NEWSLETTER 95 AUTUMN 2015

NEWSLETTER 95 AUTUMN 2015

EDITORIAL

Apologies for the slightly late production of the Autumn Newsletter, the time seems to have flown by since the last edition and I have been delayed in making a start on this one due to pressures from other activities. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer; welcome to the start of the new lecture season and our new home in the Swarthmore Centre. This will no doubt be unfamiliar to many at first but the venue couldn’t be more conveniently located near to Claremont. There is Saturday free parking at Joseph’s Well (the car park that is almost opposite Park Lane College is less busy than the one nearer to the bridge over the inner ring road) and you can use the same City Bus stop as for Claremont. I am sure we will get used to it. Enclosed with the Newsletter is a copy of the 2015-16 Lecture Programme and many thanks again to Jane Ellis for her work in arranging another interesting programme which I hope will be well supported by members. Also enclosed is a copy of the minutes of the 2015 AGM; if any members who attended the AGM have any corrections to the minutes please let me know (contact details given at the end of the Newsletter).

Back in 2006 I attended the annual conference of the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) which was held in the Isle of Man. Nine years later we decided to revisit the island and explore more of its industrial archaeology as well as doing some walking and bird watching. For anyone who has not visited the island before I can say that there is plenty to see particularly from a transport history perspective. There are electric trams, steam trains, horse drawn trams and a mountain railway, as well as a number of miniature railways. The island is particularly rich in minerals and at one time produced 20% of the zinc mined in the British Isles. The Great Laxey Wheel is now a famous tourist site and has been preserved to working order complete with its 450 yard long pump rods and there are many other abandoned mine sites, including the Snaefell mine (Fig 1). The island is also famous for its kippers which can be sent all over the world.

Progress on the development of the Yorkshire Industrial History Online database (YIHO) continues with entries now reaching over 1700 and the active involvement of other organisations. I have given a fuller update on page 4 of this Newsletter which is based on information supplied by John Suter. If you are not contributing information then it is easy to do so and more information can be obtained from Robert Vickers or John Suter.

I have given a brief update on the situation re the Society’s move from Claremont below, but would like to place on record my thanks to the Society’s Collection Manager Kirsty McHugh who will be leaving the Society at the end of September. Kirsty has made a tremendous contribution to the Society during the time she has worked at the YAS providing helpful and knowledgeable advice to members and visitors and has proved an invaluable member of the Promotions & Publicity Committee which I chair, and she will be much missed.

An early reminder that subscriptions are due in January 2016, YAS members will receive reminders from the YAS Membership Secretary John Whitaker, Section only members should pay their subs direct to the IHS Membership Secretary, Robert Vickers. Rates remain unchanged, although the YAS AGM in September voted to simplify the categories of membership.

Once again, there are no new members to welcome. We shall be producing an updated membership leaflet shortly to reflect the changes to the YAS, but members are still urged to encourage new members to join.

I shall be compiling the next Newsletter in mid-January 2016. I have been a bit short of contributions for this Newsletter so any news, information etc. would be very welcome, by 11 January. I look forward to welcoming you all to our first lecture of the new Programme, at our new venue, on 24 October.

Margaret Tylee

Fig 1. The Snaefell mine situated at the head of the Laxey Valley on the slopes of Snaefell, Isle of Man. Opened c.1856 it mined lead and zinc and closed in 1908, although the spoil heaps were reworked in the 1950s. (photo Barry Tylee)

NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

For this Newsletter, the above heading remains correct, however the current intention is that the YAS will move out of Claremont at some point in early 2016; this depends on whether the purchaser obtains planning permission to proceed with his intention to convert the building into residential properties. Until such time, the Registered Office and contact details for the YAS remain as now. Meanwhile preparation continues for the transfer of the Library and Archives on long term loan to the University of Leeds. The Archives are being treated for conservation purposes prior to the move to the Special Collections section of Leeds University Library and the material from the Library will start to transfer from mid-September. YAS members will have already received information about this. Books which were already held by the University have been offered to other libraries, booksellers and members and many have been sold resulting in a significant income for the YAS.

Included with the papers for the YAS AGM were details of how to gain access to the Society’s collections at Leeds University Library. As a reminder, all YAS members can apply to become external members, with borrowing rights, of the University Library at no extra cost. From 1 October applications may be made in person to the main reception desk in the Brotherton Library with a letter from the YAS confirming they are a fully paid up member. They will be asked to complete an application form and will be issued with a Library Membership card valid for the academic year. Letters confirming membership can be obtained from Judith Rushton ([email protected] or T 0113 245 7910). Section only members are not eligible to become external members of the University Library but will be able to use the Library as day users for reference purpose only. Section only members wishing to use the Library should obtain a letter from Judith Rushton as above to confirm their status.

