YAHS IHS Newsletter 106

YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION

NEWSLETTER 106 SUMMER 2019

EDITORIAL

Welcome to the latest Newsletter and it’s the end of another lecture season. It has been a difficult season for me due to my ill health lasting between mid-September and late January and being affected by the death of my close friend and fellow Section Officer Robert Vickers. I am hoping that the forthcoming season will be an improvement for me over the last.

The Section AGM was held on 13 April with 18 members present, I chaired the meeting as the then Vice Chair and thanked those who had kept the Section going. I produced my last Annual Report for the Section and a copy is enclosed with this Newsletter. The meeting made the decision to move to a position of sending the Newsletter in future electronically to members where they have given their email addresses but to allow hard copies to be sent to the rest and on request. This is an attempt to cut down on the expense of producing the Newsletter which is an important benefit by keeping in touch with members but is our biggest item of expenditure. A suggestion was made that members receiving a hard copy should be asked to contribute towards the cost of production and postage but no decision was made on that aspect, we will wait to see how the initial change works out. This change will follow the approach taken by the main Society with its new members’ newsletter called Briefing which is primarily distributed electronically. I reported the good news that Section membership had seen an increase over last year and that attendances at lectures were also healthy with an average attendance of 34 (40% of membership). Both the figures on membership and lecture attendances were reported with the caveat that some data on attendance figures were lost having previously been held by Robert and the membership figures had to be reconstructed from data also held by Robert. In spite of now having our own Section bank account, at the time of the AGM, access to the account has not yet been established, an issue which is being followed up. Next year’s report should have resolved these problems and we will have a more accurate picture of the state of the Section.

At the AGM the following were elected: Chair - Bill Jagger, Vice Chair - John Suter, Treasurer - Nick Nelson, Lecture Secretary - Jane Ellis, Membership Secretary - Nick Nelson, Newsletter Editor - Margaret Tylee with Gill Eastabrook providing production assistance.

I am pleased to report that Jane Ellis has finalised the lecture programme for 2019/20 and gave details at the AGM which are also included below with the new season starting on 21 September 2019. The meeting agreed that the lecture to be given on 22 February 2020 by Professor David Perrett, who was a long time friend and colleague of Robert Vickers, would be given in his honour and memory and we are planning to hold this lecture as part of an afternoon event at the Industrial Museum together with a talk given by Steve Myers on the Sheffield Simplex car – another of Robert’s keen interests. The arrangements are still being confirmed and will be given in the next Newsletter, it is hoped that Robert’s widow Jill will be able to attend. Jane also gave details of a Section excursion to the lead mines on Grassington Moor led by David Joy on 9 July, these are given below.

A welcome to new members who have joined this year: Pete Lewis, Angela Millington, Clive Owen and Andrew Millson, I hope you will be able to join us at a future event.

This Newsletter is a bit thin on news and events so a further plea to members - please send me your local IA news for inclusions and consider writing something for the next Newsletter, closing date for contributions will be 2 September to enable the Newsletter to be produced and distributed in time for the first lecture. I wish you all a pleasant summer.

Margaret Tylee

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YAHS NEWS

Earlier this year the Management Board received the unfortunate news that D&M Heritage who were contracted to advertise and distribute the Society’s publications had gone out of business on 31 January 2019. An urgent exercise had to be undertaken to collect the Society’s stock from the D&M Premises and the stock is now housed in a storage facility near to the Society HQ at Stringer House in Hunslet. Investigations are continuing to find another distributer, meanwhile urgent requests for our publications can be made to David Buck the Society’s Hon Secretary.

The Society has been approached to participate in a joint project with the Archaeology Service together with others to investigate the remains of industries in the Hunslet and Holbeck areas of Leeds. Much of this area is threatened by development, including the impact of HS2 – the main reason for proceeding with the project. The work will involve consulting maps, photography and identifying physical remains both above and below ground. There is also the possibility of making a record of current uses of sites in the area. An initial meeting of those involved was held on 22 March and further details will be reported as the project develops.

2020 sees the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Beresford, the renowned historian known for his research into deserted medieval villages and more applicable to the Section, the development of urban and industrial Leeds. The Society’s Promotions Group will be planning a celebration for Professor Beresford which could involve working with the project mentioned above and separately with the Medieval Deserted Settlement Group. Details will be announced when the arrangements are agreed.

Following the resignation of Jane Ellis as the Society’s Hon Excursions Officer, we are now looking for a replacement to be appointed at the forthcoming AGM. Unfortunately most of the excursions which Jane had organised during her time in office had been poorly attended. There could be a number of reasons for this – lack of interest in the visit, location not convenient, not enough notice etc. It has led to the Management Board to consider whether it is worth offering excursions to members and the more general question of what the Society has to offer its membership. A member survey was held several years ago when members gave high priority to the access and value of the Society’s Collections and the welcoming convenience of meeting at Claremont. In the light of the changes that have happened since the previous survey and the excursions experience, the Management Board have agreed to hold an updated members survey which is being developed.

