NEWSLETTER NO. 62 AUTUMN 2004 EDITORIAL Welcome to another newsletter and season of Industrial History lectures. I hope that you all had a good summer in spite of the at times very wet weather. I have recently returned from the Association for Industrial Archaeology’s annual conference which this year was held early at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. Fortunately the weather was good when I was there and I attended some interesting visits to papermaking mills, the remains of the Luton hat industry, Waltham Abbey Gunpowder Mills and Bletchley Park. You may think “What Bletchley Park has to do with IA,” but it is regarded as the birthplace of the computer and hence the growing information technology industry. Next year’s conference is nearer to home and will focus on the IA of Derbyshire. A report of the Hatfield conference will be included in the next Newsletter. Enclosed with the Newsletter are details of the 2004-2005 Lecture Programme and thanks to David George for organising what I’m sure will be a very interesting programme covering a wide range of topics. I do hope that many of you will be able to attend at least some of the lectures. However I need to repeat the request made in the last Newsletter – we need a new Lecture Secretary. Both David and myself have some suggestions which could be followed up and dates need to be booked for the Lecture Room and speakers. The task is not too onerous, but does need someone with the time to organise everything. Please give it serious thought. You will note a change in the format of the sheet giving the lecture details. Instead of the tear off subscription request at the bottom of the sheet, I have included a Gift Aid Declaration which can be used if you are UK tax payer to enable the Society to reclaim tax. It is intended for section only members, since main Society members should already have been approached to sign a Gift Aid Declaration by the main Society Membership Secretary. At time of writing, I have not been officially informed about the new subscription rates that will come into effect from 1 January 2005, but unofficially I am told the increase will be significant. Members may recall that at the Section AGM in April we felt that the proposed increase in the capitation fee from £4 to £8 and consequential knock on for the section only subscription was too high an increase to be paid in one go and we preferred a smaller increase but to be reviewed after two years. The subscription position should be clear by the time of our first meeting on 9 October, when the level of the increase can be discussed with members attending the meeting. I will then send out the new subscription reminders to section only members before the end of the year. Main Society members will receive their reminders direct from Claremont. Also enclosed are the minutes of the AGM. If any members who were present have any corrections to the minutes, please let me know and they can be reported at next year’s AGM. Following the discussion at the AGM, I only had two members who wished to receive the Newsletters electronically, they will also be sent an electronic copy of the lecture details and AGM minutes. The section had two excursions over the summer. I attended the May visit to the Todmorden area which was very successful. Unfortunately I was unable to make the visit to the Castle Carr estate but from David Cant’s report this was also enjoyable. Ideas for excursions over the summer next year would be welcome and even better if you could make the arrangements. A welcome to new member Mr D Johnson and farewell to two longstanding section members Margaret Mercer and Philip Purkis who regretfully have decided to resign. Finally I am aiming to produce the next Newsletter in early January, so please send me any news items, events information and short articles for inclusion by the end of December. Margaret Tylee NEWS ITEMS Are any members interested in the history of famous buildings and construction projects and in particular the building methods? If so you may be interested in joining the Construction History Society. The Society was founded in 1982 and seeks to bring together people from a wide range of professional and academic disciplines who are enthusiastic about construction history. Membership is £18 per annum, renewable each January and members receive a copy of the Society’s journal Construction History, a refereed annual publication, together with quarterly newsletters and participation in various organised events. For more details contact the Secretary, Construction History Society, c/o Library & Information Services Manager, The Chartered Institute of Building, Englemere, Kings Ride, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7TB or visit the website at www.constructionhistory.co.uk. The Mills Archive Trust is seeking financial support from anyone who is interested in the heritage of mills. A national archive specialising in mills and milling is being created. A good start has already been made using almost £20,000 raised from donations and a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Trust now wishes to build up a regular income to enable it to continue to make some 500,000 records freely available to the public. For information on how to support the work of the Mills Archive Trust contact Ron Cookson, Watlington House, Watlington Street, Reading, RG1 4RJ or contact the website at www.millsarchive.com. English Heritage have published the 2004 Buildings at Risk Register. This contains information on all grade I and II* listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments known to be “at risk” through neglect or vulnerable to becoming so. Grade II listed buildings are included for London only. Amongst those listed in Yorkshire assessed as being “very bad” include Hunslet Mill graded II*, the 1st Leeds Cloth Hall graded II* and Manningham Mills graded II*. Those assessed as “poor” include Temple Works Gatelodge, Marshall Street, Leeds graded II* and Waterloo Mill, Silsden graded II*. The good news is that of the 176 entries in the 1999 Yorkshire Register 72 (41%) have been removed over the past 5 years as their future has been secured. Two examples from Yorkshire where improvements have been made are quoted in the Register. The first is Warehouse No. 4, Sowerby Bridge Canal Basin where workshop spaces have been created on the upper floors while accommodating the continued use of the ground floor for boat repairs. The second is Woodhouse Mill in Todmorden where a fire in 1994 gutted the interior and left it without an end wall. A local businessman has now converted it for residential use giving it a new life. Full details of the Register can be seen on the English Heritage website www.english- heritage.org.uk. Continuing with English Heritage, they have developed an online picture library called ViewFinder. The images are from the National Monuments Record, which holds more than seven million images dating from the 1840s to the present day and includes many industrial views. Again details are available on the English Heritage website. Have members been following the BBC TV's series Restoration? If so, you will know that Gayle Mill, situated just outside Hawes, came third in the final with 109,220 votes. The winner was the Old Grammar School, Birmingham with 113,326 votes. Gayle Mill is grade II* listed and built in 1776 as a water powered cotton mill, later it was used for spinning flax and in 1880 was a sawmill. In 1879 the waterwheel was replaced by a turbine which is reputed to be the oldest in situ turbine of its kind. The mill closed in the 1980s having been operated by the same family since 1879. The mill contains important examples of woodworking machinery and the machinery that was used to generate electricity for Gayle village. The National Coal Mining Museum at Caphouse near Wakefield re-opened its underground tour in early July. The tour had been suspended earlier in the year because of fears of flooding from the Flockton area. Readings from a borehole are being monitored daily and it is estimated that any increase in water detected would take 31 days to reach the Caphouse pit. The Museum is confident that its water pumping operation would be capable of dealing with an increased amount. The Victorian Society magazine has reported that the Aerial Glide static fairground ride at Shipley Glen has been grade II listed. The ride was constructed in 1900 and consists of a steel frame in a continuous loop. It is thought to be the earliest surviving example of a static amusement ride. The restoration of Gibson Mill on the National Trust’s Hardcastle Crags estate near Hebden Bridge is proceeding well. Work has begun on re-installing the mill turbine and installing photo-voltaic cells into place on the roof. These will be used to convert light energy into electricity for running the mill. The building work is scheduled for completion by May 2005. Perhaps a possible excursion next summer? FUTURE EVENTS 13 Oct William Jessop: the real canal builder. Presidential address at the AGM of the Bradford Historical & Antiquarian Society. Central Library, Princes Way, Bradford. 7.15pm. Membership costs £10 per annum. Enquiries to John Allison, Membership Secretary ? 01274 787533 16 Oct Yorkshire Landscapes Past and Present A conference organised by the Society for Landscape Studies and the PLACE Research Centre at York St John College, York. For further details contact Dr Margaret Atherton, Director of PLACE, York St John College, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX.