YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION

NEWSLETTER 105 WINTER/EARLY SPRING 2019 (website edition)

EDITORIAL

I start this Newsletter with an apology for the slight delay in the Newsletter production and its format. I am still coming to terms with the loss of my friend and long term IHS member Robert Vickers who for many years had helped me in the final layout of the Newsletter. Robert suddenly passed away on 7 December 2018; he had been suffering from pulmonary fibrosis which had been diagnosed early in 2018. Unfortunately there is no cure for this but the condition can be managed with medication and exercise and we were all hoping that he would have been with us for longer. His condition had worsened by late autumn and he was in the process of handing over some of his responsibilities when he developed a chest infection and died within two days. At his request there was a private cremation but there has been suggestion that something should be done to remember him and his work for the Industrial History Section and the wider Society in a way that can bring friends and colleagues together, possibly a memorial lecture or some other event. I’ll keep you informed about this. If you havn’t seen it, IHS member and YAHS President Gill Cookson has written a blog on the YAHS website to commemorate him. Unfortunately since I produced Newsletter 104 in early September, I experienced several problems with my health which involved two prolonged spells in hospital and several follow up outpatient appointments. This resulted in me not being able to attend any of the first half of the 2018/19 lecture programme (although one was a result of a clash of dates). Having stood down as Chair at the 2018 AGM it did mean I had less responsibility to be present, although I was still Vice Chair so I was grateful to Bill Jagger who was able to introduce the lectures when Robert was also unable to attend. Robert was also our Membership Secretary, managed the email contact list, tidied up the format of the Newsletter and distributed it to members, was actively involved in the Industrial History Online project, the Society’s Promotion and Website groups and our Section rep on the meetings between the Sections and Society Officers. This shows the enormous contribution he made to the running of the Section and main Society and how he will be missed. His passing has led to the setting up of temporary arrangements to keep the Section running until the AGM in April. Bill Jagger will continue as temporary Chair, John Suter will oversee the email contact list, Gill Eastabrook will help with the Newsletter distribution, Nick Nelson continues as Treasurer and will take on Membership, Jane Ellis continues as Lecture Programme Secretary and I will continue to write the Newsletter but have decided to step down as Vice Chair. The positions will be reviewed at the AGM, so please think about how you can help the Section going forward so that its future can be guaranteed.

Turning to other things - a reminder that for the 2018/19 programme we introduced an extra lecture to start the season in September and continue to look for other opportunities to enhance the benefits of being a member whether your membership is additional to a main Society membership or for the Industrial History Section only. IHS members are welcome to attend meetings of the other special Interest Sections usually having to pay a small donation – details can be found on the YAHS website or in the hard copy Programme of Events. Members also have access rights to the collections at the Brotherton Library depending on their level of membership, again details are available on the website and you are eligible for a discount on the cost of attending the AIA Conference. There are also excursions and the occasional day schools on aspects of industrial history. Collaboration with other organisations could be a possibility, for example the Archaeology Service are aware of potential development threats in the Holbeck area and members may be able to help with research, photography etc. If anyone has other ideas on how the membership package can be enhanced please let me know – contact details as usual at the end of the newsletter.

Finally a reminder that subscriptions were due at the beginning of January; main Society members pay via the Society Treasurer, since we still do not have a Society Membership Secretary. Section members should contact Nick Nelson. The next Newsletter will be produced after the AGM in April, please let me have any news/articles etc. as soon as you can.

Margaret Tylee YAHS HIS Newsletter No 105

YAHS NEWS

Many members were sad to see the Society leave its home for many years at Claremont but we have settled in well at Stringer House in Hunslet with its comfortable surroundings, several meeting rooms and a central space where people can meet and make use of the refreshment facilities. One of the benefits of not having to spend the Society’s resources on owning and maintaining an old building with all its practical problems and costs has meant that the Society can look for other ways in which it can support its aims of stimulating the study of Yorkshire’s past through the promotion of events and publishing reports and studies into the history and archaeology of the county. As mentioned in the last Newsletter, a Grants Fund has been re-established for the purpose of providing support for research, excavations and publications furthering the knowledge of the historic county of Yorkshire.

The Society is now in the process of establishing two Fellowships based at the University of which are intended to increase the knowledge and understanding of our collections. Funding of £5,000 will allow four weeks research time for two people based in Special Collections. On completion the Research Fellows will be required to write a short report and write a blog post to promote the collection and their research which will be posted on the YAHS and Leeds University websites. The aim is to carry out the research before the end of September 2019.

The Management Board has also agreed to part fund further digitisation of its publications. To date the YAJ vols 1-82 and Court Rolls vols 1-15 are available online. The YAHS Record Series, Early Yorkshire Charters, Extra Series and Occasional Papers together with volumes from the Roman Antiquities Committee are being prepared for digitisation and will proceed once funding is in place. An application to the Marc Fitch Fund is being prepared for part funding. For more details and access please see the website.

Management Board member David Brears has been working hard to produce a new Newsletter for the Society. After the Society has spent several years trying to come up with a replacement for Update, David has produced an impressive publication called Briefing its format is part way between a newsletter and a journal containing information and articles. It is available primarily online to save costs but hard copies are available for those who require it. Briefing 2 will shortly be available and David already has material for the next issue. The plan is to aim for at least two issues a year depending on availability of content and finance. Contributions are welcome.

