Textile Heritage Project

1. Introduction

The West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project, is a partnership project between , , and Museum and Gallery services. The partnership has received a grant from the Esmee Fairbairn foundation to undertake a project which draws together the significant textile heritage collections held by these organisations. This will be achieved through a programme of research and documentation, to enhance what services know about their own and other regional collections. The collections will be made accessible via a website, acting as a single portal for information across the region. A textile heritage trail, linking museum collections with the built industrial heritage of the region, will be created with support from Welcome to Yorkshire. This support will take the form of hosting the trail on their website and printing the final publication. It is envisaged that this trail will also include, and develop links with, local businesses occupying mill premises. The project is an innovative pilot for future working across the region and contributes to the sustainable future development of the region’s museums and collections.

2. Purpose of this brief

To seek a contractor to deliver the key outcomes of the project, within the defined timescale and budget.

For the successful contractor to work with supporting organisations, such as Welcome to Yorkshire, other custodians of West Yorkshire textile collections/information and relevant businesses, to produce the tourist trail and website.

3. Background

West Yorkshire was a major centre of textile production from the 18th century and the industry is still important today. The industry has left its physical marks across the region in everything from pack horse bridges and weavers cottages to mill owner’s mansions and large scale factories. Some of these are in ruins, some are private homes and others have been converted to public uses.

The industry is well represented in the museums of the region, which have collections of machinery, tools, pattern books, samples, finished products and photographs.

Textiles are still very much alive in the region today. The universities and colleges run several important textile courses, there are several large factories and smaller workshops and many individuals practice textiles arts and crafts.

1 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project Gaining an overall picture of the region’s textile heritage is not easy; the museums are spread across different council’s, mills are run privately and some buildings are falling into ruin.

This project seeks to pull together this rich collection of resources, to deepen the heritage sector’s understanding of this fundamental story for the region, as well as making it accessible to a broad range of audiences.

4. Proposal

The successful contractor will deliver the key outcomes of the project, which are:

Improved awareness West Yorkshire’s textile heritage Improved collections care at partner museum services Improved access to West Yorkshire textile collections and collections information Create a sustainable single gateway for access to West Yorkshire textile heritage Encourage tourism to the region and promote partner sites Develop sustainable links and partnership working between museums, textile industry and textile enthusiasts in the region Develop a framework for future projects

5. Areas to be covered

Each partner museum service has different collections and documentation needs. The information below gives a summary of the individual services collections and their key priorities.

Bradford Museums & Galleries

Bradford’s textile collection has designated status and is based at Bradford Industrial Museum. The collection highlights the birth, social development and history of Britain’s woollen textile industry. The museum’s worsted collection contains well over 102,000 artefacts of which 97,000 relate directly to the worsted industry. The collection includes machinery, books, documents, photographs, textile crafts and ancillary trades associated with worsted manufacture.

Documentation Priorities: Review the designated textile collection. Give an overview of this collection and its significance on a regional , national and international level. Review and document the ‘Lister’ sample collection (approx 120 boxes), matching these to ‘making book’ records and selection samples reflecting Lister’s and subsidiary companies work. Identify areas and items within these collections of particular significance or interest for digitisation.

Calderdale Museums and Galleries

From the medieval period, textiles and textile production has been one of the most significant aspects of Calderdale’s heritage. As a result the borough

2 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project became hugely influential in the development of textiles and textile production, on a national and international stage. Family companies, such as Akroyd’s Crossley’s and Holdsworth’s became leaders in their fields throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and their products were exported across the world. The strengths of our collections lie in textile samples, pattern books and production machinery, both industrial and domestic. They relate to all fibre types including specialist textiles like moquette, carpet and corduroy. In addition we have a wealth of local sites with connections to textile production and trade.

Documentation Priorities: Give an overview of this collection and its significance on a regional, national and international level. Identify areas and items within the collection of particular significance or interest. Record this material in an accessible format, where relevant with digital images, through the website and other areas of the project.

Kirklees Museums & Galleries

The core collections include important examples of early textile machinery and significant study collections of textile samples and pattern books, as well as collections of equipment such as bobbins, shuttles, shears, carding pads, combs etc. Some items are catalogued in detail but there are large collections from at least two companies which are not listed at all. The social and political impact of the textile industry is also covered, including the Luddite uprisings, factory reform and museums housed in old mill owners’ homes.

Documentation Priorities: Conduct a review of the local textile collections and produce a significance assessment and condition statement. In particular, identify the machinery collections and assess their regional and national significance. Create collection-level listings of all un-catalogued textile collections and carry out detailed cataloguing of the most important.

Wakefield Museums and Galleries

Wakefield Museum Service holds a small but significant collection of over 200 items relating to the textile industry in the Wakefield district. The collection mainly comprises of samples books, individual fabric samples, knitting patterns, ephemera such as letters, business cards, receipts and advertisements, photographs of local textile mills/factories and a small group of items relating to manufacturing such as shuttles and bobbins. This collection is already documented on the MODES documentation database.

