EDITORIAL

Happy New Year to all members - I hope you all had a pleasant Christmas and New Year break. You are probably surprised to be receiving a Newsletter this early in the year. It seemed to me that having extended the lecture programme until March with the AGM in April, it was a long gap between the September Newsletter and one being produced after the AGM. The Newsletter is relatively cheap to produce so I felt the Section could afford the additional cost of copying and postage for an early Spring edition. All the usual items are included and it gives me an opportunity to update the News Items and Future Events as well as including reports of recent activities. Reports of all the lectures will appear in a late Spring Newsletter, hopefully in May.

I am pleased to report that David George has agreed to continue as the Lecture Programme Secretary for another year and has already booked the first two lectures which will be section member Professor David Perrett talking about Yorkshire Market Halls and a talk on the Wensleydale Railway by a member of the Wensleydale Railway Society. Details and dates for 2003/4 are given later in the Newsletter, so add them to your diaries now.

I am also pleased to report that another Industrial Walks leaflet is being considered. Some years ago Chris Rule prepared the text for a walk around Huddersfield focusing primarily on the mills and canals. On Boxing Day a small party of YAS and GLIAS members met to try out the walk and identify what had changed. Not surprisingly there was quite a bit of change but we also identified additional material, possibly enough for two walks. Chris and Robert Vickers have agreed to get together to update the information so watch this space for further news.

Apologies to Sheila Bye for printing her out of date email address in the previous issue, Sheila did notify me of the change but I forgot to amend the details. Also Bill Slatcher tells me that he no longer wishes to be contacted by email, so I have deleted the email address.

An early spring Newsletter gives me the opportunity to remind section members who pay their £8 subscription via myself that subscriptions for 2003 were due in January – thanks to those members who have remembered without a reminder. Main Society members will get their reminders from Claremont. A welcome to Mr Evans and Mr Marshall who have recently joined the main Society and this section.

I hope that members will be able to attend the AGM in April, please note that this is an afternoon meeting starting at 2pm. We have considered before whether afternoon meetings would be preferable for members so it will be interesting to see if the new time has an impact on numbers. Our Chairman Bill Slatcher has told me that he would rather not give a Chairman’s address as he would prefer members to have the opportunity to present their own items. If any member has a topic they wish to speak about, even for only 10 minutes or so, come along to the AGM – we can provide a slide projector or OHP but I don’t think Claremont has PowerPoint facilities yet. Also a reminder that if you want to play a part in the running of the section there is always help needed. In the past we have talked about having a Publicity Officer and Excursions Secretary – any offers?

Finally my usual request for any news items/reports of visits with an industrial theme for the late Spring Newsletter. I manage to pick up items from various sources but it’s good to get information from others. Please send any items to me by mid April, the address is at the end of the Newsletter as usual. 

Margaret Tylee

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NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

The YAS Librarian has produced a desiderata list i.e. a list of books that he would like to acquire for the Library but are not currently held. The following have an industrial theme and if any members have an unwanted  copy that they would like to donate to the YAS Library, I am sure the Librarian would be pleased to hear from you.

G. Firth  Salt and Saltaire. Tempus. £10.99

M. Gill The Grassington Mines. Northern Mines Research Society. British Mining No. 46. £10.50

R.Gosney and R. Bowyer The Sailing Ships and Mariners of Knottingley. Ron Gosney & Sons. £6.95

D Hey A History of Sheffield. Carnegie Publishing. 1998 £16

SC Jenkins The Wensleydale Branch. £12.95

Also a reminder that it is not too late to contribute to the Development Fund set up to assist with the funding for the new facilities at Claremont. The YAS President, Peter Addyman has said that “All donations, however small, will help to realise this dream”. Cheques, payable to the Yorkshire Archaeological Society Development Account, should be sent to Mr D. Flear, c/o Claremont, 23 Clarendon Road, Leeds LS2 9NZ.

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NEWS FROM THE NORTH EAST INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY PANEL

At the last Panel meeting held at the Bradford Industrial Museum in November, several items of news were circulated:

Bowes Railway – a funding package has been put together to carry out re-roofing and repair to the Engineering Shop on the railway at Springwell. This line and others in the Newcastle area were used in the recent Timewatch programme on re-running the Rainhill Trials.