For main Society members, a reminder that the AGM which should have been held on 25 May has had to be postponed due to delays in getting the accounts signed off by the independent examiners. It is now likely to be held in July. As well as an Excursions Secretary, we also need a Membership Secretary, the current President Gill Cookson has indicated that she will be stepping down and a nomination for the post has been received. The current Hon Secretary, David Buck has also indicated that he would prefer to stand down. There are also three vacancies for ordinary Management Board members. I will have served three years as the nominated Industrial History Section Board member and was eligible for re-election for a further three years at this year’s AGM and my thanks to the Section AGM for agreeing to my re-election. If any main Society member wishes to enquire about any Management Board vacancy please contact David Buck ([email protected]).

OTHER NEWS

The Calderdale Industrial Museum goes from strength to strength. A team of volunteers will be attending the annual Museums and Heritage Awards in London on 15 May as a result of being shortlisted in the category of Volunteer Team of the Year. On 24 May, the Museum will be visited by the Vice Lieutenant and deputy Lieutenants of West Yorkshire as part of their visit to Halifax. Also invited are the three Bishops of West Yorkshire, the Leader of Calderdale Council and the Chief Executive of Calderdale Council. The Museum are expected to receive confirmation from Arts Council that they have been recognised as an Accredited Museum and it is planned that the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire will be attending the Calderdale Industrial Museum Association’s AGM on 29 May to make the formal presentation of the Certificate of Accreditation. Well done to CIMA for all the progress they have made over the years to get the Museum open for business again.

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2019 sees the 25th anniversary of Heritage Open Days and to celebrate this, events will be held over two weekends and ten consecutive days 13-22 September. The theme for 2019 is People in Power in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre. Full details of the events will be available later in the year so check out the website www.heritageopendays.org.uk.

A question was asked at the AGM about the All Party Parliamentary Group on Industrial Heritage and the status of their report. I have now discovered that the report was published in May 2018. The report examines the value of industrial heritage to the current day UK and made three recommendations. 1. To develop skills training in key aspects of industrial heritage. Examples could include dedicated post- graduate training in industrial heritage conservation, care and maintenance. 2. To improve the inclusivity of industrial heritage as a sector by improving community and industry outreach. 3. To develop relationships with other trusts and groups within the sector in order to promote industry collaboration. Key statutory agencies and professional bodies could establish a standing forum dedicated to the following objectives a) to establish a national strategy for conserving the UK’s industrial heritage in collaboration with the Government; b) to promote and drive through that national strategy; c) to regularly review and report on the progress of that strategy.

It remains to be seen what practical outcomes actually emerge. The full report can be found on the website of the Group’s Chair Nick Thomas-Symonds MP for Torfaen at www.nickthomassymonds.uk and on the AIA website www.industrial-archaeology.org.

INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE ONLINE

The unexpected death of Robert Vickers who was one of the original team responsible for developing a database of industrial sites in the historic county of Yorkshire together with a repository for members’ personal research caused a blow to the group. It was realised that the project would not be able to expand without more people to be involved. Prior to Robert’s death the site had already expanded to include records outside of Yorkshire and the name had changed to reflect this. It had also been agreed that the site should become a separate charitable corporate body that all parties who contributed data should have an equal stake in. Work continues to implement this change.

The site had been hacked in January which resulted in additional software security being added, since then the software indicates that over 1,000 attempts to hack the site have been made and blocked. By the end of March the total number of sites recorded stood at 7,866 with 3,662 from Greater London with 2,715 images. Excluding hacking attempts, an average of 50 users have visited the site on a daily basis, 56% from Yorkshire and 24% from London and the South East. A reminder that the site can be accessed via the YAHS website or direct at www.industrialhistoryonline.co.uk

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

20 May The Sheffield Canal (1819-2019) and its connections– Graham Hague. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) lecture. Kelham Island Musuem, Sheffield. 7.30pm. £2 for non SYIHS members.

22 May Greaseborough Canal & New Stubbin Railway. 5 mile evening Railway Ramblers walk led by Gas Hill. Meet at Rotherham Parkgate Tram-Train terminus 17.27pm. It will follow as closely as possible the routes which carried coal from the hilly areas NW of the River Don below Rotherham to the rail and water links in the Don valley. Return by bus/tram. Boots recommended.

25 May Sheffield Canal Walk organised by SYIHS. 10.30am – 5pm. Led by Graham Hague. Meet at the Park Square entrance to the canal basin. Return from Tinsley by bus or tram. Bring a picnic lunch.

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27 May Walsden. Calderdale Heritage Walk looking at the area and local transport systems, plus stories about local mills and Nobel prize winners. Meet Anne Mealia at 2.15pm outside Walsden Railway Station OL14 7QQ. No pre booking just turn up and pay the guide £3 per person. Details of all walks can be found at www.calderdaleheritagewalks.org.uk

3 June The Hidden Mills of Smelthouses. Upper Heritage Group (UWHG) walk led by Janis Hewerd and Liz Dent looking at the development and demise of the 18th and 19th century mills around Smelthouses in in areas not normally accessible to the public. 11am – approx. 2.30pm. Cost £1 for UWHG members, £2 for non-members. Meet driveway to Rays Farm, Smelthouses HD3 4DJ (SE 190 643). Parking in field at Rays Farm or on B6165 in Low Laithe and walk up footpath to Smelthouses. Strong footwear required and bring a packed lunch.