Documentation Priorities: An audit of the collection and enhancement of records where necessary, including the addition of photographs in preparation for putting the complete collection online. Re-packing the collection. Active collecting of objects and stories from living textile workers. Research into the history of prominent companies in the Wakefield district.

3 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project Other Collections

Whilst the 5 partner services will benefit from the collections review and documentation work, we anticipate that other collections will feed into the wider awareness work, on listing and the heritage trail.

In particular, the textile collections of Museums Service and West Yorkshire Archives Service should be included. Appendix B provides an initial list of other collections and organisations in the area which may hold relevant material.

The project does not intend to create a complete public listing of all textile collections in the region, but will give a good overview of the principal collections, themes, as well as clear information on how to find out more.

6. Outputs

The selected contractor will:

Provide a project manager, who will also act as a single point of contact between the partnership steering group and the contractor. Provide regular progress reports to the steering group Conduct a collections review on the textile collections of each partner service. See appendix A for outline of the areas we expect to be covered within the reviews. Work with each partner service to complete the individual collections based objectives, this may include documentation, digital photography, scanning, identification of items for possible transfer or disposal. The necessary equipment to complete these elements will be provided on site by the partner services. Work with service staff to set up and deliver a programme of community engagement activities, displays and events in relation to the project Develop a presence on the Welcome to Yorkshire website that will act as a single gateway to West Yorkshire’s textile heritage Create a select listing online of regional textiles collections information. Culture Grid has been identified as a possible suitable host. Develop a West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Trail in partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire, local businesses and community groups, which provide information on textile related museums, visitor attractions, working mills and built heritage. Produce a publication, such as a leaflet, to promote the heritage trail. Create new, and develop existing, relationships with local groups and businesses that relate to textile heritage. This will include an updated contacts list for each partner service. Set up an evaluation framework and make recommendations for future regional collaboration.

4 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project Produce a final report which provides a comprehensive overview of the West Yorkshire Textile Collections. It should consider significance; opportunities for rationalisation; collections at risk and areas of best practice. The report should also put forward a series of recommendations on how to manage these collections into the future to best exploit their heritage value and ensure their long term care and preservation.

7. Project Management

The project team will provide a detailed project plan, with key milestones.

The project manager will report directly to the steering group and provide written progress reports on a quarterly basis.

For day-to-day issues, each service will provide a single point of contact, for the period of time personnel are working directly with individual services.

If there are any issues during the course of the project these can be directed to: Franne Wills, Museums, Arts & Heritage Manager, Calderdale Museums, pending discussion with the project steering group.

Any variations or amendments to the original brief must be approved by the steering group.

8. Sequencing

The successful contactor will need to discuss options on sequencing of work with the steering group early on. Some of the services have other ‘live’ projects that will have an impact of the availability of officer support that can be offered at particular times and it is hoped that sequencing can be used to avoid any clashes where possible.

We require all aspects of the project to be have been completed, and signed off by the steering group, no later than 7th December 2013

9. Method of appointment

The closing date for receipt of tenders is 1pm on 15th June 2012

Tender documents should include:

Details of methodology or approach proposed An indicative project plan and timetable An indicative budget breakdown Details of relevant knowledge and experience Copies of valid professional indemnity and public liability insurances C.Vs of key project personnel

5 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project Contact details for two referees (where there is a consortium that has not previously worked together there should be two referees for each individual)

10. Evaluation of tender documentation

The tender document and presentation will be examined and evaluated by a small group comprising of members of the project steering group, with evaluation scoring to be on the following areas of evaluation and scored using the criteria key table below. Criteria A – D to deal with the quality aspect of the evaluation and responses should be made having reference to the project objectives, section 6 and project management section 7. Criterion E deals with Price.

We reserve the right to invite bidders to make a clarification presentation, this is expected to be during the week commencing 18th July and explain any issues arising from the tenders.

Area of Evaluation Score Weighting

A. Collections Management Is able to demonstrate a varied knowledge 10 4 and understanding of collections documentation Is able to demonstrate an ability to 10 4 undertake collections reviews across a wide range of sites and multi-disciplinary collections. Is able to demonstrate a specialist 10 3 knowledge of industrial textile machinery, general textiles heritage collections and photographs Demonstrate a practical knowledge of the 10 3 MODES documentation system B. Project Management Demonstrate and illustrate how you will 10 2 structure your team, including reference to the resources proposed to be involved, to ensure complete comprehension and delivery of the objectives of the project Explain and illustrate how you will fulfil the 10 3 roles and responsibilities of the consultant role to ensure the successful delivery of the project within budget and to programme, whilst achieving the project objectives. Demonstrate and illustrate your experience 10 2 of effectively managing multi-site projects Demonstrate and illustrate how you would 10 3 structure your project reporting processes to ensure that you are able to accurately and effectively report to the steering group

