NEWSLETTER 80 AUTUMN 2010

EDITORIAL

Welcome to the Autumn Newsletter and I hope you have had an enjoyable summer. I spent a few days in the Isle of Wight; almost everyone I have spoken to has mentioned that they visited the IoW as a child and remembered the coloured sands at Alum Bay and the donkeys in the donkey wheel at Carisbrooke Castle. I never visited as a child in spite of living in London and neither did we visit either of these attractions this time. Alum Bay has become the Needles Heritage Park complete with funfair rides, but we did see the coloured cliffs from the Old & New Batteries above the Needles and had a fascinating talk with a volunteer who worked on the Blue Streak and Black Knight rocket testing programmes in the 1960s which took place at the New Battery; something I wasn’t aware of and which has already passed into industrial history. A few weeks later we were cat-sitting for my son in Golborne were we found time to visit Port Sunlight, Lord Lever’s village for his workers at the Sunlight soap factory on the Wirral. We also did some walking along the Leigh Branch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal and the Bridgewater Canal. Close to the Bridgewater Canal at Astley is the Astley Green Colliery Museum, unfortunately closed on the day we were there. The Astley Green Colliery opened in 1908, closed in 1970 and is now a Museum is run by a charity, the Red Rose Steam Society. It has the only remaining headgear and engine house left in the Lancashire coalfield, the distinctive steel lattice headgear is grade II listed but was put on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register in June 2010 due to the difficulty of it being maintained by the volunteers. If you are in the area the Museum is well worth supporting but is only open on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

I am looking forward to another interesting lecture programme, the details of which are enclosed. Those of you who have been looking at the main Society’s website will already have spotted the details of this year’s programme which have been available since Jane Ellis finalised the programme in June. The YAHS website (www.yas.org.uk) is also the place to look for up to date news, so please take a regular look at it, as items are being added regularly.

Previous Newsletters have mentioned the Windows appeal for money to repair the windows at Claremont. It has been suggested that the Section could donate some of its funds to the Appeal. The Section accounts as published in the YAHS Annual Report show that at the end of 2009 we had £3,809 in the account and this figure will have increased with annual subscriptions for 2010 being received after January 2010. The proposal from me and the Vice Chair is that we should donate £300 to the appeal; members will be asked to support this proposal at the first meeting in October. If any member objects to this and cannot attend the meeting please let me know. I have also been reminded that 2013 will be the 150th anniversary of the founding of the YAHS, the Management Board and Council are already starting to think about how this year can be celebrated and it has been suggested that each Section could hold a special event such as a day school or walk. Suggestions from members are welcome.

The minutes of the 2010 AGM are enclosed with the Newsletter, if any member wishes to propose a correction to the minutes please contact me in writing or by email. Contact details given as usual at the end of the Newsletter. A brief report of the main YAHS AGM held on 26 June is given below.

One new member has joined since the last Newsletter – welcome to Mr J Dean.

As ever my request for items of news, information for the next Newsletter which I shall be producing in early January, but don’t wait until then, if you have something send it as soon as you can.

I hope to see many of you at a forthcoming lecture.

Margaret Tylee

NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

Section members who are also main YAHS members will have received the notification that from now on, if you wish to borrow material from the YAHS Library you will have to pay a charge of £1 pa and receive a borrower’s card. This change has been introduced as a result of a ruling by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that Gift Aid cannot be reclaimed by the YAHS because HMRC regard the fact that YAHS members can borrow material from the Library as a benefit in kind which apparently invalidates any claim for Gift Aid. However it appears that only a small minority of members ever borrow material, therefore to resolve this it has been agreed that those members who do borrow will have to pay this nominal charge in addition to their subscription. This will mean the Society will be able to claim the Gift Aid on the subscription amount. Gift Aid is worth several thousands of pounds to the Society and the Treasurer is in discussion with the auditors to explore whether it will be possible to reclaim back a proportion of the lost Gift Aid for 2007 and 2007 by giving details of the numbers of members who have borrowed material in those years. You may be aware that Section only members have been allowed to borrow material that has been donated by the Section, if any Section member wishes to do this in future they will also have to pay the £1 pa borrowing fee.