One area which has proved slightly difficult to deal with relates to the YAS collection of periodicals. Many have not been taken by the University of Leeds Library primarily due to space reasons. Some have been taken by other libraries and in August a number of titles were offered to YAS members. Included in this list was the AIA publication Industrial Archaeology. This raises the question of the worth of continuing the Section subscription to the AIA which currently costs £42 p.a. Although copies of AIA News would still be made available to members at our lectures, if we can no longer deposit copies of AIA publications in a YAS Library or the University of Leeds Library there will be no opportunity for all members to have access. Members’ views on this would be welcome.

Unfortunately, due to a delay in the auditing of the Society accounts which consequently resulted in a delay for the publication of the Annual Report, the YAS AGM had to be postponed from the end of July to 26th September. At the AGM Gillian Cookson, an IHS member, was elected President, replacing Sylvia Thomas at the end of her term of office. A proposal to change the Society’s name to include the word “Historical” to more accurately describe the work of the Society was carried – it will become the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society. Membership categories will be simplified, aiming to make it easier to join. Also accepted was a change to the composition of the Management Board, to increase the voting members from ten to twelve and reserve five seats on the Board for members of the five lecture-delivering special interest sections. This proposal arose from the recognition that the sections are the means by which most members are involved with the Society and it is desirable to ensure a closer connection between the sections and the Management Board. Each section, including ours, will be required to elect a section member (who must be a Society member) to join the Management Board as a Trustee of the Society. We will have to consider how best to do this – probably at the section AGM. Society members should have received a copy of the Annual Report and copies are available from Claremont for Section only members.

OTHER NEWS ITEMS

More than 1,000 negatives from the London, Midland & Scottish railway photographic collections from 1880 to the 1930s have been added to the Historic Online Archive. The photographs were taken to promote places of interest served by the LMS and include stately homes, town centres, rural idylls as well as station buildings. The Historic England archive contains photographs, plans and drawings together with information about England’s historic buildings and sites. It can be found at www.archive.historicengland.org.uk

Still with Historic England, on 24 June, officials from Historic England visited Leeds to announce a new study looking at how “at risk” textile mills in West Yorkshire can be saved. Meetings were held with Leeds City Council and the developers Citu who have plans to develop the Temple Mills into a cultural centre for the city. A grant from the Historic England’s £11.5 million repair grant programme which is designed to rescue major buildings on the Heritage at Risk Register will help with the work.

510 new additions to Historic England’s listings were added in 2014-15. One of the more unusual entries was a sewer gas destructor lamp in Stewart Street, Sheffield listed as Grade II as a surviving example of a gas lamp combined with a sewer vent of which there were originally 82 in Sheffield. This type of lamp was common in the late 19th century allowing gases such as methane from urban sewers to be burnt off. The heat of the lamp caused an up draught which drew the sewer gases to the surface where they were burnt off in the gas flame. Full details of the listings additions can be found at www.historicengland.org.uk and follow the links to listing.

The National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCM) is looking for volunteers to help with a number of museum activities such as visitor guides, library research, library cuttings and photography. Opportunities are available on weekdays and weekends and application forms can be downloaded from the NCM website www.ncm.org.uk where further information can be found.

On 16 September, the Victorian Society published its 2015 Top Ten List of the Country’s Most Endangered Buildings. These are all nationally important listed buildings which are at real risk of being lost, primarily as a result of neglect, decay or vandalism. The buildings are nominated by members of the public and being included on the list can help secure their future by raising their profile nationally and attract funding for repair and restoration. The 2015 list includes Hunslet Mill and Victoria Works in Hunslet. Hunslet Mill in Goodman Street was built between 1838-1842 by William Fairburn for John Wilkinson for flax spinning; a 7 storey building it was the largest of the flax spinning mills in Leeds and is grade II* listed. The west range was demolished in 1986 when the rest was listed and the building is owned by a developer who has left it unused for nearly 20 years, arguing that its development was an unviable proposition. It is recognised as a priority by Leeds City Council and Historic England but little can be done without the developer’s co-operation. The adjacent Victoria Works on Goodman Street was built as a flax spinning works for W B Holdsworth in 1835-8 and is grade II listed. To see the full list go to the Victorian Society website at www.victoriansociety.org.uk.