The Society’s flagship project for 2018 celebrating the life and work of Marie Hartley and Joan Ingleby and their book Life and Tradition in the Yorkshire Dales came to an end in December. First suggested by Kirsty McHugh and with the help of Paul White, both who moved away from Yorkshire at the beginning of 2018. We were then lucky to have the offer of help from Section member David Johnson who took on the task of liaising with the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes, who hold a collection of Hartley and Ingleby’s material and arranging events throughout the year. 50 events were held, together with an exhibition displayed at the Dales Countryside Museum and subsequently at the Folly in Settle. Seven events had to be cancelled due to either lack of booking, unavailability of the external organiser or in the case of sheep washing the unavailability of water. It was unfortunate that very few YAHS members attended, but overall and particularly by the Dales Countryside Museum, it was judged a success. The book has proved very popular and will continue to sell, raising the profile of the Society to a wider audience. The Promotions Group is now considering activities and events for 2019/2010. If any member has suggestions please let me know, contact details as usual at the end of the Newsletter. However please remember that we only have very limited resources to arrange and attend events, so offers of help are always welcome

Section Member Adrian Bailey is researching industrial unrest which took place at Leeds Forges in January/February 1909. If any member can provide any information please contact Adrian.

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OTHER NEWS

The Newcomen Society grew out of the centenary of the death of James Watt in 1919 and to celebrate its 100 years the Society will be holding many celebratory events in 2019, the main events will be in London and Birmingham but there will also be regional events. There will be a Day School at Kelham Island Museum Sheffield on the theme of Bramah and Maudsley and their influences on the birth of precision engineering and the likely date is 19 October. More information will be available nearer the time.

Section member David Johnson has been busy during 2018, as well as taking the project lead for the very successful Life & Traditions in the Yorkshire Dales project he has also found time to complete two books which were published on 15 November 2018. Lime Kilns: History & Heritage is the only one on the market with a national coverage apart from an older and shorter Shire publication. Quarrying in Cumbria is a companion to David’s previously published book on the quarrying industry in the Yorkshire Pennines and gives details about this important industry exploiting the variety of rock types to be found in Cumbria. Both books are published by Amberley and cost £14.99.

The Heritage at Risk Register produced by Historic at the end of November 2018 marked 20 years of highlighting the problems faced by owners both public and private of historic sites and buildings. During 2018 318 entries had been removed and 242 added, currently there are 5,160 entries. To date nearly £10 million has been given in grants to help preserve and restore sites. One of the sites added in 2018 was the Beehive Works in Sheffield a purpose built cutlery works built between the late 1850s and 1890. For more information and full details see the Historic England website.

The first phase of the £50 million scheme to convert the Hunslet Mill complex in Leeds (now called Victoria Riverside) into apartments has now been completed with all the apartments sold. The developers JM Construction are now moving onto the second phase of the development of the 3.1 acre site. It is good to know that at last something is being done to conserve the grade II and II* mills that have lain derelict for so many years.

Planning permission has been given to a co-operative enterprise to create a new drift coal mine at Crofton near Wakefield. The mine will be operated by a workers’ co-operative and plans to produce around 200,000 tonnes of coal a year. Work has started on the creation of the mine drift to connect with the Sharlston Top Coal Seam. For more information see www.newcroftoncoopcolliery.co.uk.

The death of Ian Dewhirst MBE was announced on 22 January 2019. Ian Dewhirst was a historian, author and local character. A retired librarian, he was a passionate advocate of local history and heritage, an excellent and entertaining speaker and was given the MBE for services to local history twenty years ago. His funeral is taking place on 15 February, 11am at the Trinity Baptist and United Reform Church, Fell Lane, Keighley.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

11 February Conserving Historic Industrial Buildings in the Dearne Valley – Liane Holdsworth. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) Lecture. Salem Wesleyan Methodist Church, Blucher Street, off Pitt Street, Barnsley 7pm. £2 for non SYIHS members Contact Derek Bayliss.

18 February The Story of Footprint Tools – Chris Jewitt. SYIHS lecture. Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield 7.30pm. £2 for non SYIHS members. Contact Derek Bayliss.

27 February Heritage Management – Neil Redfern. South Leeds Archaeology Group talk. Rothwell Community Hub, Marsh Street, Rothwell LS26 0AE. 7.30-9.30pm. Non-members £4 includes

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refreshments. Details from www.southleedsarchaeology.org.uk.

3 March The North Side of Elland. Heritage Walk exploring how the arrival of a canal, railway, new roads and industry changed the area in the 1800s. Meet Ian Philip at 1.30pm by St Mary’s Parish Church, HX5 0BW. No pre-booking just turn up and pay the guide - £3 per person.

12 March The Call to ARMS – the development of the ASM 32 bit microprocessor – Professor Steve Furber. 28th Dr Kenneth Barraclough Memorial Lecture. Joint meeting with SYIHS, SMEA and the Newcomen Society. 5.30pm for 6pm Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield. Contact Derek Bayliss as above.