The AGM of the Society was held on 26 June when the Annual Report and Accounts were received and approved. It was noted that yet again the Society made a loss, partly due to the continuing low value of some of its investments, hence the need to resolve the Gift Aid problem. Prior to the meeting YAHS Hon Secretary Jo Heron showed archive images of the Selby area which had been scanned and digitised from the Society’s extensive slide collection – a great example of the hidden treasures held at Claremont. The outgoing President, Dr Richard Hall, having reached the end of his 5 year tenure of office praised the work of the volunteers and staff at Claremont, as well as the Sections, in keeping the Society in the public eye. He noted the improvements to the fabric of Claremont, including the new windows and the changes to the website which were key to the promotion of the Society to the wider public. If you have looked at the YAHS website you will have noted that the Society has elected a new President - Mrs Sylvia Thomas, recently retired County Archivist for West Yorkshire and member of the Management Board. In her acceptance speech, she stressed the need for the Society to pursue a more modern, strategic way forward through a new 5 year strategy. The Society should not be “stuck in the mud” but should not lose sight of its role to promote the study of Yorkshire’s past. Five new members of the Management Board were elected and I am continuing as Publicity Officer.

Following the AGM we heard a very interesting talk from Dr Peter Connelly of the York Archaeological Trust describing the industrial features of the excavations taking place in the Hungate area of York. This site adjacent to the River Foss had been occupied from Roman times but it made a refreshing change to hear something about excavations in York which weren’t all about Romans or Vikings! There are more details about the project on the York Archaeological Trust website www.yorkarchaeology.co.uk - follow the link to Dig Hungate and you will get to the 18th/19th century information (after the references to Romans etc).

As well as replacing the windows at Claremont, there is now a new security entry system, when you ring the bell, you will need to give your name and a staff member or volunteer will open the door.

HELP WANTED

I have been contacted by Judy Walters who is researching her family history and she has sent me some old photographs of hydraulic cranes. She wondered whether these could have been taken in Hunslet. Her great grandfather Arthur Tannett Drake was a hydraulic engineer and his mother was the daughter of Benjamin Tannett a toolmaker from Holbeck and later Hunslet. Tannett Walker & Co. Ltd were based in Hunslet and made hydraulic machinery. Ms Walters is keen to find out more about the photographs, where they were taken and about the company. I have reproduced a couple of the photographs and if any member can provide further information please let me know and I can pass on the details.

Margaret Tylee

The wording on the railway van behind the crane hook reads ‘Greatest Show on Earth’

NEWS ITEMS

Part of the original Sowerby Bridge railway station has been restored by two railway enthusiasts and re- opened as the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms. The station was built in 1876 by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company and the premises were believed to have been the lamp room and drivers’ mess room before becoming the ticket office. Parts of the station were demolished in the 1970s and it became unstaffed in the early 1980s. The Railway Heritage Trust contributed towards the cost of the restoration and the building has been named Jubilee after the steam engines which used to run on the line. The Rooms are open Mon - Fri 9.30am - 11pm; Sat 9am – 11pm and Sun 12 - 10.30pm for light refreshments, locally produced real ale and wine. A good example of what can be achieved in returning a redundant space into a benefit.

The Yorkshire Mills Group exists as a forum for mill owners, millers and mill enthusiasts to share their knowledge and skills. Its objectives include: • the preservation and promotion of the milling heritage of Yorkshire • the stimulation of general public interest in wind and watermills and their operation by holding meetings, organising visits and producing publications • the recording of surviving remains of wind and watermills and related buildings A quarterly magazine is produced together with regular lectures and visits. Membership of the group costs £8 pa for individuals or £10 pa per household and cheques made payable to the Yorkshire Mills Group should be sent to the Treasurer Roy Gregory, 16 Cottage Mews, Morton Lane, Beverley, HU17 9HD.

Members who live in the Malton area may be aware of the R. Yates country department store in Railway Street, Malton. The store has its beginning in 1845 when Ralph Yates arrived in Malton from Leeds and set up the Derwent Foundry. The blacksmith and foundry business expanded into the manufacture of agricultural machinery and in 1895 a warehouse was built to store and display the iron moulds until they were required in the foundry, this building is now the current shop which was established in the 1960s when the company moved away from manufacture to retail.

Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield is open with free admission for all during the 2010 season which finishes on 3rd October. The museum was a scythe and steelworks and dates back to the 18th century and was one of the largest water powered sites on the River Sheaf. It is open Monday -Thursday 10am - 4pm and Sunday 11am - 4.45pm.

English Heritage have launched a new online catalogue at www.englishheritagearchives.org.uk enabling the searching and ordering of more than one million historical photographs and documents held by English Heritage.

The city of York is bidding to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of the strengths of York’s archaeological, historical and cultural environment. Although a significant part of the bid focuses on Roman, Viking and Medieval York there is also mention of the largest railway station in the world opening in 1877 and the world’s first garden village at New Earswick, founded by Joseph Rowntree in 1902. The application will be assessed by a panel of experts before the final tentative list is announced in 2011. Nominations from the UK will then be submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee from 2012.