HELP WANTED

The Oaks Colliery Disaster and Memorial

On Wednesday 12 December 1866 at around 1.20pm there was an explosion in the Oaks Colliery . It was estimated that at the time about 340 men and boys were underground according to the miners’ union records – the pit’s management kept no proper daily record. Rescue attempts were hampered by the fact that both pit cages were destroyed in the blast. A new cage was quickly installed in the No. 1 pit shaft and about 20-30 survivors were rescued and about 80 bodies were then recovered. Searching for the rest continued, although most were assumed to have perished. Around 9am the following day the pit exploded for the second time when there were 28 rescuers in the mine; this was followed by a further explosion around 7.30pm when it was assumed that all in the pit would have died by then. However early on the Friday morning, the signal bell on the No. 1 shaft rang and two rescuers descended to find a sole rescuer still alive. Subsequently the miners’ union compiled a list of the missing; of the 340 men and boys in the pit on the Wednesday, only six eventually survived. The explosions on the following day killed 27 rescuers bringing the total to 361. This remains the worst mining disaster to have occurred in England and for nearly 50 years it was the worst mining disaster in the UK until that title was sadly claimed by the Universal Senghenydd Colliery, South Wales, in 1913 when 440 miners were killed.

Nearly 150 years on, there is still no national memorial to the victims of the explosions, although there are memorials to individuals including the leader of the rescue team Parkin Jeffcock. A small group of ex-miners is trying to raise funds to erect a suitable memorial to those who perished and a local Barnsley born sculptor has been commissioned to produce this which eventually would be situated near the National Union of Mineworkers HQ in Barnsley. The group is looking to contact anyone who has relatives who were victims of the disaster, if they have any information or stories relating to the disaster or who would like to contribute towards the cost of erecting the memorial. If any member can help with this, contact details are as follows: Email: [email protected]; T 01226 757024; 01709 894636; 07518 154474.

More information about the disaster can be found in Brian Elliott’s book South Yorkshire Mining Disasters Vol. 1, The 19th Century. Wharncliffe Books, 2006. ISBN 1 90432564 6

YORKSHIRE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY ONLINE The 2015 volume of the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal is now available. On pages 198-9 is a note by John Suter and Robert Vickers entitled Recording and Communicating Yorkshire’s Industrial Heritage that gives the background to the project and an update on progress since it began nearly two years ago. The database currently contains c.1800 site entries, with 78% appearing not to be listed. The work carried out by Daniel Balmforth, a final year history student on work placement from Huddersfield University, was instrumental in adding the records collected by Jane Hatcher’s survey of Yorkshire sites and buildings in the early 1970s to the database. Jane has also agreed that the 1500 negatives of photographs taken as part of her survey can be added and the group is now establishing the best way to get these scanned and added to the database. Not all the negatives have been indexed so we may ask members to assist in the identification of some sites and buildings. We also know of some similar photographic collections and are trying to track these down with a view to getting them scanned.

Site records have also been added by other members based on their own research which is particularly pleasing since one of the main reasons for setting up the database was to provide a means for recording members’ research and knowledge of industrial sites which otherwise might have been lost. Our project partners the Cleveland Industrial Archaeology Society and the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society have also begun adding information (CIAS) or aim to do so in due course (SYIHS).

Development of the software continues; two key areas are the ability for the database to be simply searched by any user and to ensure that the site can run using the major web browsers - Internet Explorer 11, Firefox & Google Chrome. Search results are presented using Google Maps and “pop up” windows which gives a more modern appearance. The group working on the project continues to meet regularly to test and modify the database and would welcome new members to participate. There are numerous unpublished sources of historical data on industrial sites that we wish to add to YIHO. If you have information to contribute, would like to find out more and/or join the group please contact Robert Vickers (details below) or John Suter ([email protected]).

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

2015 3 October Railways around Malton. Railway Ramblers 8 mile linear walk looking at various features of the 1845 York to Scarborough railway and the Thirsk & Malton railway. Meet at Malton bus station to take the 10.24 westbound 843 Coastliner bus to Huttons Ambo road end on A64. Alternatively catch the eastbound 843 Coastliner bus to the same point from Leeds Bus Station at 8.40 or from York Station at 9.47. Return from Malton by bus or train. Led by Peter Billington T 07903 646495. Bring packed lunch and walking boots required. 6 October Fired Earth Part 2: Development of the Local Heavy Ceramics Industry – Chris Bateman. Halifax Antiquarian Society talk. 7.30pm Calderdale Central Library, Northgate House, Northgate, Halifax HX1 1UN. 10 October Swannington New Sights at Old Sites: Old Railways, Coal, Mining & Windmills. EMIAC89. Conference organised by Leicestershire Industrial History Society and Swannington Heritage Trust. Swannington Village Hall, Main Street, Swannington LE67 8LQ. 9.15am – 4.30pm. Morning lectures and afternoon site visits include Califat Colliery and Hough Mill. Cost £15. Cheques made payable to LIHS and sent to EMIAC89, 3 The Orchard, Groby, Leicester LE6 0BA. Any queries, email [email protected] 11 October North Bridge & Beyond. A Calderdale Heritage walk examining this area which was a focal point for transport in and out of Halifax and a hive of industry from the mid-1800s onwards. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm at the junction of Northgate and North Parade, Halifax. Cost £3 per person.