25 March Glass Making in South Yorkshire, its history and technology – Hugh Willmott. Joseph Bramah Lecture sponsored by Barnsley Council and presented jointly with SYIHS. 7pm Cooper Gallery, Church Street, Barnsley. Admission free but donations appreciated. Contact Derek Bayliss for more details.

27 March Recent Excavations on a Yorkshire Canal – Jon Kenny. South Leeds Archaeology Group talk. Details as for 27 February.

15 April The Beginnings of Guest & Chrimes and the Screw-down Tap – Margaret Sides. SYIHS Lecture. Details as for 18 February.

29 April Steam below Sea- the Royal Navy K Class steam turbine submarines of WW1 – Chris Hodrian. Newcomen Society South Yorkshire lecture. Kelham Island Museum 6.30-8.15pm. No charge is made for attending lectures. Details from John Suter.

4 May Introduction to the Lead Industry of Swaledale. Harrogate Archaeology Society walk to look at features relating to the lead mines and dressing floors around Reeth. Full details from Janis Heward.

11 May EMIAC 96. Industrial Heritage Day School on the Mansfield & Pinxton Railway organised by the East Midlands Branch of the Railway & Canal Historical Society. Summit Centre, Pavilion Road, Kirkby in Ashfield, NG17 7LL. 9.30am-5.30pm. Cost £20 includes buffet lunch. More details and booking from Bob Bramson.

20 May The Sheffield Canal (1819-2019) and its connections – Graham Hague. SYIHS lecture. Details as for 18 February.

REPORTS FROM EVENTS ETC

46th AIA Conference and Associated Programme 31st August – 5th September 2018 University of Nottingham

Originally the 2018 AIA Conference was due to be held in Caithness at the end of June but due to a number of logistic reasons this proved difficult for the Association to manage. However a conference did go ahead based in Wick organised by the Scottish Industrial Heritage Society and the Scottish Vernacular Buildings Working Group. I had already decided not to attend due to the distance and Industrial Archaeology News 186 Autumn 2018 includes a report of the Caithness conference. The AIA had already agreed to hold its AGM as a separate event at the University of Nottingham which would be easier for more members to attend and at relatively short notice this event was expanded to provide a full conference programme. The conference was preceded

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by a day seminar on Researching Industrial Archaeology and Heritage in the 21st Century and I joined from the formal welcome given by the AIA President Dr Mike Nevell and the traditional overview lecture on the evening of 31st August. This was given by Professor Marilyn Palmer who had been the main organiser of the Conference. She outlined the highlights of the industrial history of Nottinghamshire, including mining, ironworking, brewing, textiles and transport, many sites would be visited during the Conference. Parts of the county had been included in the AIA Conferences in Loughborough 30 years ago and in Derby in 2005. The biggest change since then had been the collapse of heavy industry and the doubling of the population.

There were four 45 minute lectures on the Saturday morning each focussing on specific aspects of the county’s industrial history. Stephen Miles from Historic England spoke on Koepe Winding Engines in the UK with special reference to Clipstone Colliery, Nottinghamshire. They were invented by Frederick Koepe in 1877 and the first winding tower installed in the UK in 1916, number 2 shaft at Clipstone had the tallest tower when redeveloped in the 1950s. Kellingly Colliery installed Koepe winders in the 1980s. Clipstone now has the only example and it is left on site following the colliery closure in 2003. This was followed by Kieran Lee from the Friends of the Bennerley Viaduct who spoke about the viaduct which is the largest wrought iron viaduct in the UK being 1,452 ft. long spanning the Erewash Valley to carry the Great Northern Railway for its Nottingham to Derby connection. Built in 1876/7 and designed by Samuel Abbott, it was closed to freight traffic in 1968 and listed grade II*. There are plans to develop a walking/cycle route across the viaduct. After a refreshment break, the talks resumed with Gavin Kingsley from SLR Consulting and David Knight from Trent & Peak Archaeology who spoke about the Industrial Caves of Nottingham and their survey carried out in 2012-14 using a 3D laser scanner which produced a measured record of all the caves which could be physical accessed. The caves had been homes and workplaces for framework knitters, lace makers and tanners as well as used as air raid shelters during the 2nd World War, their presentation included a fly though video of the caves. The final talk of the morning was from Bill Pemberston from the Leicestershire Industrial History Society (LIHS) on the Leicester & Swannington Railway. The railway was built in the 1830s to carry coal from the Leicestershire coalfield to the factories of Leicester and included the Glenfield Tunnel which at the time of its opening in 1832 was the longest steam railway tunnel in the world. The railway also included two inclines and was designed by George Stephenson with construction supervised by his son Robert. Passenger traffic ceased in 1924 and the line was closed in 1966. The tunnel was bought by Leicester Council in 1969 and has been used for several purposes including the testing of military lasers by Marconi. The LIHS open the tunnel to visitors for tours during the summer.