6 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project progress against the project outputs and outcome Track record of successful delivery of 10 4 projects to time, quality & budget specification C. Regional Knowledge Demonstrate and illustrate a good 10 2 understanding of the history of West Yorkshire Textile industry and built heritage Demonstrate and illustrate knowledge of the 10 1 West Yorkshire museum & heritage sector D. Marketing & Publicity Demonstrate and illustrate knowledge of 10 2 marketing & promotional tools and strategies in a heritage context Demonstrate and illustrate experience of 10 2 networking, publicising projects, giving presentations and website development Demonstrate knowledge of QR codes, social 10 1 media & smart phone applications E. Price Set out your free proposal in the Form of Tender document with this invitation to tender. Score Acceptability Bidder response demonstrates 0 Unacceptable The information is either omitted or fundamentally unacceptable. 1-2 Poor The information submitted has insufficient evidence that the specified requirements can be met and/or does not demonstrate acceptable level of quality of the proposed tender 3-4 Fair The information submitted has some minor omissions against the specified requirements and/or demonstrates only limited level of quality of the proposed tender. 5-6 Satisfactory The information submitted provides good evidence that the specified requirements can be met and demonstrates a good level of quality of the proposed tender. 7-8 Very good The information submitted

7 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project provides good evidence that the specified requirements can be met and demonstrates a good level of quality of the proposed tender 9-10 Outstanding The information submitted provides strong evidence of best of sector capability to deliver the specified requirements.

11. Timescale Deadline for any questions by 1pm on 6th June 2012. Questions & answers will be available to all on request Receipt of proposals by 1pm on 15th June 2012 Evaluation of tenders by 27th June 2012 * Contracts offered by 6th July 2012 * Completion of activity by 7th December 2013 *these dates are provisional and maybe subject to change

12. Fee

A maximum fee of £55,000 inclusive is offered for this contract. This is to include all professional fees, materials, travel expenses and VAT.

Consultants are responsible for their own tax and NI contributions.

Printing and production costs for the final heritage trail will be met by the steering group from the project fund.

13. Copyright

Copyright for all work and materials produced as part of the project will remain the property of the individual partner services.

14. Insurance

All submissions must include copies of valid professional indemnity and public liability insurance.

15. Submission of proposals

Proposals, to be received by 1pm on the 15th June 2012, should be sent to:

Duncan Brundell, Projects Manager

Communities Directorate

Westgate House

Halifax HX1 1PS

8 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project All submissions must use the red tagged address label, as included in the accompanying pack of information and must not bear any name or mark indicating the sender.

We require three hard copies of the submission, plus one electronic copy as a PDF on disk.

If you have any queries, or would like to discuss this brief, please contact:

Franne Wills, Collections & Service Development Manager, Bankfield Museum, Road, Halifax HX3 6HG

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT

I. No Standard Terms or Conditions, or any terms and conditions of contract, whatsoever, shall be accepted or even considered by the Council from bidders. Submit ion of Terms and Conditions will disqualify a bidder. II. The Council will supplier its standard terms and conditions to the successful bidder.

9 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project APPENDIX A: Collections Reviews

The requirements of each individual service differ slightly, and as a result the amount of time spent of aspects of the review will differ from service to service. However, we expect each collections review to cover the following areas:

Identification of elements of the collection in scope of the project

Collate of all available documentation relating to those collections

Identification of significant gaps in the documentary record

Collections level listing

Desk top review of other West Yorkshire Textile collections, held outside of

the four partner organisations, both regionally and nationally. Appendix B

gives a list of organisations and associations we are already aware of that

hold collections and information of this type, but it not intended to be

comprehensive

Basic accessioning on selected items from the collection

Condition report at sub-collection level and for key individual items

Statement of significance at sub-collection level and for key individual items

Recommendations to inform future collecting and collections management

10 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project APPENDIX B: Details of other relevant collections

Colne Valley Museum: Cliffe Ash, Golcar, HD7 4PY

Leeds Museums & Galleries, Discovery Centre, Carlisle Road, Leeds LS10 1LB

University of Leeds Textile Archive, School of Design, Leeds University, Leeds

Knitting and Crochet Guild: Scholes, Colne Valley [email protected]

Huddersfield University

The North Light Gallery, Brooke’s Mill, Armitage Bridge, , HD4 7NR

Textile Centre for Excellence, Red Doles Lane, Huddersfield

Society of Dyers & Colourists, PO Box 244, Perking House, 82 Grattan Road, Bradford BD1 2JB

West Yorkshire Archives Wakefield (WYAS, Wakefield Office, Registry of Deeds, Newstead Road, Wakefield, WF1 2DE

John Goodchild Collection, Local History Study Centre, Below Central Library, Drury Lane, Wakefield WF1 2TD

Wakefield Local Studies Library (currently in the process of moving, new address not yet finalised)

Sirdar Spinning Ltd, Flanshaw Lane, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 9ND

Burberry Clothing Factory, Burberry's Ltd, Albion Street, Castleford, West Yorkshire, WF10 1QX

W E Rawson Ltd, Castlebank Mills, Portobello Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 5PS

Double Two Ltd, Po Box 1, Thornes Lane Wharf, Wakefield, WF1 5RQ

R G S Pattern Book, Co. Ltd., Gedham Mills, Church Street, Ossett, West Yorkshire, WF5 9DA

11 West Yorkshire Textile Heritage Project