8 June Threshfield Quarries, Grassington. 6 mile circular Railway Ramblers walk led by Douglas Robinson. Meet at the site of Grassington & Threshfield railway station (SD 994638) for a prompt 12.00 start. The walk will follow the tramway from the sidings at the end of the Grassington branch to the Threshfield limestone quarries and to the associated coal mine. Bring a packed lunch and walking boots are essential.

13 June Sheffield and Tinsley Canal. Railway & Canal Historical Society 4 mile towpath walk from Sheffield to Tinsley Bottom Lock, returning by tram. 10.30am – 4.30pm led by Graham Hague. Café lunch to be arranged. Another opportunity to celebrate the opening of the Sheffield Canal if you missed the SYIHS walk on 25 May.

9 July Hebden Lead Mines. Industrial History Section Field Visit led by David Joy. Details given below.

10 July Walk around Low Moor, . Bradford Historical & Antiquarian Society. Meet guides Mary & Geoff Twentyman at 10.30am, Aldergate Methodist Church, corner of Common Road and Cleckheaton Road BD12 0TW.

13-28 July Annual Festival of Archaeology organised by the Council for British Archaeology. Various events taking place across Yorkshire and beyond. Check the website www.festival.archaeologyuk.org.uk

17 July Upper Barden Reservoir Railway. 6 mile Railway Ramblers walk following the length of the 3 mile construction railway for the Upper Barden Reservoir, return along easier tracks. The outward stretch will be strenuous across boggy ground so walking boots are essential and bring a packed lunch. Meet the leader Stuart de Boer at the layby on the south side of the road between Embsey and the A6160 to start the walk at SE037553 promptly at 10am. It may be possible to call in at the & Bolton Abbey Railway after the walk for a ride on the restored electric tramcar (fare £12). Pre booking is essential in case the walk is cancelled at short notice due to bad weather.

21 July Midgley Meander. Calderdale Heritage Walk around the centre of Midgley and up to the edge of the moor to see old quarries and wonderful views. Meet David Cant at 2.15pm at the school carpark HX12 6TU. Arrangements as for 27 May.

28 July Dobroyd Castle. Calderdale Heritage Walk around and inside the striking Brass Castle home of John Fielden built in 1869. Cost £4 and pre Booking is essential, booking opens on 17 June at the Halifax Visitor Centre, the Piece Hall, Halifax HX1 1RE open 7 days a week 10.30am- 5.30pm. Booking may be made in person, by phone on 01422 368725 or by post. Cheques

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made payable to Calderdale MBC. Meet guide Anne Mealia at 2.15pm, full details will be given when booking.

1 August Stone, Coal and Gold. UWHG walk led by William Varley to look at how natural resources have been quarried and mined on Penistone Hill and in the Upper near . Details as for 3 June.

17 August Barnoldswick to Elslack 6 mile Railway Ramblers walk. Meet at at 11am for bus to Barnoldswick to follow the Leeds-Liverpool Canal to Dodge Carr. Walking back from Thornton in on the track of the Colne to Skipton line, including the Thornton Quarry branch. Bring a packed lunch and walking boots essential.

IHS LECTURES 2019/20

Advance notice of next season’s lectures, note the dates in your diaries now; full details will be circulated with the Autumn Newsletter and be posted on the YAHS website.

2019 21 September Marshall’s Flax Mill at Shrewsbury: a Leeds outpost and world first – Joanna Layton 19 October Archaeological Excavations at Kirkstall Forge: the Development of an Industrial Works over four centuries – Glyn Davies 26 November The Calder & Hebble Navigation 1806 – Keith Noble 21 December Steamships, Trolleybuses & Historic Bridges – John Meredith 2020 25 January Fired Earth: an introduction to the Heavy Ceramic Industry in and around Calderdale – Chris Bateman 22 February Robert Vickers Memorial afternoon The Simplex Car – Steve Myers Henry Ford’s 1928 Holiday: collecting British Steam Engines – David Perrett 21 March Water for Leeds; the Reservoirs of the Washburn Valley 1806-1966 - Andrew McTominey 25 April AGM and Members’ Presentations

IHS FIELD VISIT TO HEBDEN LEAD MINES, GRASSINGTON MOOR, 9 JULY

On Tuesday 9 July, David Joy who spoke about the miners and industrial history of Grassington on 16 February has agreed to lead an afternoon field visit to the Hebden lead Mines on the south side of Grassington Moor. Participants should meet at the Old School Café in Hebden on the B6265 Grassington-Pateley Bridge road at 12 noon where there will be an opportunity for a snack and comfort break before the walk starts. There is only limited roadside parking in the village. From there the group will walk up Hebden Gill for about 1.5 miles to the dressing floor, the main shaft is a further 1.5 miles. The route will be on a mixture of roads and footpaths including a climb of about 500ft. In total it will involve about 4 miles of walking; stout footwear and waterproof clothing are essential and note there are no toilets or other facilities on the moor. Also be aware that there are many uncapped mine shafts and members should keep to the footpaths and the route guided by David Joy to avoid potential risks.