The afternoon session consisted of contributions from members, an update on progress with previous AIA restoration grants and the presentation of awards. Members Peter Daniel explained how to use census data to analyse patterns of industrial employment and Amber Patrick spoke about Newark’s Trentside Mass Concrete Maltings. The AIA makes a number of awards each year, including one for outstanding scholarship in Industrial Archaeology which was won by Richard Byrom for an impressive volume on William Fairborn, Experimental Engineer published in 2017 by the Railway & Canal Historical Society. As reported in an earlier Newsletter the Section’s entry in the Award for Digital Initiative & Innovation was not successful being won by a 3D reconstruction of the lead smelting site of Allen Smelt Mill and Allenheads Mine Yard. Full details of the awards are given on the AIA website and in Industrial Archaeology News 187 Winter 2018. The awards were presented after the annual dinner held in the evening.

The AIA AGM was held on Sunday morning. The Treasurer reported a deficit of just over £6k which led to a decision to increase the annual subscription which had been unchanged for some time by £3 to £36 for individual members. It was reported that the 2019 conference would be held in Taunton 9-14 August looking at the industrial history of Somerset and in Liverpool 20-27 August in 2020. Following the AGM Bill Barksfield reported on the overseas visits held in 2018 and a possible trip to New England in 2019. Peter Daniel then gave us a taster of what to expect at the Somerset conference including extractive industries, textiles and shoes. The morning and the formal Conference ended with the Rolt Memorial Lecture given by Dr Geoffrey Stell from the University of Edinburgh on Science and Engineering at War: Scapa Flow 1939-45. A topic clearly originally intended for the Caithness Conference but none the less it was of general interest and the speaker had met Tom Rolt so there was a tenuous link. He outlined the reasons for developing Scapa Flow-its strategic location and safe anchorage but with a weakness of too many entrances. The science and engineering were examined in the context or land, sea and air defences including use of underwater defences, physical barriers and radar. A well- presented lecture which was of interest to me having visited Orkney on three occasions and seen Scapa Flow for myself.

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The additional programme of visits and evening talks commenced after lunch with a choice of trips to Woollaton Hall and the Industrial Museum; Nottingham Lace Market and Canal and Green’s Windmill and Nottingham Caves. Having visited Nottingham fairly recently and seen the sites offered in the first two tours I visited the windmill and caves. Green’s Mill is a tower mill built around 1807 by the father of the 19th century mathematical physicist George Green. The weather was hot and sunny but unfortunately there was no wind so mill was unable to operate. It was abandoned in the 1860s but survived until 1947 when it suffered extensive damage in a fire, Acquired by Nottingham Council in 1979 and renovated during the 1980s it is now managed by a Friends group. There was an associated small Science Centre celebrating the work of George Green aimed at younger visitors.

We then drove to the Breadgate Shopping Centre in Nottingham to enter the caves and were able to see for ourselves how they had been used for industrial purposes and as an air raid shelter courtesy of the enthusiastic and somewhat irritating guides, some suitably dressed for the occasion. The evening lecture was given by Professor John Beckett about Laxton: England’s only surviving open field village. I confess to never having heard of Laxton and it was a fascinating talk about how the system of open field strips allocated to farmers across the village has survived since the 17thcenury with the layout today the same as shown in a 1635 map of the estate held by the Bodleian Library. The system ensured that farmers had access to good and bad land scattered across the site. It is still overseen by an annual manorial court when farmers could be fined for ploughing too close to the roadways or leaving too much waste material on the roadways. In 2017 the owners the Crown Estate Commissioners announced that they wished to sell the estate and it is currently on the market for £7million.

Monday saw a choice of tours to Papplewick Pumping Station, Bestwood Colliery and Pleasley Pit or to Newark to see maltings, breweries and a boat trip on the river Trent. Having wanted to see Papplewick for some time, I chose the first tour and it proved to be very interesting and well managed. Due to the rapid growth of Nottingham in the 19th century there was a need for a reliable clean water supply. The Nottingham Waterworks Company employed Thomas Hawksley to sink wells, boreholes and create an underground reservoir at Papplewick in 1880. The Nottingham Corporation took over the company and the borough engineer Marriot Tarbotton completed the pumping station in 1882-4. The group were divided into two; the first viewing the Engine House and static displays while the second walked to view the interior of the underground reservoir. The groups then reversed. The Engine House is a splendid sight with stained glass windows and square pillars embellished with wrought iron water plants and fish not to mention the two gleaming beam engines built by James Watt & Co. in 1884. The building is grade II* and set in landscaped grounds. Restored by a Trust, the building is licensed for weddings and steam days are regularly held. Another impressive sight was the brick built underground reservoir situated about a mile away under the hill behind the pumping station, with its arches and columns it reminded me of the mosque at Cordoba. Details of Papplewick’s public opening hours can be found at www.papplewickpumpingstation.co.uk the next steam weekend will be 21/22 April 2019 and it is well worth the trip, the Victorians certainly knew how to build splendid buildings!

We then travelled to the site of Bestwood Colliery sunk in 1875 and followed in 1881 by the setting up of an ironworks. The Bestwood Coal and Iron Company built houses for the workers, offices and a clock tower which still stand today with the company monogram set out in brick on the facades. The colliery closed in 1974 but the twin cylinder vertical winding house survives, an example of an early use of structural concrete. We were given a tour of the engine house with its hidden electric motor which powers the winding ropes. The ironworks are long gone but are now the site of well used country park with a tea room full of historical photographs maintained by Nottinghamshire County Council.