Middlesborough Transporter Bridge – a small interpretive centre has been built by Middlesborough Council at the Middlesborough end of the bridge. It is normally open at weekends.

Wilson House, Lindale, Cumbria – a recent archaeological assessment by David Cranstone has found possible evidence for a peat fuelled, steam powered blast furnace of c1790. Documentary evidence from the Boulton & Watt papers linked the works with John Wilkinson, who appears to have used the works for experiments on the furnace and fuels for the engine.

Fish Smoking Houses at Hull and Grimsby have been studied and an interim report prepared for the Council of British Archaeology.

Two interesting publications were reported:

Steeped in History-the Alum Industry. Published by the North York Moors National Park. £15.00

British Titan Products to Huntsman Tioxide 1930-2000 by John Graham. £21.00

The Association for Industrial Archaeology has appointed Mike Nevell to act as an advisor on threatened industrial sites and structures. It is hoped to prevent the destruction of important sites by taking action, preferably before “development” begins. However this relies on local people taking action themselves and notifying Mike as soon as possible. He can contacted at the University of Manchester Archaeology Unit, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL.  0161 275 2314. The AIA has produced an advice sheet, copies are available from David Cant, 3 Middle Hathershelf, Luddenden Foot, Halifax HX2 6JQ on receipt of a stamped addressed envelope marked AIA Advice Sheet.

The next Panel meeting is on 26 April 2003. I would be pleased to receive and pass on any comments/information from members.

David Cant

HELP WANTED

Howard Frost, the author of Sailing the Rails (see review on page 9) on behalf of the Spurn Heritage Coast Project is looking for any information about the history of Spurn Point, especially photographs or movie film showing the railway. The Project already holds an archive of historical information that is available for future researchers and is keen to add to it. If any member can help please contact Howard Frost c/o Spurn Heritage Coast, The Blue Bell, Kilnsea, Easington, Hull HU12 0UF. 

Members may recall that some years ago, Harold Taylor gave a talk on The Barnsley Linen Industry. Harold is a member of the South Yorkshire Industrial Archaeology Society and is currently researching handloom weavers’ cottages in the Barnsley area. He has written to me asking for information about linen weavers’ cottages in Leeds. If any member has any information, plans or photographs, Harold would like to here from you. He can be contacted at 9 Hoober Road, Sheffield S11 9SF.

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NEWS ITEMS

Hollins Mill in Todmorden, a steam powered cotton spinning and weaving mill built by Abraham, William and Peter Ormerod in 1856-8 has been grade II listed. It is described as an excellent example of a planned integrated cotton spinning and weaving mill with an engine house sited so as to transmit power to both the spinning and weaving blocks.

The unique Hoffman Lime Kiln complex and the three bottle kilns at Langcliffe near Settle were officially opened to the public in October 2002. The Yorkshire Dales National Park has taken over the site, cleared the debris and consolidated the main surviving features. There is free access and ample parking. Pathways and steps are waymarked and there are a number of interpretation boards. Hudson History have published a walk booklet which includes a full map of the site, and an abridged history. It is available from Settle Tourist Information, the Hudson History shop in Settle or by post price £2.50 incl. p&p from Hudson History, Kirkgate, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9DZ.

News of re-use of industrial buildings in Leeds. Approval in principle has been given to convert Bank Mills into flats and offices. Planning approval in principle has been given to demolish the Trinity Brush Works in East Street and replace it with 108 flats in blocks of up to 12 storeys. Plans have been submitted to for a £40million canal side scheme on the Tower Works site on Globe Road. This would incorporate the landmark Giotto Tower amongst flats, offices and workshops. Planning permission has been given for the restoration of Eller’s House. The building was erected in the 1700s as malting house, producing malt for the adjacent Kirkstall Brewery.

A new “Sobriety” exhibition and visitor centre opened in July at Goole’s Waterways Museum. The new centre cost £600,000 and received a Heritage Lottery fund grant of £413,900. New displays include a range of hands on activities such as putting planking on a wooden boat and handling traditional boat builders tools. Details from the centre  01405 768730.

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FUTURE EVENTS

20 Feb

The Industrial Revolution in country and town: evidence from buildings – Paul Barnswell. Olicana Historical Society talk at All Saints Church, Church Street, Ilkley. £1.50 for guests.

