NEWSLETTER NO. 74 AUTUMN 2008

EDITORIAL

Welcome to the latest Newsletter; I hope you have had an enjoyable summer in spite of the dreadful weather, Due to a clash of dates I was unable to attend this year’s AIA Conference which was held in Wiltshire and I look forward to reading the report which will appear in Industrial Archaeology News. I am also looking forward to the forthcoming 2008-2009 Lecture Programme; full details are given on the separate sheet, meeting as usual on Saturday mornings at Claremont. In the past the Section has considered whether midweek evening meetings or Saturday afternoons would attract more members to join and attend but the general view from those who have expressed it, is that Saturday mornings are preferred. However please note that the 2009 AGM will be starting earlier at 10.30am. This is because we will have another local walk in the afternoon starting at 2pm and starting the AGM half an hour earlier gives a little more time for members’ contributions and lunch. I am sure that you will agree with me that our Lecture Secretary, Jane Ellis, has yet again organised an interesting and varied programme and I hope many of you will be able to attend at least a few lectures during the season. Robert will also lead a walk around on Sunday 10 May 2009, meeting at the Railway Station at 11am with a pub lunch. Let’s hope there is better weather for this than his walk around , which is reported on later in the Newsletter.

The other point to note is that the Section needs to hold a short business meeting prior to the start of the October lecture to discuss the proposed membership subscriptions with effect from January 2009. Members will be aware that some controversial proposals were put forward earlier in the year concerning section membership, which resulted in a motion being sent from the section to the Society’s President, Dr Richard Hall and I subsequently received a reply from Dr Hall apologising for the apparent lack of consultation with the section. In the event, the Management Committee has decided against making a change and this was reported to the Society’s AGM (see below for more information on the AGM). In summary, Sections continue to be free to set their own membership subscriptions but the capitation fee paid by sections to the main society is being increased to £10 with effect from 1 January 2009. Subscriptions to the main Society are also being increased from £40 to £45 and in line with previous arrangements, the main Society subscriptions will be held for a period of 4 years also with effect from 1 January 2009. Proposals for an increase to section membership subscriptions will be discussed with members, but my proposal would be to retain the Section element of the subscription at £4. According to the YAHS Annual Accounts as of end December 2007, the section had funds of £4,172. Since we have no immediate plans for any additional expenditure over and above present costs, it seemed to me that holding the section subscription rate would be an encouragement for both existing and new members. If agreed, a Section only membership would increase from £11 to £14 (£10 capitation fee + £4 section membership) with Section members of the main Society paying £49 (£45 + £4) if you are a full Society member.

Following my enquiries about membership of Council which I mentioned at the AGM and correspondence concerning the proposed subscription changes, I was approached to see if I would be willing to be co-opted onto the Management Committee as there was a vacancy. I have agreed to this since it will be a useful way of being able to raise matters of interest for the Section directly and to have first hand knowledge of any ongoing issues. The Management Board meets four times a year at Claremont and the next meeting is scheduled for 8 October. . Also enclosed with this issue of the Newsletter are the minutes of the 2008 AGM. If any member wishes to propose corrections to the minutes please let me have the details in writing or email.

No new members to welcome this time, but a reminder that copies of the membership leaflet are available on the Society’s website www.yas.org.uk. Finally, please let me have any items for the next Newsletter in early January and I hope to see you at some or all of the lectures.

Margaret Tylee

NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

The AGM of the main Society was held on 21 June 2008. There was some worrying news from the Treasurer who reported that over the past 7 years the Society has lost about 200 members and membership continues to decline. The accounts for 2007 had shown a deficit over 2006 of £69,000 and there was an ongoing dispute with the Revenue and Customs over the Society’s eligibility to claim Gift Aid and even the risk that previous Gift Aid may have to be paid back. This being resisted by the Management Committee. The Society is presently lacking a Membership Secretary and Publicity Officer. Filling both posts is an important action to help halt the decline in membership and revenue. The meeting received an update on the grant application to purchase new projection equipment, including a laptop and data projector. Application had been made for £6,000 and has had to be resubmitted on a number of occasions. At the time of writing we are still waiting to hear the outcome.

There was a long discussion on the proposal to increase the subscriptions which was eventually carried by a majority; interestingly the Treasurer voted against the increase arguing that any increase would deter existing and future members.

Section only members may like to read the August issue of Update, the YAHS Newsletter (copy available in the YAHS Library). The Senior Librarian Robert Frost has written a brief history of the Society and I hadn’t realised that it was formed in Huddersfield in 1863 before moving to in 1896 and that Claremont was purchased in 1924. Also in this issue is a request for volunteers to work in the Library and archive or helping the Officers – any offers for a Membership Secretary or Publicity Officer?

NEWS ITEMS A 150 year old minute book from the London & North Western Railwaywas rescued from being thrown away in the 1940s and donated to the British Waterways archives. It contains details, amongst other items, of the company’s ownership of the Huddersfield canals, giving an insight into the life and workings of the canals in the mid 19th century. The Huddersfield Canal Society has now produced a digital version of the 250 page book and it can be viewed via the Society’s website www.huddersfieldcanal.com/minutebook.

English Heritage has published its latest Heritage at Risk register. It has an extended coverage from the Buildings at Risk register which English Heritage has published annually since 1998 which listed grade I and II* buildings at risk. The new register will be extended to cover grade II buildings, scheduled monuments, historic landscapes, parks and gardens, places of worship, battlefields and designated maritime wrecks. In the Yorkshire & Humber Region there are 122 grade I and II* buildings and scheduled monuments at risk, most are not buildings with a link to industry but Westwood Mills at Linthwaite, Huddersfield is one of four new entries this year. They are listed grade II* and comprise a 19th century mill complex including a former scribbling, carding and fulling mill, office, warehouse, workshops, boiler and engine house. Consent was given for conversion to residential use in October 2005 and the interior and roof s were stripped for refurbishment but the rest of the scheme has not yet been implemented.

The archives of the Jowett Car Club have been deposited at the Archive Service in Bradford. The Jowett Motor Manufacturing Company was established in Bradford in 1901. Cars were produced commercially from 1910 until 1953 with peak production in the 1920sThe factory at Idle produced field guns and ammunition during the 2nd World War and after the war, Jowett produced the Bedford van, the Javelin and Jupiter cars. The Javelin was not successful and due to financial problems the company closed in 1953. The Jowett Car Club collection consists of over 30 boxes of material collected by the club, including road tests, instructions books, sales catalogues, price lists, brochures, photographs, club rally programmes and magazines. There are also scrap books containing articles and advertisements for Jowett cars. The full article can be found in issue 26 of West Yorkshire’s Heritage (see item below)

News of more planned developments in Leeds. A planning application has been submitted to demolish Broadhead & Conyers Buslingthorpe Tannery at Sheepscar to form 208 flats and a 10 storey apartment block. The 1.5 acre Troy Mills site in Horsforth previously occupied by Xerxes Belts, manufacturers of leather belts and handbags is to be converted into 12 apartments, 2 cottages and 21,000 sq. ft of offices.

The West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service regularly publishes “West Yorkshire’s Heritage - Archaeology, Archives and Ecology” containing useful information about the work of the Service. Issue 26 includes an article reporting on the industrial archaeology fieldwork that has been carried out over the past 18 months. Each local authority in West Yorkshire has seen IA activity, examples include:

• an examination of the mining and mine transport features in West Bowling, Bradford • tin tabernacles in • a pump house in Farnley Tyas, • Monk Bridge Forge, Leeds • High Town Glassworks, Castleford

Copies of the publication are free on request from the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory service, Register of Deeds, Newstead Road, , WF1 2DE, but please include a stamped addressed A4 envelope.