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Inside Papplewick Pumping Station Pleasley Pit

After an excellent buffet lunch provided by volunteers, we travelled to our last site at Pleasley Collliery. The Colliery was sunk by the Stanton Iron Company and started operating in 1879; the winding house sits between two shafts, the winder in the north shaft made by the Lilleshall Company and that in the south by Markham’s of Chesterfield. By 1890, output averaged 1,000 tons per day with an electrical driven rope haulage system, the first in the world when installed. The pit closed in1983 and the upcast shaft was converted to supply air to the nearby Shirebrook colliery. The headgears and engines were listed grade II just before they were due to be demolished in 1986. The site is run by the Friends of Pleasley Pit and was scheduled as an Ancient Monument in 1996. The headstocks were prominent on the skyline until a housing development started a few years ago which still continues very close to the site. All three sites were good examples of the invaluable work carried out by dedicated volunteers in keeping industrial heritage alive and accessible for future generations.

The Monday evening lecture was Chris Pickford who spoke about the History of Bell Founding with particular reference to Taylor’s Bell Foundry in Loughborough, the subject of one of Tuesday’s visits. The basic process of making bells has been unchanged for centuries, together with need for bells to indicate passing of time as well as summoning people in the days before many people had watches or clocks. Bells are cast in a mould of two halves into which the molten metal is poured. They are then tuned originally by gradually chipping away the metal from the inside, but now using computer programmed boring machines. The shape of bells has changed from an early “flowerpot” shape to one that is more squareish and can be found in many sizes. In medieval times bellfounders could be found in many towns such was the demand and due to their weight and size, rivers and canals were common forms of transport. Following the recent closure of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, Taylor’s of Loughborough are the sole remaining bellfounding company in Britain. John Taylor& Co. can be traced back to 1784 and moved to its present position in Loughborough in 1839. They manufacture modern bells and re-condition and recast older bells including medieval ones. Something I was aware of since in my local village of Wortley recently there was great interest when the bells in St Leonard’s Church were taken down and transported by road to Taylors for reconditioning and then returned to be rehung – quite a feat. The factory in Loughborough is one of few Victorian purpose built manufacturing sites still being used for its original purpose.

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Bells in production Abbey Lane beam engine

Tuesday’s visit choices were between a visit to the Erewash Valley Museum followed by a tour of canals and railways in the Erewash valley including the Bennerley Viaduct or Taylor’s Bell foundry and the Glenfield Tunnel on the Leicester and Stannington Railway. I had chosen the latter partly out of interest to see where/how my local church bells had been restored and it proved to be a very interesting visit. It is always good to visit a working site, unfortunately we were not able to see any casting on the day but were able to see the casting floor where the newly cast bells are buried in sand and the casting room where they are stored. While we were there a delivery of medieval bells arrived ready for refurbishment which were carefully unloaded. Apparently there is a strong demand from Australia for new bells. There is an interesting museum of bells and bellfounding which allowed us to find out which type of bell made what sort of noise. From the number of bells in the factory there is clearly a strong demand for their work. From there we travelled to Glenfield in Leicester to walk in the Glenfield Tunnel which we heard about in the talk on Saturday. We were divided into two groups on the coach, one group having a good lunch in a nearby pub while the other was welcomed and shown into the tunnel by volunteers from the Leicestershire Industrial history Society and then reversing the arrangement. The walk took us into 400 yards of a well lit, mostly dry tunnel but very cold, via the grade II listed horseshoe tunnel entrance which is approached through a modern housing estate

The final visit was to Leicester’s Abbey Lane Pumping Station which also incorporated a Museum of Technology. The Pumping Station was opened in 1891 to pump sewage to a sewage farm situated on high ground at Beaumont leys. Four steam engines were built by Grimson’s of Leicester and are rare working examples of Woolf compound rotative beam engines. As with Papplewick the inside of the pumping station was a fine example of Victorian engineering and decoration. The Museum is run by volunteers and opened in 1972 with a general focus on the provision of clean water and removal of sewage together with historic transport exhibits. Details of steam open days can be found at www.abbeypumpingstation.org.

This meant the end of the conference for me, so I missed the evening wine reception and the showing of a 1913 film on “From Wool to Wearer: the Romance of Pesco Underwear” (unshrinkable wool underwear made by Scottish manufacturers Peter Scott & Co.) which would introduce the Wednesday visit to the Ruddington Framework Knitter’s Museum and which also visited the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre.

Overall it was a well arranged conference particularly bearing in mind the relatively short notice the organisers had to make all the arrangements. The University of Nottingham proved to be a reasonable base, although the traffic in Nottingham was very congested, leading to delays in the coach transport. Free parking on site was limited, the food was the usual mass catering and serving at the conference dinner somewhat chaotic – no one appeared to have told the staff about individuals with diet restrictions. Some delegates were not happy with the accommodation – single rooms with the two rooms sharing bathroom facilities, delegates have been spoilt since at the last few conferences rooms have been en suite, a far cry from earlier days when these facilities were at the end of a corridor. We had a fire alarm in the early hours of one morning when everyone stood outside for about half an hour with no-one appearing to take any action and since there was no indication of a fire engine we all went back to bed! The tour notes provided were excellent and interestingly now provide information about the amount and type of walking to be expected a reflection of the AIA’s aging membership,

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including me who attended my first AIA conference in 1982 and many of the same people still attend. AIA News 197 Winter 2018 contains a full report of the conference together with illustrations. The 2019 conference as reported above will be held in Taunton on 9-14 August. Full details will be available shortly and very advance notice that the 2020 conference is already being planned for Liverpool.