The Yorkshire Film Archive is based at York St John University in York and aims to find, preserve and provide access to moving images covering 100 years of life in Yorkshire. If you have watched the recent BBC2 series on home movies, you will have seen the archive referred to and examples of films that have been restored. There is now online access to 100s of films, these are mostly promotional and amateur films and definitely worth a look. You can search by subject, decade or location. There are many films on work and industry including the CEAG Light Bulb factory in Barnsley; Wormald and Walkers Blanket Mills in Dewsbury and cutlery making in Sheffield. The archive can be found at www.yfaonline.com.

The Association for Industrial Archaeology has Restoration Grants available to organisations working on restoration projects. Last year over £36,000 was given out, including helping fund the restoration of the stone slate roof of the nail forge at Hoylandswaine, South Yorkshire. While the Industrial History Section currently has no projects, members who belong to other groups may be interested. Application requires a well argued and persuasive letter, there is no application form. For more information see the AIA’s website www.industrial- archaeology.org and follow the link to Awards.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

2-3 October Annual Steam Gathering at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Abbeydale Road, Sheffield S7 2QW. From 11am.

14-18 October Cemeteries & Sewerage: the Victorian pursuit of cleanliness. Mike Higginbottom Interesting Times tour including cemeteries at Kensal Green, Highgate, Nunhead and Brompton; pumping stations at Kew and Crossness and the Thames Barrier. Accommodation at the Clarendon Hotel, Blackheath. Cost £665. For more details and booking ? 0114 242 0951 or visit website www.interestingtimestours.co.uk.

16 October Gritstone through the Ages Geoff Boswell. YAHS Industrial History Section talk. Claremont 11am.

16 October EMIAC 80. A Taste of Lincolnshire: food and farming in the fens. Hosted by the Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology, at the University of Lincoln Holbeach Campus. For details contact N.R.Wright, 32 Yarborough Road, Lincoln LN1 1HS

17 October Victorian Halifax. A heritage walk to look at the ornate buildings of the mid/late 19th century in the centre of Halifax. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm on Northgate, Halifax (across the road from Dews’ car showroom). Cost £3.

17 October Greenfield to Marsden Railway Station. 10 mile linear National Trust guided walk along a variety of historic track routes. Meet Brigid 10am at Greenfield Railway Station, Saddleworth. For more information ? 01484 847016.

30 October Joseph Locke (1805-1860) Clinker Memorial Lecture of the Railway & Canal Historical Society. Dr Martin Barnes. Birmingham & Midland Institute, Birmingham. 2.15 pm. Details ? 01865 240514.

30 October Crofton Circular. Railway Ramblers 10.5 walk led by Douglas Robinson. Meet at Sandal & Agbrigg Station at 10.07am. Bring packed lunch. Note that there is only limited car parking at the station. Details from Jane Ellis ? 0113 265 9970.

5 November Wortley Top Forge - an industrial monument. Derek Bayliss. Huddersfield & District Archaeological Society talk at Town Hall, Ramsden Street, Huddersfield, 7.45pm. Non members £2.50.

13 November Havercroft to Crofton. Railway Ramblers 9 mile linear walk led by Douglas Robinson. Includes the Ryhill Main Colliery line, Midland main line and canal to Crofton. Meet Wakefield Bus Station at 9.25am to catch bus to Havercroft. Bring packed lunch. Details from Jane Ellis ? 0113 265 9970.

20 November The Restoration of Darley Mill Russell Jackson, YAHS Industrial History Section talk. Claremont 11am.

20 November South Yorkshire Archaeology Day. Held at Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Road, Sheffield. 10am - 4.30pm. A review of the current archaeological activities in South Yorkshire, mostly PreHistory and Medieval but one session on Industrial Archaeology. Cost £10 or £5 for OAP/fulltime student/unemployed and tickets must be bought in advance. Programme and application form can be downloaded from website www.sheffield.gov.uk/syas or ? 0114 2734223

27 November West Yorkshire Archaeology Day. Held at the Royal Armouries, Leeds. The morning programme will include updates on recent work in West Yorkshire together with the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The afternoon will focus on food and dining in Roman, Medieval and post medieval times. Tickets cost £12 and are available from Becky Harlow ? 0113 344 1681 or email [email protected].

4 December Water Power on the Sheffield Rivers Christine Ball YAHS Industrial History Section talk. Claremont 11am.

7 December The Black City - the problem of smoke pollution in Leeds 1800- 1956 Stephen Mosley. Thoresby Society talk at Friends Meeting House, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds. 7.15pm.

8 December The History of Hardcastle Crags & Gibson Mill Trevor Moody. Bradford Historical & Antiquarian Society talk. Room 1, 2nd Floor Bradford Central Library. 10.30am. Visitors £2.