Have you looked at Leeds Libraries’ on line photographic archive Leodislately? It has grown over the past few years and contains some fascinating archive photographs of buildings and sites in and around Leeds. The archive is available at www.leodis.net.

Kelham Island Industrial Museum in was devastated by last year’s floods, but now after over a year, it is due to re-open in late October 2008. Amongst some of the larger objects which needed cleaning, restoring and repainting were the massive River Don engine and the Bessemer converter which stands at the entrance of the Museum and is one of only three left in the world. Information and pictures about the restoration work can be found at www.simt.co.uk/kelham.

Members will be aware that has been designated a World Heritage site. Bradford Council is proposing to revise the management plan for the site with a view to raising the profile of Saltaire as one of Bradford’s key assets. Craig McHugh, the Saltaire World Heritage Site Officer is keen to involve a wide range of people in the development of the plan and a consultative workshop is being planned for early October. Representatives from the Section would be welcome, but at present there are no details. If any member is interested in finding out more please contact Craig direct 01274 435319

FUTURE EVENTS

27 September Walk around Little Germany, Bradford. A Victorian Society walk led by Chris Hammond. An opportunity to see this interesting area of 19th century warehouses if you missed the Section walk on 4 May. Meet in Century Square, Bradford at 2pm. Contact Graham Hague ? 0114 2686729 for more details.

18 October EMIAC 76. Wellingborough – an industrious market town. Held at Wellingborough School hosted by Northamptonshire IA Group. For details and booking form send SAE to Mrs J Waterfield, 6 Baker’s Lane, Norton, Daventry, NN11 2EL

19 October Industries of the Eden Valley. Autumn conference of the Cumbria Industrial History Society at the University of Cumbria, Newton Rigg Campus. For details contact Judy Matthews, CIHS Conference Secretary, 20 Hillcrest, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, LA7 7RG. ? 01539 62250 or visit website www.cumbria- industries.org.uk 2 November Yorkshire Engine Company, Sheffield’s Locomotive Manufacturer. Talk by Tony Vernon at Kelham Island Museum, starting at 2.30om. Admission is free and copies of Tony’s book on the subject will be available.

15 November South Yorkshire Archaeology Day. Showroom Cinema, Sheffield. 10am to 4.30pm. Fee £10, concessions £5. Full details of the programme available from David Marsh 0114 273 4223.

19-21 November On the Waterfront. A major English Heritage conference exploring the future of port cities. Held at the BT Convention Centre Liverpool. Includes presentations, workshops and walking tours of Liverpool. More details available from www.english-heritage.org.uk or contact Kate Orchard ? 01273 882112

21 November Historical Mining in Middleton Park – Martin Roe. Lecture to the & District Archaeological Society. 7.15pm Pontefract Museum, Salter Row, Pontefract. Non members £1.

22 November West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service’s Annual Day School. Royal Armouries, Leeds. Morning session will give summaries of archaeological activities carried out in 2008; the afternoon will focus on the Romans. For further details contact Helen Andrews ? 0113 3836433 or email [email protected]

27 November By Rail to Bolton Abbey – Mike Dixon. Lecture to the Skipton & Craven Historical Society. 7.30pm Swadford Centre, Swadford Street, Skipton. Non members £2.

10 May 2009 Industrial History Section walk around Huddersfield. Meet Railway Station at 11am. Advance notice for your diaries. Further details in next Newsletter.

South Yorkshire Industrial History 2008-2009 Winter Programme.

Sheffield Programme The following lectures will be at Kelham Island Museum starting at 7.30pm except where indicated. Also, there is a minimum admission charge of £1 for non members.

