NEWSLETTER 77 AUTUMN 2009 EDITORIAL Welcome to the Autumn Newsletter. With another summer over I am looking forward to the forthcoming Lecture Programme which starts on Saturday 3rd October. As usual, the details are included in this mailing. It would be good publicity for the section if you could put up copies of the programme in your workplace or give copies to friends and relatives to encourage attendance and hopefully new members. Thanks again to Jane for putting together what promises to be a very interesting programme which I hope will be well supported. Thanks also to Robert Vickers for arranging two walks for next year. The first will follow our AGM on 10 April and will be a continuation of this April’s exploration of Hunslet and will take in the riverside in the east of Leeds. On 9 May we shall visit Wakefield and it will be an opportunity to see for ourselves some of the regeneration work that was discussed at this year’s National Mills Conference and will also covered by our speaker in December. I hope members will be able to join Robert for what are likely to be very interesting walks. Over the summer months I was able to fit in visits to a few industrial history sites while holidaying in the Lake District including the Honister Slate Mines, where you can take a guided tour inside the mine; tracing the path of the Penrith, Keswick and Cockermouth Railway and visiting the interesting port of Maryport. While on a short break to Llandudno I travelled on the historic tramway which climbs a mile through the streets of Llandudno to the top of the Great Orme with its ancient copper mines. The tramway was built in 1902 and is the only cable hauled tramway still operating alongside a British road. If any members would like to share experiences of industrial history visits in the UK and beyond, as well as recommending places to visit, I am always happy to include the details in the Newsletter. Another piece of news is that I was finally able to retire from the British Library in August, which means I have more time now to spend on industrial history and to support the main Society by contributing to the Management Board and offering some time as a volunteer at Claremont. I have also managed to acquire a British Library Reader’s pass so will still be able to access the Library’s collections, which will be of use since I intend to spend time researching the industries of the area near to my home, in particular the history, development and closure of the quarries. Sheila Bye’s presentation at the AGM members’ session on an aspect of Leeds early railway history is a good example of how interesting research can be if you have the time to follow it up. Sheila has kindly sent a copy of her talk to be made available to all members and you can read it on pages 6-8 of this Newsletter. One advantage of being retired (apart from the free bus pass and reduced fare railcard), is that I don’t have to negotiate when to take holidays. I have just returned from a few days at this year’s AIA conference which was held close to home based in Lincoln. We had excellent weather and some interesting visits, although the facilities provided by the University of Lincoln could have been better. A full report will appear in the next Newsletter. Next year’s conference is being held in Cornwall, with the promise of visits to mines and quarries, details will be available early in 2010. A brief report of the Section’s AGM was included in the last Newsletter and the full minutes are now circulated with this Newsletter. As before, if any member has any corrections to the minutes please let me have them in writing/email before the next AGM. I have not been notified of any new members since the last issue of the Newsletter, so my usual reminder that membership forms are available from Claremont and also on the YAHS website where you can also find details of our lectures and other events. I shall be producing the next Newsletter in mid January so please let me have your news and information early in the New Year. Margaret Tylee NEWS FROM CLAREMONT The May issue of Update, the YAHS Newsletter, contained a reminder about the rules to be followed when visiting Claremont. Main Society members will have their own copy but the following are some points that are particularly important to note: • Always sign in and out in the book which is on the table in the hall. This is for health & safety reasons in case there is a fire. If you have used the car park please add your car registration. • The car park is for the use of readers and visitors to Claremont and not for free parking when in Leeds. • Bags should be left in the lockers and mobile phones switched off. However if you are attending a meeting in the lecture room then you can take your bags in with you, but if you are using any of the other rooms you must use the lockers. Copies of Update are freely available from Claremont. The AGM of the Society was held on 20 June when the Annual Report & Accounts were presented. Main Society members will have received their own copies but copies are available from Claremont for Section only members. It was reported that the use of Claremont had increased by 8% and that at long last a new Membership Secretary had been identified. Overall there was a loss over the year, mainly due to reduced investment value. HELP WANTED The Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit is carrying out a survey of textile finishing sites, e.g. bleach works, dyeworks, fulling and embossing works, to update the Greater Manchester Historic Environment Record. The project is estimated to take three years and the intention is to establish the history of the sites, visit and record the sites. Currently the researcher Peter Bone is looking at the administrative districts of Bury, Bolton and Rochdale and has experienced some difficulty in identifying ownership history and use of the sites. He is looking for any information on textile finishing sites in the area including old photographs (photographs showing the internal features would be most welcome) and company publications. I know the area is outside Yorkshire but if any member can help, please contact Peter Bone, T 01706 838106 or email [email protected]@btinternet.com Section member Robert Vickers is researching the history of Rippon Brothers, coachbuilders, of Huddersfield. The Rippon name is the oldest associated with coachbuilding in the UK, as Walter Rippon built a coach for the Earl of Rutland in 1555 and another for Queen Elizabeth I in 1564. The Rippon family was established as coachbuilders in Huddersfield by the early 1870s. They started building bodies for cars in 1905, many on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis. Coachbuilding ceased in 1958 and their Huddersfield premises in Viaduct Street were demolished in 1978 – the site is now covered by Tesco. However the name lived on for a further 20 years or so as Appleyard Rippon, motor distributors, in Leeds. There are company archives at WYAS Huddersfield and at the Sir Henry Royce Foundation, Paulerspury, but Robert would also welcome any information about the company and its products from members. He can be contacted at [email protected] NEWS ITEMS Members may be aware that the Civic Trust for England, the organisation which runs Heritage Open Days went into administration earlier this year. The Trust was founded in 1957 and acted as the umbrella body for over 750 local Civic Trusts. There was some concern that the Heritage Open Days scheme which allows free access to a range of buildings and sites that are either not open to the public or charge admission would have to stop. Fortunately English Heritage has agreed to fund the continuation of the scheme which ran as usual over the weekend of 10-13th September. The Transport Trust has launched a nationwide programme to mark sites of historic transport interest with a Red Wheel Plaque. Their website at www.transportheritage.com provides a directory of sites and gives details of the history of the sites together with maps and photographs. Sites in Yorkshire include the Stanley Ferry Aqueduct, Bingley Five Rise Locks, Standedge Tunnel, Huddersfield Station and the Crimple Viaduct, near Harrogate. During June 2009 an artists’ collective called Black Dogs held a series of exhibitions, installations and activities centred on the Tower Works in Holbeck. Events included an exhibition of photographs bringing together the Giotto Tower and its Florence original, an exhibition about the Tower Works and a series of guided walks. The group also produced a walk leaflet which on one side gave information about the history of the Tower Works and surrounding area and on the reverse a guided walk around the towers of Florence. I’d be interested to hear from any members who attended the events. The walk leaflet may still be available from The Carriageworks in Leeds. A company called “The View from the North” which made the Fred Dibnah programmes for BBC2 are working on an oral history project on British industry in the 1950s & 60s. They are looking for people who worked in industries such as mining, engineering, textiles, chemicals i.e. heavier types of industrial employment who could contribute their memories to the project.