2011 12 January The Bradford Textile Archive Clare Lamkin. Bradford Historical & Antiquarian Society talk. Details as above.

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF

A History of Rolled Heavy Armour Plate Manufacture at the Sheffield Works of Charles Cammell and Vickers. Douglas C Oldham. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society Occasional Paper No. 2. 2010. ISBN 97809556644-1-0. 53pp. £6 (£4 to members of SYIHS)

The author has produced a review of the development and production of rolled heavy armour plate (3” to 16” thick) for large naval vessels at the works of Charles Cammell and Vickers up to the end of heavy armour plating manufacture in 1999. The companies merged as part of the English Steel Corporation in 1929. The majority of the publication is devoted to black and white illustrations and plans of the works together with the ships. These are preceded by a brief history of armour plate development from 1854 onwards, the development of the Cammell and Vickers works in Sheffield and the history and technical details of the Grimesthorpe Mill and Engine and the original River Don Works. There are seven short appendices and a list of references and sources of information.

The author was an engineer and project manager with the English Steel Corporation and British Steel and was therefore well placed to bring the information together. The illustrations have extensive captions and descriptions complementing the earlier text and I found those showing the interiors and plans of the works most interesting. Not knowing very much about armour plating, the publication is a good introduction and although a somewhat specialist subject could be enjoyed even by the lay person.

Copies are available for sale at the Kelham Island Industrial Museum in Sheffield or by post from the SYIHS Secretary, Christine Ball, 75 Banner Cross Road, Sheffield S11 9HQ. Please add 81p for postage and make cheques payable to South Yorkshire Industrial History Society. Christine is a Section member and will be speaking to the Section on Water Power on Sheffield Rivers on 4 December when she hopes to bring along a few copies to the meeting.

Margaret Tylee

REPORTS OF LECTURES, EVENTS ETC Discovering Industrial Leeds – Part 4 Industrial History Section walk led by Robert Vickers, 10 April 2010

15 members met in City Square to continue our exploration of aspects of the industrial heritage of Leeds. We quickly retraced our steps from earlier walks, across Leeds Bridge, past Tetley’s Brewery and Crown Point Retail Park to the starting point at Costco on Hunslet Road, the site of Fowlers Engine works. Across the road we noted Braime Pressings Limited building constructed 1911- 1913. Continuing along Hunslet Road we passed the Works Skate Park, formerly Kitson’s, later McLaren’s, engine builders, workshop and service department building. The next stop was at Whitehouse Street and Union Industries / Angels Wing which had incorporated Ralph Ellerker Ltd, founded in 1795 as tarpaulin makers and rope and twine merchants. UI’s products still include ropes, flags & banners. Their office buildings incorporate a former chapel, Sunday school and Lion brush works.

Lion Works, Whitehouse Row (photo Alan Longbottom)

We continued along Hunslet Road to Stafford Street, noting a former bank premises on one corner and Stephenson’s Wallpapers shop on the other. In Stafford Street was the site of the Progress mineral water works. In Larchfield Road were the Leeds Transformer Company, founded 1947 and a former malthouse, its functional shape clearly recognisable.

Victoria Mill, Atkinson Street (photo Alan Longbottom)

Next, was Goodman Street, named after Sir George Goodman, the first Mayor of Leeds in 1836 and later MP. The Hunslet Park First bus depot was on site of the Goodman Street Works - iron and steel. On the corner with Atkinson Street we saw Victoria Mill, originally a flax mill, built c1835-38, with later additions, for W B Holdsworth. More recently it was the premises of R.H. Bruce and Co Ltd, ironmongers. Next, Hunslet Mills, covering 8 acres, was a flax spinning factory established 1838-40 by J Wilkinson. Of fireproof construction, it was probably designed by William Fairbairn of Manchester. Later used by manufacturers of blankets, screws, by engineers, builders, leather merchants, and a boot maker. Disused since 1966, the main building has remained, listed, waiting for reuse. Opposite, was the site of the New Silkstone & Haigh Moor Coal Company’s Wharf, taken over in 1990 by Sand & Gravel (Leeds) to land building materials shipped up Aire & Calder. Apartment buildings had just been started here; what will the occupants make of the derelict Hunslet Mills?

