, Horton Lane, Halifax has been recommended for recording prior to redevelopment.
Still on the subject of mills in Halifax, the November 2007 issue of Industrial Archaeology Review contains an article by Ron Fitzgerald on the Engine House of Stone Dam Mill, the oldest standing textile mill in Halifax. Dating from 1840 it was jointly owned by William Johnson and William Huntriss and taking its name from the stone dam which supplied Halifax’s manorial corn mill. As well as describing the features of the engine house, Ron introduces his article with a lengthy, somewhat despairing, comment on the replacement of a scientific and technological study of industrial archaeology with a more arts, humanities and social science approach. As the former Keeper of the Leeds Industrial Museum, he is particularly critical of the way “interactive” toys have replaced historical exhibits in many of our industrial museums. Something with which I personally have to agree. The issue is available in the YAHS Library.
Work is continuing in Bradford with plans to restore the Bradford Canalbetween the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Shipley and the centre of Bradford where a terminal basin will be provided. Bradford council already owns about two thirds of the land needed and is in discussion with the remaining landowners. Network Rail has agreed to a short closure of the railway that will allow a canal bridge under the railway at Shipley planned for the end of 2009. The Bradford Canal was opened in 1774 and finally closed in 1922; it would be good to see it re- opened.
The Yorkshire Waterways Museum in Goole has won the 2007 Best Visitor Attraction (under 50,000 visitors) from the Yorkshire Tourist Board. The museum relates the story of the development of Goole as an inland port as well as the history of the Aire & Calder Navigation. If you missed that YAHS trip to Goole last year, a visit to the Museum can still be made. Entry is free but there is a charge if you want to take the boat tour of Goole Docks which operates at weekends. For more details see the museum’s website at www.waterwaysmuseum.org.uk.
I have given a report of my attendance at the 2007 AIA conference later in the Newsletter, but I am pleased to report here that at the conference (unfortunately the bit that I missed) section member David Johnson accepted the AIA’s Initiative Award on behalf of the Sow Kiln Project: Excavation of Clamp Kilns in the Yorkshire Dales and gave a presentation about the project. The project was funded by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, the Yorkshire Dales National park and an anonymous benefactor and completed between January 2005 and December 2006. The project excavated a series of potential clamp kilns in the Ingleborough area and carried out research into early lime burning techniques. David is the author of the excellent book “Limestone Industries of the Yorkshire Dales” published in 2002.
News of two closures of significant industrial companies has been reported. The Doncaster assembly plant of McCormick has produced its last tractor with the production being transferred to the parent group’s plant in Italy. The last McCormick CX tractor was bought at auction by an agricultural engineer who had worked with the factory. RH Braime in Hunslet, Leeds has produced its last pressing after 130 years of production. Braime’s terracotta faced building is listed, but the experience and history will be lost. The site earmarked as a “significant development opportunity extending to 5.7 acres” is opposite the site of the former works of McLaren and Fowler.
Excavation by MAP Archaeological associates at the site of High Town Glassworks in Castleford has found remains of the early 20th century glassworks and a late 19th century brickworks and confirmed the existence of an earlier glassworks. Archaeological evaluation has been recommended for the site of the earliest pottery in the town – Russell’s (or the Mere) Pottery was probably founded in 1770 and used until the late 20th century as part of Castleford Pottery.
NEWS FROM NORTH EAST INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY PANEL
The North East Industrial Archaeology Panel met twice in 2007. In April we visited the North of England Museum at Beamish. The meeting was followed by a tour of the some of the new and behind-the-scenes parts of the site. If you haven’t been recently it is well worth the journey. The autumn meeting was held at Armley Mills, the Leeds Industrial Museum.