Margaret Tylee

South Yorkshire Archaeology Day Saturday 1 December 2018

The 2018 event was held as usual at the Showroom Cinema, Sheffield with the standard format of eight 30 minute presentations covering a wide range of activity across South Yorkshire. Marina Rose from West Yorkshire Archaeological Services described the work investigating the site of Wheatley Hall in Doncaster prior to an extension of the surrounding housing development. The Hall was built in the 1680s for the Cooke Family but by the beginning of the 20th century the then owner Sir William Cooke moved to be nearer his colliery at Bentley and the Hall was leased to the Wheatley Golf Club. The surrounding parkland was used as the golf course and later bought by Doncaster Corporation for housing development. By 1933 it was proving too expensive to maintain and the golf club moved leaving the building to deteriorate and it was subsequently demolished in 1938. Since then the site of the Hall had been used by a variety of industries, latterly McCormack International Tractors. In 2006 the company moved their tractor production to Italy and the site closed in December 2007. The excavation discovered the remains of the base of walls of outbuildings, the kitchen area and the impressive flight of stone steps leading to the Hall’s entrance. There were also plenty of golf balls and clay pipes. The old photographs that were shown revealed what an impressive building it had been. This was followed by Oliver Jessop and James Thompson from the Jessop Consultancy talking about the building recording of Olive Mill a grade II listed water mill in the Loxley Valley and its surrounding buildings. The mill was built in the early 18th century initially as a grinding wheel, by the 1830s it was used as a paper mill and in 1907 as a rolling mill. The mill was in two halves, one used for grinding and one for paper making producing coarse paper used for wrapping cutlery. The Great Sheffield Flood of 1864 destroyed the grinding wheel but the paper mill survived and the insurance claim submitted after the flood gives a lot of details about what was included in the mill and several photographs exist showing the extent of the devastation. The talk then described the building recording work, the grinding works were rebuilt and very little original remained however 29 grinding wheels were recovered. The whole site has now been redeveloped but at present there is nothing to show the important history of the site.

After a refreshment break, we resumed with Mili Rajic from Wessex Archaeology with a report on the recent excavations on the site of Sheffield Castle following the demolition of Sheffield’s Castle Market. It was a medieval castle destroyed in the Civil War and subsequently built over. Eleven trenches were dug in the light of previous excavations carried out in the 1920s and 50s and remains of a medieval gatehouse, later slaughterhouses and a cementation furnace were found together with lots of medieval pottery. The presentation included a re-enactment of the history of the Castle by local schoolchildren suitably dressed for the different periods. After this entertainment we heard from Amy Downes, Finds Liaison Officer for South and West Yorkshire describing the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme in South Yorkshire. The Scheme is run by the British Museum and covers England and Wales via a network of Finds Liaison Officers. The Scheme complements the Treasures Act and is designed for members of the public (not commercial/professional archaeologists) to report finds which are added to the national database. For finds which are deemed to be non-Treasure, the finder or landowner is free to dispose of them. The focus is very much Pre History, Roman and Medieval, for example there over 1,000 locations in South Yorkshire where Roman finds have been reported. Examples were shown of recent additions. More information can be found on the website www.finds.org.uk.

During lunch there was an opportunity to browse the bookstall and stalls from a few local societies – very few this year, before returning to the presentations. Zac Nellist from South Yorkshire Archaeology Service outlined the Development of a Research Framework for South Yorkshire’s Historic Environment. Research Frameworks are desk based assessments funded by Historic England, their development provides guidance for targeting future funding for archaeological research, both area and/or subject wide by asking the questions in the area of research being considered - what do we know? what do we wish to know? how can we find out? Academics are working on producing the draft text and questions in all aspects of the archaeology of South Yorkshire and

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the report should be available online by the end of 2019. Examples of Research Frameworks already produced were considered including the Derwent Valley Mills and The Archaeology of Mining and Quarrying in England. The latter was produced by the National Association of Mining History Organisation (NAMHO) and is available to download as a pdf from the website www.namho.org. Keith Moon form Archaeological Services West Yorkshire Archaeological Service followed by updating on recent evidence for Iron Age and Romano-British occupation from the ongoing excavations in the Finningley and Rossington areas. Once again very little apart from pottery shards have been found.