17 November 2008 Conservation of historic buildings – why bother? – Andrew Shepherd 7 December 2008 Christmas at Wortley Top Forge. Waterwheels, engines and carols. 11am -4pm Wortley Top Forge, Forge Lane, Wortley, Sheffield. Admission £3 adults; £2 concessions and 50p children. 8 December 2008 Key Events in the formation of the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society – Dr Jim McQuaid 19 January 2009 John Towlerton Leather, Sheffield’s water engineer – the man who designed the Dale Dike Dam – David Leather 16 February 2009 Engineering & Empire – Henry Gunston 24 March 2009 The Building of “Tornado” class A1 Pacific - Dr David Elliott. The 18th Dr Kenneth Barraclough Memorial Lecture. Joint meeting with SMEA. 5.30pm for 6pm at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield. Admission free. 20 April 2009 The Sheffield Simples story – Steve Myers 18 May 2009 An industrial wander down the Derbyshire Wye – Graham Hague

Barnsley Programme 24 November 2008 The water & steam powered flour mill at Worsborough – Rob Shorland-Ball. Central Library, Shambles Street, Barnsley. 7pm. 30 March 2009 The Silkstone Waggonway 1809 – 2009 – Jim Ritchie. The Joseph Bramah Lecture. Cooper Gallery, Church Street, Barnsley. Admission free.

Joint Meeting with Local History Council 21 February 2009 The Rockingham Pottery – Alison Duce. Rotherham Central Library & Arts Centre. 10.30am

Calderdale Heritage Walks

The 2008 walk programme continues until the end of October. The walks usually last around 2 hours and are mostly fairly easy walking. Each walk costs £3 and there is no need to book – just turn up and pay on the day.

21 September Wainstalls. Exploring the development of this textile village. Meet Iain Cameron at 2.15pm by the bus terminus in Wainstalls. 28 September Halls, Houses & Hamlets. A longer rural walk to settlements south east of Coley to see some interesting houses. (Boots/strong shoes needed). Meet John Brooke at 2.15pm by Coley Church, about a mile north of Hipperholme crossroads 5 October Todmorden Changes. A look at the development of Todmorden, focussing on transport. Meet Ed Westbrook at 2.15pm by the main entrance to Todmorden Town Hall, Halifax Road. 12 October Coiners, Chickens, Blankets & Poets. How Mytholmroyd led the world. Meet Pam Jordan at 2.15pm by the bus stop on A646 opposite the Dusty Miller, Mytholmroyd. 19 October Domesday to Commuters. Almost the whole history of this part of is reflected in Midgley. Meet Pam Jordan at 2.15pm at Midgley School car park at the south east end of the village. 26 October Centre. How Brighouse grew from 1750 onwards. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm at Brighouse Library, the Rydings, off Halifax Road (A644)

REPORTS OF EVENTS, MEETINGS, SHORT ARTICLES

More of the Industrial Heritage of Leeds Walking tour 12 April 2008

A small party met our walk leader Robert Vickers in the afternoon following the Section AGM. As with last year’s post AGM walk we met in City Square by the Black Prince statue. After admiring the exterior of the Art Deco Queen’s Hotel built in 1937 for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway we walked down Neville Street past the entrance to the Dark Arches and the Leeds Liverpool Canal Basin (visited on last year’s walk) along Water Lane adjacent to the Hol Beck running in a stone culvert to the Tower Works on Globe Road with its distinctive towers. The works were founded by T R Harding in 1864 to manufacture steel pins for carding and combing machines, we saw a small reminder of this in the shape of a metal porcupine with steel pins for its quills above one of the original entrances to the works. The largest tower incorporates a filter system to remove steel dust from the pin manufacture and was built in 1899 based on the design of Giotto’s campanile for Florence Cathedral. Gilded Burmantofts tiles give the impression of the belfry. The second smaller tower of 1864 which is a chimney is a copy of a 12th century Lamberti tower in Verona. The third tower is also a chimney dating from 1929 and is styled in the manner of the 13th century towers of San Gimignano. The works closed in 1979 but were the home to small workshops until a few years ago when the site was bought for redevelopment. Very little seems to have happened since.