After several years of preparation, the document detailing sources of information for the study of industrial archaeology and industrial history has been produced. It has been published on the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) web site www.britarch.ac.uk/neiap/ and contains sections on • Bibliographical Sources • Archives and Specialist Libraries • Web sites • Serial Publications • Occasional Publications • Contemporary Accounts We hope researchers will find this a useful resource as it brings together a wide variety of material, some of which is not widely known. Thanks to everyone who has been involved. The Panel receives reports on activities and development affecting industrial sites. One major item of concern is the treatment of old mining sites by the Coal Authority. We have supported those who have challenged the way in which sites have been obliterated without recording – often in the name of “health and safety”. The matter is now being tackled at a national level. For the future, the Panel is looking at organising a regional industrial history conference – there are already successful ones in some other parts of the country. We are also proposing to revise our first publication – the “Sources of Advice” document, which gives contacts for individuals/groups with special expertise relating to industrial history.
I intend to step down as joint co-ordinator, a role I have shared with Harry Beamish of the National Trust since 2003. I could continue to represent the Industrial History Section at the Panel, but if anyone else would like to attend the meetings, please let Margaret Tylee know.
David Cant
FUTURE EVENTS
9 Feb The Victorian Railway Station: a new way of travelling – Dr George Sheeran. Industrial History Section lecture. 11am. YAHS, Claremont.
16 Feb North Yorkshire Historic Environment Day. Held at Hambleton Forum, Bullamor Road, Northallerton, DL6 2Wz 10.30 – 4.30. Cost £6. Booking c/o H Dinsdale, Business & Environmental Services, County Hall, Northallerton, DL7 8AH. Booking form available at www.northyorks,gov.uk/archaeology.
16 Feb The Story of Sheffield’s Industrial Museums – John Hampshire. Joint South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) / Rotherham Local History Council meeting. 10.30am Rotherham Central Library & Arts Centre.
17 Feb Arthur Barnett Memorial Day. A Railway Ramblers celebration on what would have been Arthur Barnett’s 100th birthday. A repeat of the last walk that he led for the Railway Ramblers at the age of 95. Meet at 11.15 in the car park at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve, near Doncaster, for a variety of walks in the complex of trackbeds adjacent to the East Coast Main Line. Admission to the Reserve is £1.50 and lunch is available in the café. For further details contact Brian Slater ? 01904 331245.
18 Feb Please note that the SYIHS lecture on Building Bridges: a Sheffield speciality by Dr Alan Wood listed in the SYIHS programme has been cancelled due to the speaker’s illness. Details of replacement lecture available from Derek Bayliss 0114 230 7693.
8 Mar A Civil Engineering Miscellany- Brian Slater. Industrial History Section lecture 11am. YAHS, Claremont. 15 Mar GCR plus Some. Railway Ramblers 7 mile circular walk led by Richard Lewis with at least one tunnel. Meet at the junction of Wortley Road and Station Road, Deepcar, South Yorkshire (GR 289981 on map 110). Bring a torch and a packed lunch.
18 Mar From Cutlery to Steel City: Sheffield in the 18th Century- Professor David Hey. 17th Annual Kenneth Barraclough Memorial Lecture. 5.30pm for 6pm Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield.
31 Mar Lime Burning at the former Cawthorne (Barnby) canal basin and its early Victorian puzzles – Harold Taylor. Joseph Bramah Lecture, 7pm. Cooper Gallery, Church Street, Barnsley.
4-6 Apr Crossing Paths or Sharing Tracks? Future Directions for the Archaeological Study of post 1550 Britain & Ireland. Joint conference including the AIA and the Society for Post Medieval Archaeology at the University of Leicester. For further details contact Professor Marilyn Palmer, School of Archaeology & Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH email [email protected]
12 Apr Industrial History Section AGM 11am Claremont. Followed by Leeds Industrial walk led by Robert Vickers, meet at the Black Prince Statue, City Square at 2pm. Further details from [email protected] or ? 01937 588446
20 Apr Saltaire Model Textile Community. YAHS walking tour led by Erik Matthews; meet 10am Shipley. Cost £12.50 for YAHS members, £15 for non members. Booking essential to Janet Senior at Claremont by 28 March.
21 Apr Convince Sheffield and convert the world- 150th anniversary celebration of the start of commercial Bessemer steelmaking – Trevor Lodge, SYIHS lecture. Details as for 21 Jan above.
4 May Discover Bradford. Industrial History Section walk around Bradford led by Robert Vickers. Meet 11am at St George’s Hall, Bradford. Contact details as for 12 Apr above.
10 May EMIAC 75: Setting Sails in Sneinton. 75th East Midlands Industrial Archaeology Conference hosted by the Nottinghamshire IA Society at the Bakersfield Community Centre, Snienton Dale, Nottingham. For details and booking form send SAE to EMIAC 75 Joan Hodges, 2 Knighton Road, Woodthorpe, Nottingham, NG5 4FL.
17-18 May The Historic Landscapes of Saddleworth. YAHS Study weekend. Lectures at Claremont on 17th May, field trip to Saddleworth on 18th May. Cost £20 for YAHS members, £25 for non members for whole weekend; £15 for YAHS members, £17.50 for non members for Saturday only; £5 for YAHS members, £7.50 for non members for Sunday only. Booking essential to Janet Senior at Claremont by 25th April. 19 May Mining & Quarrying in Ringinglow and the Porter Valley – Peter Kennett. SYIHS lecture. Details as for 21 Jan above.
28 June A Day at the Middleton Railway. Meet Brian Slater 10.15am Leeds Station to walk following the course of the Middleton Railway to the present Middleton Railway station for lunch. After lunch a film; visit to the engine house and a ride on the railway. Finally a walk along the tramcar route through Middleton Woods before catching a bus back to Leeds station. Full details, including cost, available later.
22-28 Aug AIA Annual Conference to be held at Lackham, near Chippenham, Wiltshire. Full details to follow later in 2008.
Calderdale Heritage Walks
The final programme of walks is not yet available but David Nortcliffe, Secretary of Calderdale Heritage Walks, tells me that there will be several with an industrial theme including walks around West Vale, Bailiff Bridge, Akroydon, Todmorden, Wainstalls, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. The price of £3 per walk remains the same. The programme will be available in February but if members wish to go on the emailing list and receive it direct contact David at [email protected]
FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF
Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers. 2nd (revised) edition. Edited by Christine Ball, David Crossley and Neville Flavell. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society. 2006. 211pp. ISBN 978-0-9556644-0-3. £15 (£12 for SYIHS members).
The first edition of this book was published in 1989 since when there have been many changes with further site excavations. Improved access to the Fairbank Collection of surveyors’ records and research carried out by Neville Flavell in the Wakefield Registry of Deeds has increased knowledge of the sites. Due to its geography, Sheffield has a long history of using water power, there are almost 30 miles of five rivers – the Don; Loxley; Rivelin; Porter and Sheaf – with 115 mill sites. The sites were used for a variety of industries including paper making, snuff grinding as well as the more typical metal working. This geography was a major contributory factor to the devastating floods Sheffield experienced in June 2007. The book describes the history, archaeology and technology of the use of water power in the Sheffield area. For each river there is a map showing water power sites, a description of each site and its use and illustrations where available, together with the appropriate archive references. For example sites on the Don begin with Upper Middlewood Forge in Oughtibridge and continue to the site of the Parker Wheel and Brightside Paper Mill where the Meadowhall Shopping Centre is now situated. There are 222 illustrations, some in colour and an extensive bibliography. The authors are to be congratulated on pulling together such useful information in one volume, the quality of production as well as the content make the book excellent value.
Margaret Tylee
The Sherburn and South Milford Gas Company, by Christopher Rule. Published by Selia Limited, 35 Grange Grove, Canonbury, London, N1 2NP, 2006. 33pp. ISBN 0 907370 06 3. £3.75 (inc p&p).
Having written about the railways of South Milford (see Newsletter 66 p.6), Section member Chris Rule’s latest work tells the story of the Sherburn and South Milford Gas Company. The development of gas production for lighting from c1800 is related to provide context to the formation of the Company in 1865, by which time gas lighting was common in large towns. The Company, set up and managed by local men, remained independent until 1937. Following the nationalisation of the gas industry in 1949 the Company’s buildings were gradually demolished as they became redundant and the sole visible remains (in 2006) are a gatepost. The photographs, maps and tables enhance this well researched story of a local enterprise that for about 100 years made an important social and economic contribution to its community.
Robert Vickers
REPORTS OF VISITS, LECTURES, SHORT ARTICLES
Association for Industrial Archaeology Annual Conference 2007 – Lancashire Held at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston 10-16 August 2007
The AIA 2007 conference was organised by the CBA North West Industrial Archaeology Panel of which section member David George is a member and who played an active part in the organisation. Due to a clash of dates I was not able to attend the main conference proceedings but joined for most of the post conference programme. David George gave a report of the pre conference seminar on Urban Regeneration in the last Newsletter and the main conference ran from Friday evening until Sunday lunchtime. Issue 143 of Industrial Archaeology News, available in the YAHS Library, contains a report of the Conference together with illustrations. From the programme, I missed a choice of visits to either the Helmshore Textile Museum or a tour of Blackpool or tour of Carnforth Station and Sedgewick Gunpowder Mill on the Saturday afternoon. Helmshore made the cotton bags which were provided for delegates to carry their papers in. Unfortunately cotton bags were not ideal in the rain for carrying papers and packed lunches! Sunday afternoon visits were a choice of two walks around Preston looking at workers housing or mills and canals or a visit to Preston Dock and the Ribble Steam Museum. There was an evening lecture on Sunday given by Colin Dickinson on the Lancaster Canal and Glasson Dock, both of which were visited on Monday. The alternative visit on Monday was a tour of cotton weaving districts in the Pendle area.
I joined the conference on Monday evening in time for dinner, after having some difficulty finding someone from the University who could give me a key to my room in the hall of residence – a word of warning - joining AIA conferences part way through can be a risky business! The first of the two evening lectures was given by Peter Keen, Secretary of the Sankey Canal Restoration Society on the Restoration of the Sankey Canal. The canal was developed to bring coal from the Lancashire coalfields to Liverpool, a Bill of 1755 authorised the building of a navigation alongside the Sankey Brook which was too narrow and winding for navigation. The canal was opened in 1757 running from St Helens to the Mersey, later extending to Widnes. Boats with flat bottoms called Mersey Flats were used to transport the coal with numerous tramway links. The canal had 8 locks and 2 pairs of staircase locks. The coming of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway started its decline and in 1845 it was taken over by the St Helens Railway Company and became known as the St Helens Canal. The last user was the Sankey Sugar Works at Earlestown who received their supplies from Liverpool. The canal was closed north of the works in 1931 and closed completely in 1963. By 1985 most of it had been filled in and a restoration society was formed to save what was left. Mr Keen gave a detailed description of the restoration of the double lock in St Helens last used in 1919. Work continues by the Sankey Canal Restoration Society with the help of EU grants and a towpath guide and trail leaflets have been produced. This was followed by Brian Tomlinson from the BAE Heritage Group describing the Development of Aviation in the North West. His talk focused on aircraft manufacture, the subject of one of the tours the following day. In 1909, the first air shows in Britain were held in Blackpool using the beach and later grass fields, the flat nature of the landscape encouraged this development. After the 1st World War flying started again and a new airport was established at Stanley Park, during the 2nd World War several airfields were established around Preston. From 1917 onwards aircraft production continued in the area, in particular for flying boats and small aircraft. Later the Halifax and Wellington bombers were built. Today BAE Systems build Hawks and the Eurofighter Typhoons at Warton and Samlesbury. Both of these sites, together with the earlier site at Stanley Park, were visited the next day by one of the excursions. The group had the interesting experience of seeing the Stanley Park airfield buildings where Blackpool Zoo is now situated, the old control tower and clubhouse is adjacent to the elephant enclosure so we got some additional shots of wildlife! We saw the interior of one of Vickers Aviation’s shadow factories built for the production of the Wellington bomber and ended with a tour of the high tech assembly of the Eurofighter at BAE Systems Samlesbury. The alternative tour visited the World of Glass Museum at St Helens and the Sankey Canal.