The final two presentations were of more interest. Glyn Davies and Richard Jackson from ArcHeritage spoke about the HLF funded Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership Project which is working with local communities and groups to raise awareness, maintain and conserve local heritage sites. Groups have been trained in geophysical investigation, test pitting, excavation and recording. The Waterloo Kiln and Swinton Pottery were examined as an example of the work. Started in 1746 and later renamed as the Rockingham Works, the factory produced high quality porcelain shipped across the world and is highly collectable today. The works closed in 1942 but the bottle kiln remained together with other standing remains. An excavation helped by the local community including schools took place in June revealed more remains. In the final presentation Tegwen Roberts Project Officer for the Elsecar Heritage Action Zone and Richard Jackson spoke about the work of the three year project to engage local people in the heritage of Wentworth and Elsecar and specifically the excavation to find the site of the Milton Ironworks. The Ironworks were established from 1798 by the Walker Company of Rotherham and named after Lord Milton the son and heir of the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam. After passing through different owners, it closed in 1883 and most of the site was demolished, leaving a few buildings in use as a small iron and brass foundry.This closed in 1905 and the site was cleared, used as a dump and finally levelled to become a playing field leaving no trace of standing structures. Richard Jackson described the excavation following geophysics and desk research which involved many local people and which revealed the foundation of the furnace.

A long day but with much of interest, as can be seen by my lengthy notes. For the first time for many years the event was not a complete sell out, whether that was due to a lack of presentations on Roman and Medieval subjects compared to previous years I could not say. Well done to the SYAS for continuing to fund the day.

Margaret Tylee

EXTRACTS FROM EARLIER NEWSLETTERS

A few Newsletters ago to celebrate 100 issues of the Section’s Newsletters, I started to include extracts from the first Newsletters which I thought might be of interest to members. This takes the extracts from issue 41 to 50.

Issue 41, Spring 1995. The first issue to be produced by myself and Robert Vickers using word processors and swapping floppy discs, replacing the previous method of me typing it out on a typewriter and posting the text to colleagues at the Thackray Medical Museum who produced the final result. Not surprisingly, they were unable to continue to use their resources on this but it did mean we had a closer control on when the Newsletter could be available. At the AGM, David Cant was elected as the new Chair and Bill Slatcher took over as Vice Chair. There was an update on the progress of English Heritage’s Monuments Protection Programme and a request for any member who felt they could contribute to the latest areas covered – Water Industry, Electric Power Generation and the Mining Industry. Reports were included on the enhancement of the West Yorkshire SMR and the CBA North East Industrial Archaeology Panel. Reports from the 1994/5 lectures were Harold Taylor - The Barnsley Linen Weavers of the 19th Century (Harold’s book on Barnsley Linen was published at the end of last year by the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society, sadly after Harold had died); Graham Lee - The Rosedale Ironmines Project; Thomas Gledhill - Woodland Exploitation and the Lead Industry in Swaledale; Barry Jones – Recording Industrial Heritage: RCHME’s Survey of the Coal Industry and Barbara May – Joseph Rogerson of Bramley: an Early 19th Century Scribbling Miller. Finally a report on a well attended Day School on Textiles in Calderdale arranged by the Halifax Antiquarian Society which included a visit to Shaw Lodge Mills.

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YAHS HIS Newsletter No 105

Issue 42 Autumn 1995. I am now called Tylee! The two new walks leaflets covering were included with this issue, the one covering was awaiting a suitable cover illustration. One of the news items mentioned the transformation of the West Yorkshire Transport Museum in into - the West Yorkshire Transport Discovery Park described as a ”fun day out for all the family” whatever happened to that? There were reports of a visit organised by the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society to the David Mellor Cutlery factory near Hathersage and a Section walk led by David George along the Rochdale Canal from Littleborough to the West Summit lock taking in the railway features along the way. Unfortunately it was poorly attended partly due to the very wet weather.

Issue 43 Spring 1996. It started with my apology for not finalising the 1996/7 lecture programme due to having moved house during the period between the two Newsletters. The AGM re-elected the current Chair and Secretary and discussed the AIA’s IRIS Initiative to enhance the local SMRs with sites of industrial interest using paper based forms. There were reports from the North East Panel for Industrial Archaeology, the AIA Conference based in Sheffield and Our Industrial Past, a conference held in Manchester. There were short articles on New Life for Old Mills and the restoration of the steam engine Victor in the Bradford Industrial Museum. Reports for the 1995/96 lectures were Current Developments at the National Railway Museum – Colin Divall; The IRIS (Index Record for Industrial Sites) Initiative- Jane Robson/Helen Gomersall; Motor Manufacture in West Yorkshire 1896-1972 – David George; Industrial History of Sowerby Bridge – Tony Heginbottom; and the Delph ‘oles’ of Leeds – Murray Mitchell (the latter two joint with the Local History Section; this arrangement continues until the Local History Section folded due to lack of support).

Issue 44 Autumn 1996. The annual subscription for Section only members increased to £7 following the main Society’s decision to increase the capitation fee to £4.There was a request for help from members in running the Section, an Excursions Secretary, Sales & Marketing Officer, representative for Eye on the Aire and contributers to the IRIS Initiative were needed. Financial contributions were also requested for the newly established building fund for Claremont to enable the numerous repairs needed to the building to be carried out. There was a report on the Section visit to , the visit of the Derbyshire Archaeology Society to Leeds which the Section had organised and a recently published Research Report on the Saltwick Alum Works. David George contributed an obituary to Bill Thompson who had produced the Guide to the Industrial Heritage of West Yorkshire for the 1988 AIA Conference.