We then moved back to Water Lane to view the buildings forming the exterior of ’s Round Foundry complex. A bronze plaque on the wall of an 1850s foundry was erected in 1929 and records Matthew Murray’s achievements. The area has been sympathetically restored with a mixture of offices, apartments and restaurants, including the Round Foundry Media Centre. The Round Foundry itself burnt down in 1873, but its site is marked by a circular steel inscription. Moving into Marshall Street we could see the extent of the flax mills belonging to John Marshall using flax spinning machines developed by Matthew Murray. At the north end the flax warehouse of 1806-8 has been converted into offices. The most remarkable of his mills and the most famous are Temple Mills built in 1838-43, designed by Joseph Bonomi. The office block has a design based on the Temple of Antaeopolis and the Temple of Horus in Egypt. The adjacent weaving shed continues the Egyptian them lit by 66 glass circular roof lights. It is a matter of debate as to whether the story is true that Marshall grew grass on the roof to provide the damp conditions necessary for flax spinning and then had to use sheep to keep it short by grazing or that the sheep kept falling through the glass roof lights into the machinery below. Temple Mills has been empty for some time and is in need of some form of restoration.

Walking back along Marshall Street we turned down Silver Street in front of the London & North Western Railway Viaduct of 1869 and viewed the small industrial complex of the Midland Junction Foundry dating from 1793 where machines were made for the linen textile industry. A narrow footpath took us back to Globe Road, where at Whitehall Road we crossed Monk Bridge of 1866 and joined the towpath of the Leeds Liverpool Canal, passing the remains of Thomas Grainger’s railway viaduct of 1846 which took the line into the Leeds & Thirsk Railway’s Central station. At St Ann Ings lock we crossed the canal and walked alongside what had previously been the Leeds & Thirsk’s railway repair shop before reaching the Half Roundhouse, now a commercial premises and further on the Roundhouse which was designed to hold up to 20 locomotives. Our way back took us along the busy and noisy A58 to the corner of Wellington Street. On the site of the present Yorkshire Post building stood Benjamin Gott’s Bean Ing Mills, a woollen manufacturer built from 1792 onwards, it was famous for being the earliest factory in Leeds where all the production from wool scribbling and carding to dyeing and cloth finishing were completed by a hired workforce on one site. The mills were demolished in the early 1960s, the only evidence being a small section of the original perimeter wall in the car park. Wellington Street contains a number of fine Victorian warehouses built to be near the railway goods stations and now converted into offices. We were also able to glimpse the Truck Lifting Tower one of two built in 1846 to move goods between the railway viaduct and the Leeds & Thirsk’s depot and now left isolated in the Aireside Centre. The walk finished at the Leeds City Station where we noted the LMS insignia above the entrance to one of the offices and looked into the Art Deco hall with its restored shopfronts.

Group at St Ann Ings lock (photo Herbert Masterson)

An interesting and varied walk and thanks go to Robert Vickers for researching and leading the walk. We will organise another local walk after next year’s AGM on 4 April.

Margaret Tylee

Discovering Bradford Industrial History Section Walk. 4 May 2008 In 1770 Bradford was a quiet, somewhat isolated market town on the edge of the Pennines. 100 years later it was Worstedopolis, the world centre of the woollen and worsted industries supplying raw materials and distributing finished and semi-finished products.

Railways came to Bradford in 1846 with the opening of the Leeds & Bradford; the Lancashire &Yorkshire followed in 1850 and Bradford’s links with the rest of the world were improved. In the home trade by the mid 19th century Bradford was the centre of the worsted industry and the West Riding textile industry. Trade relations with France and Germany were developed. Most of Bradford’s export trade was with Germany and most of the warehouses in Little Germany were built between 1860 and 1870. The development of dyeing was the key to Bradford becoming a mercantile centre. By 1900 the Bowling Dyeworks was the world’s largest piece dyeworks and five sixths of wool manufactured or partly manufactured in Britain was the subject of a deal at the Wool Exchange or a Bradford merchant’s warehouse. In 1910, in the world’s woollen capital, 50% of Bradford’s trade was in cotton goods. Bradford’s international position and its wealth based on this trade lasted well into the 20th century. At one point it was reputed to have more Rolls-Royces per head of population than anywhere else in the country.