17 October Remains in Rotherham. Railway Ramblers 8-10 miles linear walk looking at several industrial and transport features including trams and a genuine Bailey Bridge. Meet beside the canal outside Rotherham Central Station at 10am to take a bus to the start. Car drivers are recommended to park at the Meadowhall P&R and take the train or X98 bus at 9.30. Led by Chris Thompson and bring a packed lunch. Details from Jane Ellis T 0113 265 9970. 18 October Upper Rastrick. A Calderdale Heritage walk looking at 250 years of history when Rastrick industrialised and expanded. A longer walk over 2 hours and sensible footwear recommended. Meet Margaret Sharp at 2.15pm at the carpark alongside St Matthews Parish Church, Rastrick. Cost £3 per person.

24 October Rotherham Heritage Fair. Rotherham Minster 10am – 4pm.

24 October Swords into Ploughshares: How the 1st World War transformed British Engineering. Newcomen Society Conference. The Gallery, 75 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EL. £30. Bookings to The Administrator, the Newcomen Society, 25 Blythe Road, London W14 0QX.

7 November Thomas Green & Co. – John Pease. YAS Family History Section talk. 11am, Swarthmore Education Centre, Leeds. A chance to hear John’s talk if you missed it in February. 14 November South Yorkshire Archaeology Day 10am – 4.30pm Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, Sheffield. 8 lectures covering a range of archaeological activities in South Yorkshire including a shortened version of Barry Tylee’s talk on the Tin Mill, Wortley and the industrial Archaeology of the Don Gorge near Conisborough. Cost £12.50 (concessions £6.50) includes tea/coffee and biscuits. Pre-booked packed lunches are available. Full details and booking forms from David Marsh T 0114 273 4223. 16 November Leeds Locomotive Builders to the World – Dr Di Drummond. Thoresby Society talk.7.15pm Friends Meeting house, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. Contact Mrs D Taylor Thoresby Society c/o Leeds Library, 18 Commercial Street, Leeds LS1 6AL.

16 November Charcoal from the Bronze Age to the Present Day – Don Kelley. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) talk. Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield. 7.30pm. £2 non SYIHS members. Contact Derek Bayliss for details: T 0114 230 7693, email [email protected]

17 November The Family Frying Pan & the Edna Iron: a Halifax Family Business 1860-1968 – Helen Bramley. Halifax Antiquarian Society talk. 7.30pm Calderdale Central Library, Northgate House, Northgate, Halifax HX1 1UN.

28 November , Wentworth and Historic Slide Show. Railway Ramblers 4 mile circular walk and slide show. Meet leader Mike Warrington at Elsecar station at 10.30am to walk to Wentworth and back to catch train to Chapeltown for lunch at the Commercial, 107 Station Road S35 2XF. Richard Lewis will present a slide show looking at stations. Booking not required and those unable to do the walk can join for lunch and the slides. T Jane Ellis 0113 265 9970.

30 November Wilson’s Piece: a commemoration of Harold Taylor and his researches into Barnsley Linen. Presented by members of the SYIHS. SYIHS Barnsley talk. Salem Wesleyan Reform Church, Blucher Street, off Pitt Street, Barnsley. 7pm. £2 non SYIHS members. Contact Derek Bayliss for details T 0114 230 7693, email [email protected]

6 December Christmas at Wortley Top Forge. Water wheels, engines, miniature railway and Santa. Forge Lane, Thurgoland, S35 7DN 11am - 4pm. Small admission charge.

14 December Wortley Tin Mill: did it really use tin? – Barry Tylee. SYIHS talk. Details as for 16 November.

19 December The Fly Line. Railway Ramblers 4 mile linear walk with festive pub lunch led by Jane Ellis. Meet at Cross Gates Station at 9.59am. There are two short tunnels (torch not required) and boots will be required as the walk is muddy, but they must be removed at the pub. Booking is required by 11 December. Contact Jane Ellis for further details including menu choices T 0113 265 9970. 2016 18 January Women Workers in Sheffield’s Metal Trades c1742-1867- Laura Bracey. SYIHS talk. Details as for 16 November.

