YORKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION NEWSLETTER 98 AUTUMN 2016 (website edition - this edition is incomplete as some items/illustrations from the original newsletter are not available electronically) EDITORIAL Welcome to the 2016/7 season and another Newsletter and I hope you have all had an interesting and enjoyable summer which seems to have passed so quickly. I have just returned from the Association for Industrial Archaeology’s Conference based in Telford, it was an enjoyable and interesting time with good weather and I will be providing a report for the next Newsletter. For information the 2017 AIA conference will be based at Moulton College in Northamptonshire on 25-30 August and focus on the IA of the South East Midlands including railways, canals and aircraft, milling and the boot & shoe industry amongst other things, look out for more details later. Details of the 2016/7 lecture programme are enclosed with the Newsletter and are also available online via the main Society website in case you lose your paper copy and I hope that you will be able to attend at least some of the interesting lectures that Jane Ellis has arranged for us this season. Jane has also been appointed as the Excursions Secretary for the main Society and is already busy arranging a programme of events which will be advertised on the website. Also enclosed are the minutes of the 2016 AGM held in April, if any member who attended has any corrections to the minutes please let me know before the 2017 AGM. Main YAHS members should have received the printed Programme of Events for 2016/7 now and I hope you have noted that clarification has been given about the ability to attend other sections’ lectures if you are not a member of that section. Members of other YAHS sections, YAHS only members and YAHS affiliate members are welcome to attend lectures arranged by sections to which they do not belong, but a small donation may be required for each occasional attendance. In the case of the IHS, this will be £2. For section only members (and those who mislay their printed copy) event details are also available online via the YAHS website. It is good to know that Julie Duckworth who spoke to the Section in the last lecture programme about her work in renovating the Lowther Hotel and other properties in Goole has been shortlisted for Historic England’s Angel awards, you can vote for her online on the Historic England website until 12 October (see below in the News section). More good news with the establishment of a Yorkshire Branch of the Newcomen Society, although called South Yorkshire, the meetings are open to all and are free – more details given below. By the time you read this, the section visit to Lawnswood Cemetary would have taken place, unfortunately I was unable to make it but I understand that those attending found it very interesting, a report will be provided for the next Newsletter. On our visit to Goole on 22 September we will be joined by members of the main Society and I hope there will be a good turnout with good weather. Ex Section member David George is still in regular correspondence with me and has sent a contribution for this Newsletter. A reminder that contributions from members are always very welcome, perhaps a report of a visit or a recommendation for one, or like David’s contribution some thoughts and reflections on a re-visit. Unfortunately there are no new members to report since the last Newsletter. An updated YAHS publicity leaflet is available from Claremont if you are passing when the building is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday if members wish to obtain copies for friends and family. Information about joining is available on the Society website. I shall be producing the next newsletter in late January 2017, so please let me have any contributions as soon as you can and by 17 January and I look forward to meeting many of you at our first lecture on 15 October at the Swarthmore Centre Margaret Tylee MAIN SOCIETY NEWS The 2016 YAHS AGM was held on 20 August. In her opening remarks, President Gill Cookson reported that YAHS publications were now being handled by D&M Heritage of Huddersfield and plans were well advanced for the digitisation of back copies of the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. She recognised that the administration of the Society needs updating and called for more help in the running of the Society. We are still looking for a new Hon Treasurer, although Dr Brian Barber, the current postholder, has kindly but reluctantly agreed to carry on until a replacement can be found. We also need someone to take responsibility for the website content and the production of regular newsletters both electronic and printed for members. If you think you can help in any way please contact David Buck, Hon YAHS Secretary. The Treasurer reported that the accounts for 2015 had shown an overall deficit of approx. £50k but this was partly due to one off expenditures associated with the move of the Collections to the Brotherton Library and the planned sale of Claremont. There were also no significant sums left as legacies during 2015. He was confident that with the planned sale of Claremont and reduced running costs, the Society will be in good financial position going forward. Positive news was that the YAHS archives are now fully accessible and can be searched online. I was elected to the Management Board following my nomination as the rep from the Industrial History Section and will be providing updates from the Board in future Newsletters, please let me know if there are issues concerning the Society that you would like me to raise. Members may be aware that Claremont is still in use as the Society’s HQ and administrative office, it is also used for committee meetings. The sale of the building is proceeding very slowly and at time of writing planning permission for its conversion into a large number of residential units is still awaited. It feels (and is) very empty and rather sad when I go there for meetings but hopefully there will be something positive to report by the next Newsletter. It was reported at the AGM that the Society Promotion Group is actively pursuing the provision of a new website. The Management Board had previously agreed that in order to move quickly on this, external paid help would be required. A specification has been sent to a number of professional web developers for proposals to be assessed by a panel of Society representatives in late September/early October. It is hoped to be able to report on progress by the time of the first lecture. OTHER NEWS ITEMS The Newcomen Society has established a new branch for South Yorkshire and a branch committee has been set up with Section member John Suter responsible for publicity and membership. The inaugural meeting and launch event of the branch will be held on 23 January 2017 starting at 6.30pm at the Kelham Island Industrial Museum, Sheffield. All meetings will be free and open to all, details of the early half of the programme are given below. Although called the South Yorkshire Branch, attendees are welcome from across Yorkshire. The Newcomen Society was formed in 1920 as a learned society for the history of engineering and technology and has published over 1,000 papers creating a valuable resource for research. Membership allows free downloadable access to this information but all are welcome to attend lectures. See website www.newcomen.com for more information. On 30 June 2016 Historic England published a report calling for more developers and owners to take on the regeneration of mills. The 84pp report “Engines of Prosperity: new uses for old mills” can be downloaded (3.38MB) from Historic England’s website. The report outlines the results of a study set up by Historic England to review and develop best practice in the regeneration of West Riding textile mills. It notes that over 1,000 of the region’s textile mills are either vacant or underused and regeneration could create 27,000 homes or 150,000 jobs. There are case studies of six successful mill regeneration projects; one of these is Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley visited by the Section in May 2014 which closed as a mill in 2008 after 180 years of production. Regeneration started in 2010, over £4m was invested by the joint managing directors William and John Gaunt and it is now home to 60 business spaces and runs as a self-financing enterprise. The potential for a further eight mills which are currently underused or vacant is explored, these include Dalton Mills, Keighley (also visited by the Section), Prospect Mill, Thornton and Drummond Mill, Manningham, Bradford. For the last example it is now too late since the 1861 mill burnt down on 28 January 2016 and has been demolished. The latest issue of Forum, the Journal of CBA Yorkshire (Vol 4 2015) includes a couple of short reports for those interested in industrial history. On pp 25-28, there is an article by Andy Sherman describing the work of CITIZAN (Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network) in Yorkshire. Auburn Sands, Bridlington contains the remains some of the best anti-invasion defences in Britain from both the First and Second World wars, including pillboxes, anti- tank cubes and anti-glider posts. The coastal defences are suffering from erosion and are being surveyed and recorded by CITIZAN. There are also plans to record the remains of Earle’s Shipyard on the edge of the former Victoria Docks on the River Humber.