Hunslet Mill, Goodman Street (photo Alan Longbottom)

We had arrived at the River Aire, which the Aire & Calder Navigation Company made navigable to Leeds in 1704. On the opposite bank, Knowsthorpe Depot was the site of sidings for Hunslet Goods Station; its boundary walls were still visible. Walking along river, we passed the site, until c1900, of Hirst, Brooke & Hirst’s chemical plant. Later, Bryant & May were here. Next, the site of Isaac Dodgshun’s Aire Bank Mills, demolished in 1985, that produced woollen cloth c1875 - c1950. Adjacent was South Accommodation Road Bridge. The first bridge, c1830, was George Leather’s iron suspension bridge. In 1899, this was replaced by a lattice girder bridge, itself replaced in 1992 by the present bridge. We turned into South Accommodation Road to see Aire Bank Saw Mills, built c1895 (closed c1950) for Henry Hadfield, timber merchant and packing case manufacturer for bottled mineral water and beer. In Clarence Road we saw Airedale Mills, acquired in 1877 by Benjamin Vickers Oils Ltd for processing vegetable and mineral oils and grease. They still make textile and marine lubricants. On Sayner Lane we saw a modern glass recycling plant, which had replaced Hunslet Glass Works, and the other side of Braime Pressings, built on the site of the Union Boiler Works. Braimes, who supply pressings for a variety of industries including automotive and domestic appliance, were initially famous for their oil cans and on cue Adrian Bailey produced an excellent example of one that he had brought along.

Braime Pressings Ltd, Hunslet Road

© Copyright Betty Longbottom. Licensed for reuse under the Geograph Creative Commons Licence

The Clarence Iron & Steel Works, founded in the 1870s, occupied a large site in Carlisle Road and Clarence Road. Used by the Airedale Light Alloy Co. in the 1930s, it later became West Yorkshire Foundries, making castings for the motor industry until closure in 2005. A decorative brick building and some boundary walls remain. Also in Clarence Road we saw the sites of two timber yards. William Armitage’s yard, opened 1847, initially with saws etc powered by a Fenton, Murray & Wood beam engine, closed c1959. Student housing for Leeds University stands on the site of City Saw Mills, 1921 - c1981, which processed imported timbers brought along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, for furniture, especially school desks, and the building and engineering trades. Passing the Royal Armouries we returned to the A&CN. On the north bank we saw Bank Mills, originated in 1791 by Markland, Cookson & Fawcet to spin cotton. In 1823 the mills were acquired by Hives & Atkinson but much was destroyed by fire in 1824. A warehouse of 1824 remains, and new mills designed by John Clark of Edinburgh were erected from 1831-33 and in 1856. Later they were occupied by a packaging manufacturer printed g materials until the late 1990s, as well as cabinet makers, corn millers, fruit preservers, and wholesale clothiers. Part of Bank Mills was converted to offices, Rose Wharf, in 1997. Next was Moses Atkinson’s East Street Mills, a flax (later woollen) mill of c1825, and extended in mid C19. Developed into 160 apartments they are an excellent example of a brick mill complex; even the chimney survives.

We walked on to view Leeds Locks and Leeds Dam. The dam powered Nether Mills where in 1715 there were 2 fulling mills and by the late 18th century 5 water-wheels operated 9 fulling stocks, 5 scribbling machines, cotton spinning frames, and mills for grinding dyestuffs. The mills were later occupied by a carpet manufacturer, then by manufacturing chemists, until demolition in 1957. The dam caused a major obstruction to barges and the A&CN built Leeds Locks so that vessels could reach warehouses near Leeds Bridge. The Locks were rebuilt in 1822 on the advice of John Rennie and the Dam was rebuilt c1835 by George Leather. Leather was also involved in the construction of the adjacent Clarence Dock, 1840-43. The Dock had depots for stone, timber, coal and lime and later for potatoes. The Co-op’s coal boats unloaded here until 1975. The last commercial freight operator, Sand & Gravel (Leeds) moved out in 1990 to the site seen earlier, next to Hunslet Mills. The Royal Armouries Museum was built on the site of some of Clarence Dock’s warehouses.

Reaching Crown Point Road, we saw Chadwick Lodge, a square stone villa built 1779-90 by John Chadwick who had a dyeworks nearby. The walk ended at Crown Point Bridge, 1840-42, a single-span iron bridge designed by George & J W Leather. It was widened and reconstructed in 1994. We had intended to continue into The Calls and the Lower Briggate area, but time had caught up with us as there had been so much to see. Our walk had shown the extent and variety of industry in this part of south Leeds that grew up in the 19th century and lasted until the second half of the 20th.

Information sources: 1. Brears, P Leeds Waterfront heritage trail: a guide to the historic sites and buildings along 8 miles of the Aire Valley through Leeds. Leeds City Museums, 1993. ISBN 0907588085 2. Firth, G. Meltdown: Words and Images from West Yorkshire Foundries. Heads Together Productions, 2004. ISBN 0954882814 3. Leodis - a photographic archive of Leeds www.leodis.net 4. Old Ordnance Survey maps – The Godfrey edition Hunslet 1905. Alan Godfrey Maps, 1995. ISBN 0850547105 South Leeds 1906. Alan Godfrey Maps, 1989. ISBN 0850542502 5. Pease, J. The history of J. & H. McLaren of Leeds: steam & diesel engine makers. Landmark Publishing Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1843061058 6. Tate, L S. Aspects of Leeds 2: discovering local history. Wharncliffe Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1871647592 7. Wrathmell, S. Leeds, (Pevsner architectectural guides). Yale University Press, 2005. ISBN 0300107366 8. Wright, M. Old Hunslet, a further pictorial journey. Malcolm Wright, 2005

Robert Vickers

Mill regeneration at Saltaire : a visit to Salt’s Mill and Victoria Mill Industrial History Section walk led by Nigel Grizzard, 18 April 2010

Twelve members and friends met Nigel Grizzard at Salt’s Mill to see examples of successful regeneration projects which Nigel had described in his talk to the Section in December 2009. Both Salts Mill and Victoria Mill were in his top 10 sites. We began by exploring the 1850-53 spinning mill and warehouse blocks of Salt’s Mill. Nigel explained that Jonathan Silver had not undertaken much renovation but rather had been content to clean the building up. The interiors therefore still had a vaguely industrial appearance. We noted the fireproof construction of iron columns and beams with brick vaulted floors. Work had been done bit by bit as demand for space from paying tenants required. Pace Electronics provided essential business rental income. As the building was already classed as “industrial” there was no need to get planning permission for the work.

Outside, we walked around part of the site, noting the external decorative features and the scale of the mill. Nigel took us up to the 4th floor, of warehouse block an area not normally open to visitors. Here the floors and roof trusses were timber. Because there were no partitions across the floor we were able to see the size of the building and the wide open space. It was still possible to smell the wool-derived lanolin that had permeated the floor timbers even though it had been over 35 years since textiles had been processed in the mill. Those with a head for heights climbed up wooden steps to look out from the taking-in door at the Leeds & Liverpool Canal below and over the surrounding area. We returned to the ground floor and out past the impressive main mill office entrance, past the Congregational Church and across the Leeds & Liverpool Canal to look at the New Mill added in 1865-8 as a spinning and dyeworks. In the 1990s this had been converted to offices - for Bradford Health Service Trusts - and apartments. We noted the remains of the water intake for a turbine to power the looms; it was soon replaced by a steam engine. From here it was easy to see the significance of the mill’s location regarding transport and power, being served by river (the Aire), canal and railway.

Salts Mill : 1850-53 block left, New Mill right, and Leeds & Liverpool Canal © Copyright M T Whitelock. Licensed for reuse under the Geograph Creative Commons Licence

Victoria Mill : old on right, new in centre © Copyright Stephen Armstrong. Licensed for reuse under the Geograph Creative Commons Licence

We continued alongside the Canal, past Salts Wharf and Ashley Lane Moorings, where two smaller mills have been reused. One mill was stone-built, the other brick which retained its substantial brick chimney. Adjacent to these was a disused former British Waterways warehouse. With its canal-side location we wondered why it too had not been reused. Finally, we arrived at Victoria Mill, a former worsted mill built in 1873for Henry Mason and bought by the Jerome family in 1958. It was acquired by Newmason Developments in 2003. The main Italianate front blocks have been retained and modern blocks built behind on the site of the mill’s warehouse creating over 400 apartments. A feature had been made of a Hattersley Jacquard loom that was on display near the entrance. There were mixed views as to how well the modern glass and metal structure mixed with the 19th century stone, but Nigel thought it an excellent example of what could be done to retain and reuse old mills that otherwise would probably be demolished. We concluded the visit with lunch in the Victoria Mills Lounge which had on the walls photographs of the mill before and after the redevelopment work. We are grateful to Nigel Grizzard for giving up a Sunday morning to give us such an informative visit.

Robert Vickers

Discovering Wakefield Industrial History Section walk led by Robert Vickers, 9 May 2010 The walk was advertised in the programme of the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society and it was good to see a party of 10 members from the section and the SYIHS on the walk. We met our guide Robert Vickers outside Wakefield Westgate railway station. He reminded us that the founding of the Section had taken place in May 1970 so it was appropriate that we were holding an event in the month of the 40th anniversary. Before setting off on the walk we were given a brief overview of the history of Wakefield. It was associated with the woollen industry since at least medieval times and although some finishing processes such as fulling and dyeing were carried out locally, Wakefield was not primarily a weaver’s town but a trading centre for raw materials and finished cloths and by the 16th century Wakefield was one of the major marketing centres in the north. It had its own piece hall, the Tammy Hall built in 1766 and several Georgian town houses were built for cloth merchants. The Aire and Calder Navigation provided access to the North Sea and could be used to transport raw materials and finished goods. A large number of steam-powered mills were built in early 19th century, but no large all-process mills were built, and with the collapse of the remaining large cloth-merchanting firms in 1820s, caused partly by a bank failure of 1825 and a trade depression, Wakefield largely ceased to be a cloth- merchanting town and instead saw the spectacular rise of specialised form of textile production – worsted spinning for knitting and carpet manufacture.

At the start of 19th century Wakefield was a wealthy market town with inland port trading in wool and corn. The Aire and Calder and Calder and Hebble Navigations and the Barnsley Canal brought corn from Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire to supply the growing population in the West Riding. The Corn Exchange opened in Westgate in 1838. There were over 20 malthouses in central and south Wakefield, along the River Calder (Calder & Hebble Navigation) and around Westgate and Kirkgate, together with around nine or ten breweries including Melbourne's and Beverley's Eagle Brewery. During the 19th century Wakefield became the administrative centre for the West Riding with a court house built in 1810, West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum built at Stanley Royd in 1816, Wakefield Prison in 1847 and in 1888 the parish church acquired cathedral status. There were also glassworks, engineering works, soapworks, brickyards and coal mining.

In 1840 railways arrived with the building of Kirkgate station on the Manchester to Leeds line, followed in 1867 by Westgate station on the West Riding and Grimsby line. This line became part of the LNER in 1923, the station was rebuilt in typical 1960s style and is now the principal station for Wakefield on the East Coast mainline and where our exploration of Wakefield started. Opposite Westgate station was Wakefield Chapel built 1751-2 and funded mainly by Wakefield cloth merchants. Nearby was Pemberton House (1752), previously the home of Pemberton Milnes, a prominent cloth merchant and now restored as offices. Turning into Westgate we viewed Austin House built in the 1760s by the Lumb family who were dyers, woolstaplers and cloth merchants, and the site of Albion Mills where woollen and worsted yarns were manufactured for the carpet trade. Further along was Clark’s Brewery established in 1906 and the very fine frontage of the Elephant and Castle pub advertising Warwick’s of Boroughbridge Ales and Stout. On the corner of Westgate and Drury Lane was the Theatre Royal, another very ornate building from 1894 designed by the famous theatre architect Frank Matcham. All along Westgate were numerous buildings currently or who had previously been pubs or banks reflecting the position Wakefield had as a centre for trade. Turning into Cheapside we saw a unique street of early 19th century woolstaplers’ warehouses, many still with taking in doors and evidence of cranes. The site of Wakefield’s raw wool market was at 66 Westgate, now the HSBC Bank. In King Street there was a 4 storey warehouse, part of the wool selling premises of Joseph Jackson who had perhaps the largest wool- stapling business in the West Riding between 1810s and 1830s. It was interesting to learn that Titus Salt was one of Jackson’s apprentices.

We viewed an impressive series of buildings making up Wakefield’s administrative centre. The Wakefield Museum, formerly the Mechanics Institute, the Town Hall dating from 1877-80, the former Crown Court from 1810 and the County Hall built 1984-98. Adjacent was Tammy Hall Street with the remains of the Tammy Hall opened in 1778. Tammy was a type of fine worsted cloth mostly manufactured in the Calder and Upper Dearne valleys. The Hall was partly demolished in 1877 and the rest converted into a police and fire brigade HQ.

Firemen on former Fire Station

© Copyright Alan Longbottom. Licensed for reuse under the Geograph Creative Commons Licence

Moving into Kirkgate, past the Cathedral and the 1930s style Boots, we reached the Six Chimneys pub for a welcome lunch break.

After lunch we explored some of the small yards off Kirkgate including Avison Yard, the site of the Eagle Brewery and malthouse. Walking up Park Street, we came to Wakefield Kirkgate Station; opposite was the Wakefield Arms Hotel built in the 1840s with the coming of the railway. A grade 2 listed building, it is one of the few existing structures built of Joseph Aspdin’s Portland cement but was in a very poor condition.

Wakefield Arms Hotel, Park Street

© Copyright Alan Longbottom. Licensed for reuse under the Geograph Creative Commons Licence

In 1825 the station site was Joseph Aspdin’s Portland cement works, the world’s first; it moved to Ings Road when the railway arrived. The present station building dates from 1854, the original structure was built for the Manchester and Leeds (later the Lancashire and Yorkshire) Railway in 1840. Kirkgate Station was listed in 1979 and is definitely in need of some renovation.

Kirkgate Station – looking somewhat dilapidated

© Copyright Mike Kirby. Licensed for reuse under the Geography Creative Commons Licence From railways we moved to look at the Aire & Calder Navigation at Navigation Yard. By 1706, the Aire & Calder Navigation Company had made the river Calder navigable from Castleford to Wakefield where it

Aire & Calder Navigation Boardroom, Navigation Yard

© Copyright Betty Longbottom. Licensed for reuse under the Geograph Creative Commons Licence joined the Calder & Hebble Navigation. We saw the building which housed the boardroom and offices of the company before it moved to Leeds in 1860.

The last section of the walk explored the regeneration of Wakefield’s waterfront starting with Rutland Mill built in 1872-5 as an integrated worsted spinning mill and now occupied by small business units. Further along was the Calder & Hebble Navigation warehouse with its former central boat loading entrance – another building included in Nigel Grizzard’s top 10 - and on the opposite bank several buildings previously used as corn warehouses and maltings. We didn’t reach as far as the Double 2 Shirt Factory founded in 1940 and still a family run business.

Journey’s end : the group with the Calder & Hebble Navigation Warehouse in the background (photo Jill Vickers)

Once again Robert had carried out extensive research for the walk and we all discovered something new about Wakefield. Thanks to Robert for leading such an informative day.

Margaret Tylee

National Mills Regeneration Conference Pennine Lancashire, Accrington. 11 May 2010

The 2010 National Mills Regeneration Conference took place at the Clayton Park Conference Centre in Accrington. It was very well attended bringing together a wide variety of professionals from the public and private sectors; it was clear that the conference co-ordinator Nigel Grizzard has the magic touch to bring together not only mill owners but planners, developers and anyone interested in mill regeneration. This year’s conference focused on the Pennine Lancashire district covering Blackburn. Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale and the Ribble Valley. A brief survey had revealed that the area had over 200 mills ranging from the fully regenerated India Mill at Darwen to the almost collapsed areas along the Leeds Liverpool Canal at the Weavers’ Triangle in Burnley. After a welcome from Jackie Mason, executive director of Pennine Lancashire’s Regeneration Consortium, the first speaker was Mike Cook of Burnley Borough Council whose theme was the need to shift Burnley to be seen as a University town with vibrant business parks in commuting distance from Manchester utilising its heritage of mills for sustainable development. He spent some time discussing the problems of the Weavers’ Triangle area where the Council and the North West Development Agency were progressively acquiring more of the sites with the aim of future regeneration by private developers or public use.

The second case study was of Greenbridge Works in Rawtenstall in which Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams Architects are involved in a mixed use adaption scheme. This is a four storey stone built mill 20 bays long which was used latterly by the firm of Lambert Howarth for slipper manufacture. A range of weaving sheds to the east is being converted to holiday lets and permanent residences – one of the very few schemes of this type. New access across the canal is a feature. The mill itself is used for manufacture and small business units.

The next speakers were David Barraclough and Pam Blackwell who manage the fine India Mill in Darwen as a business centre. The mill is the single most important building in Blackburn or Darwen and probably the most important remaining building from the North West England textile industry. Erected in 1870 for the firm of Eccles, Shorrock & Co, it was a six storey spinning mill with a Venetian style chimney and was derelict in 1993. £4 million was spent on the restoration and it is now occupied by the TV Licensing Authority and the CRB as the major tenants. The building won a Civic Trust award in 2001 and now employs 700 people.

The key conclusion from the morning’s sessions was the need for central government or a local agency to provide “kick start” money. Several of the sites required changes to the road network and pedestrian link bridges to enable effective re-use to go ahead but the developer was limited to funding the actual structure not the surrounding environs. The question was also raised by David George about what happens to the artefacts from the previous working age and not just those preserved in museums like Queen Street Mill.

After an excellent lunch where there was a good opportunity to network with the participants, representatives of the local authority planners provided a guided tour of several buildings in the Weavers’ Triangle. Brian Hall of the Weavers’ Triangle Trust arranged a demonstration of the horizontal cross-compound engine at the Wiseman Street weaving shed which is maintained by the Trust. We saw the refurbishment work at the Sandygate shed with its three storey preparation block, also remedial work at the four storey Victoria Mill built in the 1850s with its striking seven storey tower awaiting conversion. The unique Slaters Terrace, a row of two storey mid 19th century workers’ cottages built above a ground floor canal side warehouse, may be re-developed if the access can be improved. It was good to see university and English Heritage staff in attendance at this event and to know that they are compiling a data base of 600 extant mills in the county.

For more information and illustrations see the website www.ngcs.net

David George and Adrian Bailey

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION OFFICERS 2009-2010 Chairman & Newsletter Vice-Chairman & Membership Lecture Editor Secretary Secretary

Margaret Tylee Robert Vickers Jane

Ellis