Eight Section members braved the showers on 4 May to explore some of the significant buildings that are evidence of Bradford’s textile and financial trades and its municipal development. We started from the impressive classical St George’s Hall, 1853, designed by Lockwood & Mawson (L & M) who were responsible for many of Bradford’s notable buildings. The Hall is adjacent to the Great Northern Victoria hotel and the former Exchange Station of 1867. Next we looked at the Town Hall, also by L & M, in 1873. Just to the north, the Bradford Co-op, 1935, shows the modern style employed by the Co-op at that period. In the city centre we saw banks and building societies, many still in use as such. Their solid appearance and fine detail of design, by architects such as Andrews & Pepper, Milnes & France, show Bradford’s wealth and confidence. The Wool Exchange, L & M 1867, symbolises Bradford as the centre of the world’s wool trade.

After lunch, despite the now persistent rain, our intrepid group resumed the walk, viewing the 1885 Midland Hotel that fronts Forster Square Station. We skirted round the bleak redevelopment site that has replaced Forster Square in front of Sir Henry Tanner’s former GPO and the Cathedral to walk round Little Germany. This impressive collection of warehouses demonstrates the confidence and wealth of the 19th century merchants. With the wool trade gone, most have been adapted to new commercial use. The rain discouraged further exploration but it was good to see that, although Bradford has lost Kirkgate Market and other notable buildings to re-development, many remain as evidence of its manufacturing and commercial history.

Robert Vickers

National Regenerating Mills Conference, 18 June 2008 This was the 16th annual mills conference and it returned to the textile heartland with a one day format. Those attending included local government planners, architects, developers and conservationists. Presentations at the Chevin Country Park Hotel in the morning began with Ronnie Duncan on the Decline of the Wool Textile Industry. This covered the costs of mill closures, the export of machinery and the opportunities created by empty mills being converted into offices. Success depended on image and location – for example beside the River Wharfe in a parkland setting was a definite plus. Barry Watts of Thomason Structural Engineers described the conversion of Titanic Mill (1911) in the Clone Valley. The cast iron columns and steel beams were reinforced to allow for two level apartments and mezzanine floors were inserted. The tower was employed for air circulation and roof and walls were insulated for air tightness. A central system of heating and hot water was installed which is intended to be partly provided from wood chip gas. A health spa is included on the ground floor. Tricia Darley has developed apartments at Heritage Mills, Golcar - an 1850s woollen mill which closed in the 1950s. Again the setting is good; a tall beam engine house adds interest and mill cottages are included in the scheme. Portia Bell-Ryott, the managing director of Wm Ackroyd Holdings, discussed some of the hazards of mill conversion including vandalism, flooding, the cost of the landfill tax, asbestos control, energy efficiency and security for the tenants. Gordon Haydock, Principal Ecologist, Thompson Ecology, elaborated on the subject of constraints placed upon owners by protected species legislation leading to mitigation strategies.

Finally Nigel Grizzard, the Co-ordinator of the conference, outlined what he considered to be the best mill conversion schemes in Yorkshire. These were: • , Saltaire • , Halifax • Manningham Mills, Bradford • Victoria Mills, Shipley • Titanic Mills, Huddersfield • Silens Foundry, Little Germany, Bradford • Wharfebank Mills. Otley • The Media Centre, Huddersfield (former warehouse) • The Navigation Warehouse, Wakefield • Redbrick Mill,

The afternoon visit was to the Wharfebank Business Centre, formerly Ackroyd Mills in Otley. There were buildings of several periods dating from 1819 onwards including engine houses, a weaving shop, wool warehouse and spinning mill all in new uses.