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REPORTS FROM EVENTS ETC REPORTS FROM 2018/2019 LECTURE PROGRAMME LNWR No. 1054 – the ‘Coal Tank’ – Pete Skellon 22 September 2018 For the first time we experimented with an extra lecture for the section in September, and did indeed have a good-sized audience although a rail strike on the day probably affected numbers. Our speaker Pete Skellon and his wife had come to us from Barrow in Furness, but having local connections they combined our meeting with the opportunity for a weekend in the area. Pete is collections manager for the Bahamas Locomotive Society, but his involvement goes back as far as 1968; he became curator of the exhibition at Ingrow Loco Museum (on the & Worth Valley Railway) in 2003, and latterly of the museum’s Learning Coach. He is the author of “Bashers, Gadgets and Mourners” which details the life and times of the London & North Western Railway’s coal tank engines, gaining him an award from the Railway & Canal Historical Society in 2012. This lecture was recommended to me by two ladies from the National Trust who had seen it, so it was suitable for a mixed audience yet Pete had the specialist knowledge needed for answering the more in-depth questions, giving us a not-too-technical look at the 130 years of social and engineering history which came to light during a recent overhaul of the Trust’s own preserved locomotive no 1054. It was built in Crewe in 1888 as a work-horse, “the Transit van of its day” hauling coal trains, and was twice due to be scrapped (in the 1930s and then 20 years later) as it was supposed to have come to the end of its working life, but miraculously it survived on both occasions, ending its working days at Abergavenny as a spare engine. It was not considered special enough for the National Collection but the National Trust stepped in and saved it for their collection at Penrhyn Castle, and it was placed in the care of the Bahamas group in 1972, hence one of the earliest steam engines to be earmarked for preservation. It was stored for a while at Dinting near Glossop, looking very dishevelled until it had a full restoration to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, and within 5 years, thanks to the efforts of a large group of dedicated volunteers, it was back in working order and looking smart again. Arranging the £190,000 needed for this was no mean feat, but thankfully the Heritage Lottery Fund came to the rescue and provided the majority of the funding. Whilst now based at Ingrow, it ‘goes on its holidays’ occasionally making special appearances, travelling by road to various railway centres (once hauling the royal train, though without royalty on board) and it is estimated that it has covered almost 3,000,000 miles in its career. Its boiler is now 60 years old and still working well despite such things only having a projected life of 20 years, so evidently built to last. Pete has compiled a full history of the locomotive, managing to contact some of the men who actually worked on it, wonderful characters who were helpful in understanding both its mechanical and social history, whilst eBay has turned up photographs of it and recently even a very precious lantern slide which helped to complete the story. This was a well-presented and informative lecture by someone with an eye for detail who undoubtedly has a passion for preserving the past and our heritage. Jane Ellis

Bancroft Mill: the First 100 Years – Ian McKay 27 October 2018 The lecture had been written up by Robert Vickers but unfortunately and understandably his notes were not kept after his death, I was not able to attend the lecture so do not have my own notes but have put this brief outline together based on information taken from the Bancroft Mill website. Ian McKay from the Bancroft Mill Engine Trust gave the story of the Mill which worked from 1920 until 1978, together with its subsequent preservation. The mill engine was Lancashire’s (formerly Yorkshire’s) largest mill steam engine. Construction of the Mill started in 1915 but was delayed by the 1st World War and finally completed in 1920. It then operated until 1978 when the mill closed and the site was sold for housing development with the buildings and machinery to be sold for scrap. At the last minute a group was formed to preserve the engine, boiler and chimney which became the Bancroft Mill Engine Trust in 1980. The Trust continues to maintain and operate the engine in steam on certain days. The Mill’s engine is a twin cylinder cross compound engine built by William Roberts & Sons in 1920 and there is also a second engine which has been saved from Peter Green’s

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mill at Bradley near Skipton which dates from 1901 and is thought to be the sole surviving engine built by Smith Bros & Eastwood of Bradford. Bancroft Mill is situated at Gillians Lane, Barnoldswick, BB18 5QR and is open free of charge most Saturdays for static viewing 11am – 3pm. Steaming Days are held every month when the site is open 11am – 4pm and the engines are run at intervals between 1pm and 3.45pm, admission prices are adults £6, seniors and children £5, children 5 and under free. There will be free admission at the Heritage Open Day weekend. The website www.bancroftmill.org.uk gives details of the history of the mill and its subsequent rescue, together with details of steaming days for 2019. Margaret Tylee