Tuesday evening’s lectures started with Mike Nevell talking on the Industrial Archaeology of the Rossendale Valley. The area covered is in south east Lancashire with Blackburn as the gateway and defined by the steep sided valley of the River Irwell and is tributaries. There are no large towns and the textile industry was dominant – over 200 textile mill sites have been identified and even a small area such as the Cheesden valley had 12 water powered mills in the 18th century. Probably the most well known is Helmshore Mill, now a textile museum maintained by Lancashire County Council, built in 1789 by William Turner who owned three other mills in Helmshore. Mike showed examples of many of the mills, the largest concentration was 67 in Rawtenstall, many have gone and others converted into apartments. Slipper manufacture was one of the major products of the mills in the areas of Rawtenstall and Bacup and there are still a few slipper works still operating. Mike concluded his talk by referring to other industries in the area, notable quarrying - there were 26 major quarries with associated tramways and connections to the railway network. The East Lancashire Railway opened in the 1840s, closed in 1972 and was re-opened in 1987 by enthusiasts running from Bury to Rawtenstall. The second lecture was on the Lancaster Canal and Tramway and ROF Chorley by Jack Smith, President of the Chorley Archaeology Society who had excavated the tramway. The Lancaster Canal Company was formed in 1792 to link Kendal and Lancaster with the Lancashire coalfields. Preston formed the south end of the northern section; the northern end of the southern section was located a few miles south of the River Ribble at Walton Summit. Connecting the two sections in place of the originally planned aqueduct over the river was a 7.3km tramway built in 1803. A dock was built at Walton Summit for the transhipment of cargoes, no trace remains but sections of the tramway have been preserved. The second half of Jack’s talk focussed on ROF Chorley a shell filling factory built in the 1930s. At one time it covered 928 acres and employed 44,000 people. Most of the site has now been redeveloped for housing but a few of the 1930s office buildings remain.
The visits on Wednesday were a choice between a tour of the Rossendale Valley and a ride on the East Lancs railway or the Lancaster Canal tramway, site of ROF Chorley and a visit to the Commercial Vehicle Museum at Leyland. I joined the latter trip, commencing with a walk along the tramway from Avenham Park in Preston and over the bridge across the Ribble. We were able to examine the remains of the stone sleeper blocks before being rejoining the coach en route to the British Commercial Vehicle Museum at Leyland. On the way we stopped to view Penwortham Mill at Bamber Bridge. Lunch was taken at the Museum which holds a good collection of vehicles, not surprisingly a lot made in Leyland. There was little to see remaining of ROF Chorley but time was spent at Coppull Ring Mill an impressive example of a ring spinning mill built in 1906 by Stott & Sons. It is now a business centre but we were able to get inside. Finally we walked a short stretch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal where it joined with the Lancaster Canal at Whittle Le Woods.
The last lecture on Wednesday evening was given by Ian Gibson, Head of Collections for Lancashire Museum’s Service, who spoke about the Weaver’s Triangle and Queen Street Mill Textile Museum in Burnley which were to be visited on the last day. The Weaver’s Triangle is an artificial name first used in the 1970s to describe a tightly packed area of textile and other mills near to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burnley. Ian described the history and development of the area with several archive views. The Clock Tower Mill was particularly impressive but unfortunately burnt down about 15 years ago. The area has a visitor centre situated in the former Wharfmaster’s house and Canal Toll Office which was in use until the 1903s. Ian then talked about Queen Street Mill which was built as a workers’ co-operative in 1894-5 and closed in 1982 when it was the last steam powered textile mill in Lancashire. Originally bought by Burnley Borough Council and then Pennine Heritage who ran it as a textile museum until 1988 when it closed again. Eventually it was bought by Lancashire County Council and re-opened as a museum in 1992. The original tandem compound steam engine is still in use and the weaving shed contains over 300 Lancashire looms.