REPORTS OF EVENTS ETC

Visit to and Hemingfield Colliery, 3 June 2015

Members may recall from the last Newsletter that I had been planning to arrange a visit to the newly restored Newcomen Engine at Elsecar but my colleague Derek Bayliss from the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society beat me to it. Members of the Industrial History Section were invited to join the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society’s visit to Elsecar and Hemingfield Colliery on 3 June (Fig 2). 18 people attended on a fine day at the Elsecar Heritage Centre where we were met by John Tanner, Director of the project to bring the Elsecar site and the 1795 Newcomen Engine back to life, and Christine Cameron from the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery.

John outlined the work that had been carried out so far on the main site which included new signage and displays emphasising the site’s important industrial heritage as well as the restoration of the Newcomen Engine. (SeeDerek’s article in Newsletter 94 which outlined the history of the Engine). It was pleasing to note that funding has been secured for 2016 to continue the work on the site. The group was then led to the entrance of the drift tunnel to Low Wood Colliery where it was said that members of the aristocracy would access the mine in the 18th century as an interesting excursion. We were then shown around the centre of the village, including the site of the Milton Ironworks which was linked by tramway to the Tankersley and Hoyland ironstone pits. It was then back to the new Visitors’ centre where there were displays and a series of short archive films were shown. Due to the limit on the number of people allowed into the Newcomen Engine House at any one time, the party was divided into two groups to be shown the Newcomen Engine working under hydraulic power (Figs 3 & 4). Whilst one group was in the Engine House the other was shown the buildings that were once the Earl Fitzwilliam’s private railway station and then the site of the furnaces used by the Elsecar Ironworks. After lunch, the group re-assembled and walked along the towpath of the partly restored Elsecar branch of the Dearne & Dove Canal to the site of the Hemingfield Colliery. The canal was opened in 1798 to carry coal from the Fitzwilliam collieries; it was two miles, one and a half furlongs long with six locks and closed in 1928 due to subsidence and the high maintenance costs. In 1984 the Barnsley Canal Group was formed with the aim of restoring the Barnsley and Dearne & Dove canals and in the 1990s they did bring a small stretch of the Elsecar Canal back into navigation. The original canal basin is now a car park but the top pound is in water. After about a mile we reached the Hemingfield Basin where coal from the Hemingfield Colliery could be shipped by the canal not only to the local iron works but further afield.

Reaching the entrance to the Colliery site from Wath Road, we were shown the site by Christine Cameron who explained that the colliery also called Elsecar Low Colliery was developed in the 1840s as part of the Earl Fitzwilliam’s colliery complex, reaching the Barnsley Coal seam in 1847. It ceased mining coal in 1920 and was then used as a water pumping station for a number of local collieries, initially using a Cornish but subsequently by electricity. Pumping stopped in October 1989. After the privatisation of the remainder of the coal industry in 1994, the site was left neglected and subject to vandalism. The then owners UK Coal Mining Ltd went into administration in 2013 and the site was eventually sold to a group called the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery in June 2014. Their aim is to research and restore the site for community use. We were surprised to find that much equipment remained on site, including buildings machinery and concrete headgear (Fig 5). More information can be found online about the history of the site and the work of the Friends group by searching “Hemingfield Colliery”.

The group made its way back to the Elsecar Heritage site for a final look around the site. More information about Elsecar and the Newcomen Engine including booking tours of the Engine can be found at www.elsecar-heritage.co.uk. The site is open all week, 10am-5pm, access and parking is free and tours of the Engine cost £3. Thanks to Derek Bayliss for organising a very interesting visit.

Margaret Tylee

Fig 2. Group members outside workshops dating from 1850, originally part of Elsecar Ironworks, later a locomotive repair shop for Elsecar Colliery, then a machine shop for the National Coal Board. (photo Robert Vickers)

Fig 3. Elsecar Engine House: part of the restored engine Fig 4. Elsecar Engine House: the beam, looking mechanism, rods and framework; the is in the towards the opening through which the beam projects background. (photo Robert Vickers) and from which the pump chain hangs down to the shaft. (photo Robert Vickers)

Fig 5. Hemingfield Colliery: stone-built house, with later brick extension, now a dwelling, with concrete headgear over a capped shaft. (photo Robert Vickers)

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INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS 2015-2016

Chairman & Newsletter Editor Vice-Chairman & Membership Lecture Secretary Secretary

T 0114 283 0056 T 01937 588446 T 0113 265 9970

Margaret Tylee Robert Vickers Jane Ellis