Inventing the Future: Intellectual Property - Ged Doonan 17 November 2018 Ged had recently retired from Leeds Council's Business and Intellectual Property Centre. His talk would examine how patents had developed from their beginnings in the fifteenth century and earlier with the fascinating stories behind some successful, and not so successful, inventions and familiar trademarks. He started however by explaining the distinction between different types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, registered designs, and copyright. The first recorded patent for an industrial invention was granted in 1421 by the Florentine city state. It gave the architect Filippo Brunelleschi a three year monopoly for a barge with hoisting gear used to transport marble up the Arno. Only slightly after this, in 1449, Henry VI granted French glassblowers a monopoly in England for 3 years subject to their training apprentices. Initially patents were as much about revenue raising for the monarch as about encouraging innovation but the 1623 Statue of Monopolies, when Parliament restricted the Royal Prerogative in this area, represented a milestone in the development of modern patent law. The way steam engines had been developed in the early years of the Industrial Revolution provided interesting examples of how innovators had used patent law. Watt's separate condenser was, of course, a significant advance on earlier steam engines of Savery and Newcomen but his 1769 patent also represented an innovative use of the patent system. He established the principle that patents could be issued for improvements to existing machinery but also managed to do so in a way that constrained others, such as , from introducing further improvements before this patent expired. Patent fees were expensive - representing the annual wage of a skilled worker - so Watt needed his access to Boulton's money and influence. Whether Watt was very inventive and just used the patent system to get his due, or whether he simply 'played the system' was a matter of opinion. The story of how Boulton and Watt sent spies to 's Round Foundry is well known to Leeds historians but they also used the patent laws successfully against Murray, challenging his application as too wide. Patents were significant in the development of in the early nineteenth century. John Blenkinsop patented the rack and pinion system used. Murray's engine was an improvement based on one patented earlier by Trevithick to whom he paid a royalty. Patenting continued to be important in the later part of the nineteenth century. Some argued that they represented a constraint of free trade but in 1852 the system was reformed rather than abolished and a UK wide Patent Office established. Soon after this Bessemer had used patents to protect his process for making mild steel cheaply. He filed over a hundred patents but still kept some of the details secret. Registration of Trademarks came later, beginning in 1876 when the Bass Brewery red triangle was the first to be registered. It was still in force. In theory trademarks, unlike patents, can last forever. Aero provides an example of the difference between the two concepts. The technique for producing bubbles in chocolate bars was patented originally but has now expired. The trademark on the name continues. Ged concluded by emphasising the rich store of resources for industrial historians accessible via his former colleagues. They could be contacted at [email protected] or on 0113 378 6010. The website, www.leeds.gov.uk/bipcleeds, included a section specifically focussed on historical research. Questions and comments from the floor demonstrated the wide range of potential interests in these sources and issues. Gill Eastabrook

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Wanderings of a Railway Rambler – Jane Ellis 8 December 2018 We were fortunate that Jane was able to step in at the very last minute to give a presentation when she was told on the morning of the lecture that the advertised speaker John Meredith had fallen at home and was unable to attend. She quickly went home to collect a presentation and made it back in time for the start of the lecture. She started with examples of disused rails that can still be found around Leeds if you know where to look. Examples included the van hire business housed in what was the Leeds and Thirsk Railway Roundhouse (visited some years ago in a Section walk led by Robert Vickers) and the Hunslet Engine Works in Jack Lane where there are still rails set in the road outside the building ( see image below). She then branched out across Yorkshire highlighting some of the small mineral lines serving sand and whinstone quarries and the ironstone mines of the North York Moors – one of her favourite areas. As the organiser for the Railway Ramblers for this area, the Group has covered all parts of the UK, documenting and recording what remains of lines closed many years ago examples such as stations, crossing keepers’ houses, level crossing gates, signal boxes, bridges, viaducts, tunnels etc. were shown. An important task because often when returning to the site a few years later, what was there before has gone. After covering examples from remoter areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Jane returned to Yorkshire with a visual trip along the cinder track from Scarborough to Whitby, one of the finest and most scenic walks in the country with its spectacular cliff scenery and sea views. The ability to walk the line is some compensation for the loss of an important railway link. Jane was thanked for her presentation. Unfortunately I was unable to attend but have produced the above report from notes which Jane has provided. (Note John Meredith’s lecture will be given in the 2019/20 programme on 21 December) Margaret Tylee

Hunslet Engine Works showing rails in front

Textile Revolution – Gill Cookson 19 January 2019 Gill Cookson explained that her main research, and her recent book, focussed on the engineering that supported the development of the northern English textile industry in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Today, however, she was looking at the textile industry these machine makers were supporting. She would talk about the organisation of production, not just the machinery used, and also about processes, but did not intend to say much about the products of those processes – the actual textiles. In considering all this it was important to understand the time and the context in which the development took place and ask how revolutionary the Industrial Revolution had seemed to contemporaries. Looking back from the perspective of the fully fledged industry in the Victorian era could be misleading. The mechanised textile industry could be seen as beginning with water-powered fulling in the thirteenth century. From the mid-eighteenth century the use of water-power was being extended to some other