23 Feb

YAS walk around Micklefield led by Jon Crossley. Meet at Micklefield (exact details from Claremont) at 2pm, finish with afternoon tea at around 4pm. Suitable for anyone over 7 years but no dogs please. £6 for YAS members; £8 for non members and £4 for 7-16 year old. Booking via Janet Senior, YAS, Claremont, 23 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9NZ. 25 maximum numbers.

9 Mar

The Calder & Hebble Navigation A 6 mile linear canal walk from Wakefield to Dewsbury led by Brian Slater. Meet Wakefield Westgate station at 10.30am. A Railway Ramblers walk. Details contact Jane Ellis  0113 249 4644.

11 Mar

12th Kenneth Barraclough Memorial Lecture “Sound as a Bell – successes and failures in bellfounding through the ages” Professor John Campbell. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society (SYIHS) lecture.  6pm Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield,

16 Mar

YAS walk around Temple Newsam Park looking at its history from the Templars to coal mining. Led by Dave Wheldrake. Meet 1.30pm finish approx.4pm. YAS members £2, non-members £4 per adult, £2 for 7-16 year old, no dogs please. Booking via Claremont as above. 30 maximum numbers.

24 Mar

The Reinstatement of the Barnsley and Dearne and Dove Canals: how and why? SYIHS lecture by June Backhouse. Barnsley Central Library, Shambles Street, Barnsley. 7pm.

5 Apr

SERIAC. South East Region Industrial Archaeology Conference. Hosted by GLIAS at the University of Greenwich, Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

12-13 Apr

Association for Industrial Archaeology Ironbridge Weekend for AIA Affiliated Societies. Details awaited.

14 Apr

Wortley’s role in science and engineering: the contribution of Thomas Andrews FRS. SYIHS lecture by Jim McQuaid. Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield. 7.30pm.

26 Apr

Sandal to Normanton Advance information about a Railway Ramblers walk. For more details contact Jane Ellis  0113 249 4644.

11 May

YAS walk in the Luddenden Valley led by David Cant. Meet car park of Kershaw House at 10am, finish late afternoon at Kershaw House where refreshments have been booked. YAS members £10, non members £12., no dogs please. 25 maximum numbers.  Booking via Claremont as above.

17 May

Industries in South Yorkshire. SYIHS Dayschool. Grenoside Community Centre. Details from Chris Morley  0114 2462629

19 May

Industry and Transport in the Sheaf Valley. SYIHS lecture by Graham Hague. Kelham Island Museum. 7.30pm.

Advance Details of Industrial History Section’s 2003/4 Lecture Programme

4 October 2003, 11am  Professor David Perrett on Market Halls

8 November 2003, 11am  R. Annison on The Wensleydale Railway

In addition the Lecture Room is booked for the mornings of 13 December 2003, 10 January 2004, 7 February 2004, 13 March 2004 and the AGM will be on 17 April 2004 at 2.30pm.

Summer Academy Courses

These are courses run at 10 universities covering a wide variety of subjects. The cost includes all tuition and field trips, all meals and a social programme. The 2003 brochure is now available and I noted the following courses that had an industrial theme

W/c 14 June 2003

Roads, Rails, Ports and Mines: Industrial Heritage of North Wales. University of Wales, Bangor. £525.

W/c 28 June 2003

Brunel, Engineering Star: The Man and his Achievements in the South West. University of Bristol. £550.

W/c 12 July 2003

Maritime Northumbria. University of Durham. £525.

W/c 19 July 2003

Maritime East Anglia. University of East Anglia. £550.

W/c 10 Aug 2003

Scotland’s Roads, Canals and Railways. University of Stirling. £600.

For more details and booking contact Summer Academy, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP.  01227 470402/823473. Email summeracademy@ukc.ac.uk.

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FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF

Sailing the Rails. Howard M Frost. Published by Spurn Heritage Coast. 2001. 80pp. £9.50, ISBN 0 95403080 X.