That was the end of the conference for me, as usual a very interesting programme and fortunately the weather wasn’t too bad since there were long walks between the halls of residence and the conference facilities. An extensive and well produced conference gazetteer “Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Lancashire” is available in the YAHS Library. Next Year’s conference will be held at Lackham near Chippenham, Wiltshire, 22-28 August. Details should be available in time for the next Newsletter.
Margaret Tylee
South Yorkshire Archaeology Day 3 November 2007 Held at the Showroom Cinema, Sheffield
A well attended day organised by the South Yorkshire Archaeology Service, with eight half hour presentations covering a wide range of archaeological and historical research being carried out in the county. The topics ranged from cropmarks on the Magnesian Limestone to urban excavations at Sheffield’s bus station taking in Roman remains at Templeborough and medieval ship timbers in Doncaster. There was also a series of displays and book stalls.
The opportunity was taken to launch the publication of the 2nd edition of “Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers” (see above book review) with one of the presentations given by Christine Ball, one of the book’s editors and a Section member. Dan Ratcliffe and Jennifer Marchant gave an interesting presentation on Characterising South Yorkshire: reading the patterns of a changing landscape. Using the technology of digital mapping it was possible to build up a picture of how the landscape changed over time, particularly with regard to industrial use. The final presentation given by Adrian Chadwick described the excavations undertaken as part of the development of the new Digital campus site of Sheffield Hallam University on the site of part of Sheffield’s Bus Station. The excavation discovered the remains of the Sheaf Saw Mills, the River Lane Cutlery Works and cobbled surface of River Lane together with the cellars of the various tenement buildings alongside.
Also launched on the day was “Archaeology in South Yorkshire” No. 12, this is the latest review of archaeology in South Yorkshire and includes the results of fieldwork and other archaeological investigations carried out by the South Yorkshire Archaeology Service during financial years 2003/4 and 2004/5. Not surprisingly for the area covered there are many examples of investigations into industrial sites, particularly in the urban centre of Sheffield. Copies of the 152 page review are available from the SYAS, Howden House, 1 Union Street, Sheffield, S1 2SH price £10. Further details are available on the SYAS website www.sheffield.gov.uk/syas.
Comments on the Demise of British Manufacturing - from Adrian Bailey
Whilst the AIA discussed the topic of Urban Regeneration and the adaptive re- use of industrial buildings in August 2007 (report of seminar in last Newsletter), yet another significant works closed- the last footnote in motor vehicle engine production. Sheepbridge Stokes in Chesterfield provided a wide range of cylinder liners for Ford, Volvo and Toyota to name just a few. Unable to visit the plant, I have managed to obtain a DVD of its last operating days. Whilst some processes dated back to the 19/20th century and demanded manual labour and a great deal of skill, the plant was modern. As British industry downsizes and deskills it no longer produces cars, lorries, locomotives or marine engines. August 2007 also saw the closure of the Hovis bakery, the demolition of Unilever’s food processing plant in Grimsby, which means that peas grown in this country for freezing will be sent to Belgium to be processed and then returned to Britain. Old plant is the usual reason given for the closures.
These comments are written to mark their passing into industrial history and the thousands of people who worked long and hard to produce a quality product in the days of British manufacturing.
INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS 2007-2008 Chairman Vice- Lecture Membership Secretary Chairmen Secretary & Newsletter Editor
Margaret Tylee Sheila Bye Jane Ellis Margaret Tylee Bill Slatcher