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processes such as scribbling, carding, and slubbing. Fulling mills became sites for all these and sometimes included devices that still depended on human power such as jennies and handlooms and they were public spaces where information was exchanged. The four main textiles produced were cotton, flax, worsted, and wool but the sequences of processes from cleaning of the raw materials to finishing the woven cloth were broadly similar, with those for flax being slightly different from the others. At least 34 processes were involved meaning that mechanising one stage put pressure on the rest of the cycle. Cotton and then worsted processes were generally the first to be mechanised because their longer staples made that easier. Spinning methods dated back to pre-historic times and had proved resistant to attempts at mechanisation, although Leonardo da Vinci had tried, and it was only the later eighteenth century that saw effective mechanisation. Hargreaves’ jenny was simple, unpatented and initially driven by hand so suitable for cottage industry but subsequently improved and powered. Arkwright's water (powered) frame brought spinning into the factory and was key to the mechanisation of worsted spinning after cotton. Gill noted that Arkwright had taken a litigious attitude to licensing and that he might have found his invention even more profitable if he had concentrated on using his machinery productively rather than protecting his patents. She wondered, in passing, if the location of John Jubb’s Churwell cotton mill had been chosen to avoid his attention. Kay’s flying shuttle had markedly improved the efficiency of handloom weaving by allowing one weaver to produce broadcloth without an assistant. Efficient powered weaving, however, developed much more slowly than spinning, so much so that the number of handloom weavers peaked in the 1830s as a result of the much greater quantities of yarn available once spinning was mechanised. Although Luddism was often highlighted in accounts of this period she believed that mechanisation of tedious tasks was often welcomed and protests badged as ‘Luddite’ could be more about unpopular employers than the new machinery. The mechanisation of textile production was not the single simple story of popular imagination. Lancashire wool and Yorkshire cotton factories both existed, though they were generally short lived. Technology was a mix of old and new involving combinations of steam, water, and human power. Organisation often involved a combination of factory, workshop and putting out, for the various processes, with a wide range of management and supervisory arrangements some of which made effective quality control difficult. A good illustration of the diversity of these developments could be seen by looking at what was happening in Leeds in 1791. The city had long been a centre for the marketing of textiles along with some finishing but now was home to some groundbreaking enterprises. Gott was making wool cloth at Bean Ing. His innovations were in organisation not in machinery or techniques but he integrated processes on one site reducing transaction cost and improving quality control. Some were powered but much was still by hand and would be into the nineteenth century. Marshall and Murray were spinning flax at Holbeck having patented improved processes for this the previous year. Bank Mill was spinning cotton on the using steam pumping technologies to allow the power of such a large river to be harnessed in a controlled way. The growth of Leeds' industry over the next 50 years could be seen in Burras's 1844 view of Leeds from Armley which Gill saw as a potentially rich source for further work, and in conclusion she suggested that the Industrial Revolution, if indeed that was the right term, had taken almost a century. Questions from the floor prompted varied discussion about: the extent to which the course of the river Aire had been changed since this period; the need for care in interpreting contemporary visual evidence; and aspects of card-wire making at Wortley Forge. Even those of us who believed we had read Gill’s book quite carefully went away with plenty more to think about. Gillian Cookson, The Age of Machinery: engineering the Industrial Revolution 1770-1850. Boydell & Brewer 2018. 344pp. ISBN 978 1 78327 276 1. Gill Eastabrook

Men of Lead – David Joy 16 February 2019 David Joy, who had written widely about the , came from a family of farmer-miners near Hebden so felt a strong link with the Grassington Moor mines and miners, but he would also refer to Swaledale as the largest of the lead-mining areas in the Yorkshire Dales. He started by summarising the history of lead mining in the area. The Roman origins of the local industry were not proven but it certainly dated to monastic times. Fountains Abbey supplied lead, for example, to Windsor