David George June 2008

A Day at the 28 June 2008

35 Railway Ramblers, Industrial History and South Yorkshire Industrial History Society members met our leader Brian Slater at Leeds railway station for this Railway Ramblers event. The aim was to follow as far as we could the two mile route of the Middleton Railway from the centre of Leeds to Moor Road station, to visit the railway, ride on the train and follow the tramcar route through Middleton Woods. The Middleton Railway was established by Act of Parliament in 1758 and can claim to be the world’s oldest working railway. It can also claim to be the first standard gauge railway to be taken over by volunteers who continue to operate and maintain the railway.

We started by re-tracing the steps followed by the Industrial History Section’s walk around Leeds reported above, stopping at the plaque to Matthew Murray on the wall of the restored Round Foundry complex. Murray being responsible for building the first commercial steam locomotive for the Middleton Railway in 1812. We then made our way via John Marshall’s Temple Mills back to the River Aire and along to Leeds Bridge. Just south of the bridge was the site of the original ending of the line at Casson Close, near to the current South Market. Here there were staithes where the coal from the colleries at Middleton was unloaded into wagons for distribution around Leeds. There is very little to see of the railway and even the once busy Midland Goods depot which was adjacent to the line is swallowed up by the Crown Point Retail Park. Motorway building in South Leeds has also contributed to changing the landscape. Arriving at Moor Road station at lunchtime, the party split into two for a tour of the workshop and shed and lunch in the newly constructed visitor centre. Section member Sheila Bye was on hand to show the party around the centre, built in 2005 with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and local businesses. There is an impressive collection of locomotives, displays and information about the Middleton Railway and the Leeds locomotive industry. There is also an excellent café and shop. All of this a far cry from my first visit to the railway some 25 years ago when the facilities consisted of a small shed and a ride in an open top wagon.

The party took a train ride to the end of the line in Middleton Park near to the site of Broom Pit which ceased working in 1968. We then walked along the tramcar route through the woods, now a wide path but where the occasional remains of wooden sleepers could be seen. The route was built in 1920s to serve the new housing estates at Middleton and Belle Isle and there are some fascinating archive films in existence which show the trams winding their way through idyllic woodland glades. I left the group along with others to catch a modern bus back into Leeds, leaving a few hardy members to retrace their steps back to Moor Road

Thanks to Brian Slater for the walk organisation and Sheila Bye for her informative guiding. Members who wish to read more about the Middleton Railway are recommended to read “A History of the Middleton Railway, Leeds” produced by the Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. The railway also has a website at www.middletonrailway.org.uk

Margaret Tylee

Newcomen Society Summer Meeting 7-11 July 2008

David George has sent me details of the programme of the Newcomen’s Society’s summer meeting in Yorkshire. Although not a member I thought it would be interesting to share the details with the section and it may inspire some of you to follow in their footsteps.

The meeting was based in York but the first day was spent in Hull visiting the quay and dock areas, the Humber Bridge and the Hessle Windmill used for grinding chalk for whiting and putty. Beverley was next on the programme where the Minster has a rare treadmill crane and the railway station and railway housing are of interest. Skidby Mill was also visited. Day two started in Goole with a visit to the Yorkshire Waterways Museum and a boat trip around the docks. Then to Selby, where the original terminus of the Leeds & Selby Railway can still be seen close to the toll swing bridge. The return to York was via Drax Power Station and Tadcaster with its three breweries and a George Leather railway viaduct that was never used.

The morning of day three was spent in Masham with a visit to the Theakston’s Black Bull Brewery and then on to Ripon to see the remains of the Ripon Canal. Nearby is the Littlethorpe Pottery where traditional rhubarb forcing pots and strawberry pots are still produced as they have been since 1831 when the Pottery opened. The last day was spent in York examining the bridges and industrial buildings associated with the river before ending the programme with a visit to the National Railway Museum.

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS 2008-2009 Chairman Vice- Lecture Membership Secretary Chairmen Secretary & Newsletter Editor

Margaret Tylee Bill Slatcher Jane Ellis Margaret Tylee Robert Vickers