Issue 45 Spring 1997. The AGM noted a decrease in membership and agreed to produce an updated membership leaflet to be circulated more widely. There were also a discussion about the aims of the Section and it was noted that no-one had come forward to help with the running of the Section. Advance notice was given of visits to the Pateley Bridge Stone Quarries and a walking tour of Goole. There was a report of the AIA conference in Bangor and reports of two Section visits, one to the Engine Roundhouse and adjacent area in Leeds and the second to the Corn Exchange, Cloth Halls and Waterfront area in Leeds. David George contributed an article on the Internal Combustion Engine and the Origins of the Motor Car and there was an update on developments in Batley. The 1996/97 lectures were The Stone Industry of Nidderdale – Geoffrey Blacker; Yorkshire Cotton- George Ingle; the Sobriety Project – Izzy Kitt; Departed Glory: the Archaeology of the Leeds Tanning Industry – Helen Gomersall and Trevor Lyons; Looking at Bradford’s Buildings – David Moorhouse. The latter two again joint with the Local History Section.

Issue 46 Autumn 1997. The News Items reported that £1.5m was being spent on transforming the disused Rothwell Colliery site into a country park. There was a report of the AIA Ironbridge Weekend which examined problems presented by the preservation of major structures which included a visit to the 62 yd. cast iron aqueduct which originally carried the Shrewsbury Canal over the River Tern but now stood isolated in a field. There were reports of the 6th Annual Mills conference, the Section visit to Pateley Bridge and to Goole (the latter only attended by five people including the leader). Bill Slatcher wrote an article on the Aire and Calder Navigation.

Issue 47 Spring 1998. I gave notice at the AGM that I wished to give up being the Hon Secretary, the tasks included membership, organising the lecture programme and producing the Newsletter, most of which I had found more difficult to do since moving away from Leeds. There were no volunteers at the time to take over. News Items included the closure of the National Mining Museum due to flooding, the proposed closure of the Halifax Industrial Museum and the development of the former Templeborough steel works in Rotherham to a museum of steel. There were reports from the AIA Conference in Newcastle, a Day School in Halifax on

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YAHS HIS Newsletter No 105

Industrial Archaeology in West Yorkshire and the latest North East I A Panel. Article were included by Janet Burns on Isaac Holden and the Mills and Sheila Bye on the Newcastle Road at Leeds (about the ). The 1997/98 lectures were the Middleton Railway – Sheila Bye; Textile Mills as Listed Buildings – Sue Wrathmell; The Restoration of the Narrow Canal – Frank Smith; Burmantofts Pottery – Alan Garlick; New Thoughts on the History of West Riding Coalmining – John Goodchild.

Issue 48 Autumn 1998. There were still problems with finding volunteers to help run the Section. I had agreed to continue with Newsletter production but there were no takers for organising the lecture programme from 1999/2000. There had been a special meeting held by the main Society at Clarement to discuss issues such as fund raising and the relationship between the Society and the Sections. A membership card was being introduced to allow Section members to use the Library but without borrowing rights. There were reports of the Section visits to the Middleton Railway and to Wortley Top Forge, Low Forge and Rockley Furnace. David George contributed a short item on the opening of the Skopos Motor Museum in Alexandra Mills Batley and a longer piece on a textile revival in Lancashire. Bill Slatcher had offered to lead a walk around the Standedge area of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal but due to surgery was unable to do this, instead he produced some notes and a sketch map to enable members to self- guide but reminding them that the OS map would also be needed.

Issue 49 Spring 1999. The AGM confirmed the following appointments: Chair David Cant, Vice Chair Bill Slatcher, Lecture Secretary Neil Davies, Membership Secretary & Newsletter Editor Margaret Tylee. There were no volunteers for Excursion Secretary. There was a report from a Local History Section Day School on Pubs and their Purpose appropriately held at the Black Bull in Birstall and an article by David George on Leeds and York Railway Stations. The 1998/99 lectures were The Yorkshire Card Clothing Industry in the 19th century – Gillian Cookson,; Developments at the Leeds Industrial Museum – Marin Greswell; The History of Sandmining around Garforth and – John Hodgkins; The Leeds clothing Industry – Katrina Honeyman ; Samson Fox of Leeds Forge – Les Bloom.

Issue 50 Autumn 1999. A somewhat thin issue due to pressure of time on the Editor. David Cant gave notice that he wished to stand down as Chair at the 2000 AGM. It was reported that volunteers had been hard at work repainting the Octagon Room at Claremont together with repairs to the plasterwork and window frames. There were the familiar pleas for members not to park cars all day on Saturdays and to wash up after using crockery. The News Items included the establishment of a Register of Buildings at Risk by English Heritage, the setting up of the Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust and a new steam engine museum opening at the Markham Grange Garden Centre. There were short reports of a talk on Water Power in the Dearne Valley by Tom Umpleby, the Heritage Boats Festival held on the Leeds Liverpool Canal and a Sheffield Industrial History Society walk exploring the remains of the Barnsley Canal.

The next issue of the Newsletter took us into the new century. Issues 54-96 are currently available to download from the Industrial History Section page on the YAHS website. I had intended to only take these summaries up to issue 50 but for completeness I will provide information from issues 51-53 in the next Newsletter.

Margaret Tylee

INTERIM INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS

Chair Bill Jagger Treasurer/Membership Nick Nelson Newsletter Editor Margaret Tylee Lecture Secretary Jane Ellis

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