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Castle. The earliest miners would have been able to identify outcrops of the ore on surface scratches. As these most accessible sources were exhausted they moved to ‘hushing’ or ‘scrating’ where dams were built and then broken so the rush of water exposed the ore. In the mid-eighteenth century the fifth Duke of Devonshire invested in the modernisation of mining on Grassington Moor but when the sixth Duke inherited in 1811 there were considerable debts. So he employed John Taylor, a renowned mining engineer, who was more successful, although the industry continued to be vulnerable to wars and market fluctuations. Grassington lead mining peaked in the mid-nineteenth century and the 1851 census showed not only many miners and their families but the wide range of trades that supported this community. But soon after this steamships made imported lead cheap and mining finished in Grassington in 1872, lasting slightly longer in Swaledale. Many former mining families moved to textile towns but others went further - some to America. Miners lived for about 10 years less than farmers (having an average life span of 35 years compared with 45). Unlike in early coal mining communities women didn't work underground but they too had hard lives with large families many of whom often died in childhood. Children left school at 10 with boys going down the mines, girls to mills. Aspects of early lead mining had been depicted in a fascinating selection of drawings commissioned by the Yorkshire Dales National Park for a mining trail. David used these, along with some old photographs, to describe the processes involved. We saw how ore was brought to the surface using horse or human power and transported from the pithead using primitive railways. Water power was used to keep mines dry and a 72 foot overshot water wheel pumped several shafts on Grassington Moor. The powder house was well away from other buildings for obvious reasons. A picture of a busy scene at Yarnbury prompted David to comment on two things. The blacksmith's shop was where miners would have hired their tools that were weighed on return so they could be charged for loss of metal, A miner in the foreground had a moustache – widely believed to protect against silicosis. Underground the actual mining continued to be done by hand with only the assistance of gunpowder. Once the galena was out of the mine, bouse-teams used centrifugal force to separate heavy ore from lighter debris. It was then broken up mechanically in a bucker before being crushed in water using a 'hotching tub'. Hand sifting remained a crucial part of the process as could be seen in a photograph from Greenhow Hill where lead mining had undergone a late revival when a pipeline from the Nidderdale reservoirs encountered good quality ore. Smelting was perhaps the hardest job of all and smelters had even shorter life expectancies than miners. Generally batch methods used in the Dales relied on peat and local outcropped coal and had changed little for hundreds of years. However in 1792 a reverberatory furnace capable of continuous working was built on Grassington Moor - one of only two in the Dales. Its foundations can still be seen. Finally the lead ingots had to be got to market. This was eased in the Grassington area by the arrival of the Leeds- Liverpool canal at Skipton in 1777 which also supplied high quality coal for smelting. Another fine selection of drawings and photographs illustrated the lives of miners, their families and neighbours. Most miners who worked on Grassington Moor lived in Grassington itself, or in Hebden, and had a long walk to work. There were however a few cottages up on the moor near Coalgrovebeck. Stone houses in the villages were probably better built than those on the moor but suffered from overcrowding. However village life in Grassington had more to offer. The Devonshire Arms and Commercial Hotel were just two of several pubs. There was a long musical tradition. Grassington had its own Brass Band and the way singing was valued could be seen from the inscription on a gravestone of two brothers who were among the many skilled miners who came from Derbyshire to Grassington in the early nineteenth century. Nor were education and religion neglected. Grassington had its own school. The Devonshire Institute (provided by the Duke) included a library where miners read about geology. There was a Congregationalist Church and a Methodist Chapel as well as the Anglican Church across the Wharfe at Linton. Discussion, like the talk itself, brought together technical issues for extractive industry in an isolated locality with the story of the people who worked in these and the communities that grew up to serve them. David Joy, Men of Lead: Miners of the Yorkshire Dales. Galena Books 2016. 126pp. ISBN 978 0 9934923 0 3 Gill Eastabrook

The Excavation of Bean Ing Mills, Leeds: in search of Mr Gott’s Mill – Zoe Horn 16 March 2019 Zoe Horn from the West Yorkshire Archaeology Service (WYAS) had replaced Phil Moore, the advertised speaker who had retired since the programme was published; she explained that she was not a field

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YAHS IHS Newsletter 106

archaeologist but dealt with the finds and the write up of excavations undertaken by the WYAS on the site of Benjamin Gott’s Bean Ing Mills. The report was still to be completed and she had brought along a selection of finds. Some members may have visited the excavations in July 2017 when they were shown the remains and the extent of the excavations. The visit was reported, together with illustrations, in Newsletter 101, Autumn 2017. She started the talk with an introduction about Benjamin Gott and his involvement win the Leeds wool trade. Born in 1762 in Calverley into a wealthy family, he became an apprentice at the age of 18 to the wool merchants Wormald and Fountaine, later becoming a partner and eventually taking control of the firm when the senior partners died. In 1790 he married an heiress Elizabeth Rhodes and had ten children. He bought an estate in Armley and commissioned Robert Smirke to design a mansion and Humphrey Repton to design the grounds. In 1792 he bought land called Bean Ings then in open country on the outskirts of Leeds, next to the River Aire and built a woollen mill. The various processes of woollen manufacture were described and Gott’s innovation was to bring them together on one site thereby taking control of the processes and taking advantage of new developments in manufacture using steam power and power looms. A first gasometer was also constructed. By 1800 he employed over 1,000 workers and business was booming such that he bought and rebuilt Armley Mills (now the Leeds Industrial Museum) using a fireproof structure which became the largest woollen factory in the world. In 1824 he was taken to court over the pollution caused by the Bean Ing works. Gott died in 1840 and the business was carried on by his sons. The mill continued in operation until 1963 when it was occupied by the firm of Joshua Wilson & Sons, worsted manufacturers. It was demolished in 1965 to make way for the Yorkshire Post building. Detailed plans were used to locate possible sites and test pits dug to expose a range of buildings including the site of the gasometer. The demolition of the Yorkshire Post building had created a lot of over burden which had to be removed and some areas were contaminated with asbestos which prevented excavation. Photographs were shown of the excavations including those taken by a drone which gave a good overview of the site from the air and enabled comparison with plans of the mill held in the archives. Members were able to help with the identification of a drive shaft and dog clutch and oil dispensers for bearings from the photographs of finds and those which were handed round at the meeting. Interestingly very few finds were located considering the relatively recent occupation of the site. The site is now being developed with plans for an 18 storey tower block with 242 apartments. The speaker was thanked for her presentation and we look forward to the publication of the report. (Note the Leodis website www.leodis.net contains several photographs of the interior, exterior and demolition of Bean Ing Mills.) Margaret Tylee

EXTRACTS FROM EARLIER NEWSLETTERS

Newsletter 105 took the extracts up to Newsletter 50 Autumn 1999 and with issues 54 – 96 available on line via the YAHS website, the following fills the gap.

Issue 51 Spring 2000. At the AGM, David Cant stood down as Chair and in the absence of another proposal Bill Slatcher, as the previous Vice Chair, agreed to take over as Chair in the interim. Sheila Bye took the post of Vice Chair. There were still no volunteers for Section Secretary so the arrangement with the responsibilities shared between arranging the lectures and producing a newsletter continued. Neil Davies took on the role as Lecture Secretary and Margaret Tylee continued as Newsletter editor. A new Industrial Walk Leaflet covering Batley was produced and distributed to members. Among the News Items were reports that the magazine Industrial Heritage to which the Section subscribed had ceased publication; Bridge Mill at Hebden Bridge had been restored and that Kangol had ceased the manufacture of flat caps in Leeds, now to be imported from China. There was a report of the 1999 AIA Conference based at Chatham and a Local History Section Study Day on the Rhubarb Triangle. Reports were given of the 1999/2000 lecture programme which were Water Control on the Rochdale Canal in the upper Calder Valley – Carl Coldwell, The development of an Early Sewage System in Industrial Leeds- David Sellars, The Midleton Railway and its Collieries – Ron Fitzgerald, The Lost Boats of St Aidans – Eric Houlder, Anne Lister of Shibden Hall: her diaries and the local historian – Jill Liddington (joint with the Local History Section). Notice was given of a visit to Shibden Hall following from the Anne Lister talk.

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Issue 52 Autumn 2000. It was reported that due to ill health, Neil Davies had been unable to arrange the 2000/2001 lecture programme and Margaret Tylee had to contact Section members at relatively short notice to ask them to speak, which she was successfully able to do – a great reflection of the knowledge and experience of the membership. It was reported that the main Society was experiencing financial problems due to the high cost of repairs and maintenance of Claremont, resulting in a lack of money for purchasing items for the Library and the need to raise subscriptions from 1 January 2001. Section only members would see their subscription rise to £8pa. Following the report of the demise of Industrial Heritage in the last Newsletter, it was now reported that Hudson History had now taken over the publication. There were reports of a visit to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to see the works in progress at Slaithwaite to reopen the Canal and of a meeting of the CBA North East IA Panel which had met at the Dales Countryside museum at Hawes. The meeting welcomed the publication of Sources of Advice on Industrial Archaeology in the North East (including Yorkshire). There were short articles by Helen Gomersall on Portland Cement and by Margaret Tylee on Sugar Cane Processing in North Queensland, an area she had recently visited.

Issue 53 Spring 2001. The AGM returned the existing Officers, although Bill Slatcher was still keen to stand down in favour of a younger candidate. Neil Davies’ health was improved it was felt that he should not have to take on the extra responsibility of Lecture Secretary at this time and in the absence of any volunteers, Margaret Tylee agreed to continue to arrange the lectures. The Section was still without an Excursions Secretary. Amongst the News Items were reports that English Heritage were part funding a feasibility study into the restoration of the Newcomen Engine at Elsecar, a major archaeological excavation had taken place on the site of Matthew Murray’s Round Foundry and the opening of the Markham Grange Steam Museum, at Brodsworth. Sheila Bye reported on the AIA Conference held in Manchester, David George on the 9th Annual Mills Conference at Dean Clough Mills and David Cant on the latest meeting of the North East IA Panel. There were reports of the 2000/2001 lecture programme which comprised as follows: A Look at Brewing in Calderdale – Peter Robinson, Textile Communities in the Making: Pudsey & District – Ruth Strong, Co-operative Wholesale Society Manufacturing in West Yorkshire – Helen Gomersall, Aspects of Industry in South Leeds – Ted Connell, The Oldroyds of Dewsbury – John Goodchild (the latter two joint with the Local History Section). Finally there were details of a walking tour of Sowerby Bridge as the Section excursion led by David George. This brings my summaries to a close. Reading through these Newsletters brought back many memories, mostly happy and I was reminded on how lucky the Section has been to have so many active members, many who are still with us and still active.

Margaret Tylee

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS 2019/20

Chair Bill Jagger Vice Chair John Suter Treasurer Nick Nelson Membership Secretary Nick Nelson Lecture Secretary Jane Ellis Newsletter Editor Margaret Tylee

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