Jane Ellis of the Railway Ramblers alerted me to this book. It is a fascinating account of the military and railway history of Spurn Point and contains some excellent photographs and diagrams. I particularly liked the ones of the bogies powered by sails (hence the title of the book) and the Hudswell Clarke railcar. There is a brief history of Spurn from prehistoric times to its Napoleonic gun batteries, but the main text covers the period of military occupation from 1914 to 1959. There are important chapters shedding light on the history and development of the Spurn Sail Bogies which were not unique – sailed vehicles have been recorded in operation on Herne Bay and Southend Piers, on a cement railway in Kent and the Redcar and South Gare railway in Cleveland. There is also evidence of them in use in Australia and the Falkland Islands. As well as the military and railway history, the book gives an insight to the social history of living on and near the Spurn peninsula. There is also a useful bibliography. If like me you find this area fascinating, the bookis highly recommended.

It is only available by post from the author who in addition to his interest in railways is also the joint county recorder for butterflies in Yorkshire. He first visited Spurn as a birdwatcher in 1955 when he spotted the remains of the railway and became interested in its history. At the end of the book there is a request for more information about Spurn and its railway to add to the collection held by the Spurn Heritage Coast Project.

For copies send a cheque for £9.50 (includes p&p) made payable to BC Yorkshire to Mrs MC Frost, 10 Chellsway, Withernsea, HU19 2EN.

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REPORTS OF EVENTS/VISITS

Association for Industrial Archaeology Annual Conference Heriot Watt University, 6-12th September 2002.

The 2002 AIA conference was based at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh and concentrated on the IA of the Firth-Clyde corridor. I was able to attend for the weekend of the main conference and the first day of the additional programme.

After dinner on the Friday night, there was a reception in the Department of Civil and Offshore Engineering, where a portrait of the Scottish Railway engineer John Miller was unveiled by the Vice Chancellor of the University. There was also an opportunity to view the museum collection of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Panel for Historic Works. This was followed by the Rolt Memorial Lecture given by Professor John Hume on “Industry as Culture”. This was an excellent account of the life of Tom Rolt linking his writings with his interests, both cultural and industrial. Rolt left school at 16 and was apprenticed to a firm of steam ploughing contractors, he continued to maintain the engines for 18 years. In 1933 he bought a garage and set up in business maintaining classic cars and founded the Vintage Sports Car Club. In 1936 he converted a working canal boat into one that could be used for cruising. After the 2nd World War he became involved in the formation of the Inland Waterways Association but left after falling out with his colleagues. He then turned to preserved railways and became involved with the Talyllyn Railway. Professor Hume detailed the many works written by Rolt and emphasised the influence of the landscape on his writings. The lecture was illustrated by examples of paintings with industrial themes by Lowry, Monet and Pisarro.

Saturday morning saw the traditional overview lecture on “The Industrial Heritage of Scotland’s Central Belt” given again by Professor Hume. He considered the development of industry in this region from the 17th century to the present day. Industrialisation in the 18th century brought relief from poverty and famine experienced by a population that was primarily agriculturally based with poor quality soils. An early industry was the mechanical grinding of grain, followed by woollen and linen manufacture. Coal mining expanded in the 18th century and this provided the means for the manufacture of salt from sea water and lime burning. Glass works were established producing bottles used for breweries and distilleries and shipbuilding was established from the 18th century onwards. From 1820 there was a developing chemical industry and the production of sewing thread, particularly in the Paisley area started after the invention of the sewing machine in the 1850s. Other industries included the building of marine engines and steam locomotives; iron founding, shale oil production; explosives, calico printing, carpet manufacture and papermaking. This was followed by members’ contributions with two out of the three speakers from this section. David Perrett spoke about IA in Northern Spain, also a land of bagpipes. David George examined the growth of the early engineering industry in Carlisle. The last speaker was Brenda Buchanan speaking about the road builder John MacAdam who only became famous after the age of 60. The final session of the morning was a panel on Scottish Industrial Archaeology with representatives from various bodies including the Scottish Industrial Heritage Society and the Royal Commission for Historic Monuments for Scotland – now called Historic Scotland – giving presentations on their current activities.

After lunch there was a choice of three visits. I chose the trip on the newly opened Falkirk Wheel which lifts boats between the Firth & Clyde and Union Canals. It was a truly spectacular piece of engineering and is the world’s first rotating boatlift. Until the 1930s the 34-metre height difference between these two major waterways was spanned by 11 locks, which took the best part of half a day to traverse. The locks and canals fell into disrepair but in 1999 plans were put forward to restore the canals and connect the two again. Millennium Lottery money was used and the Wheel was opened in May 2002 at a cost £17million, the whole canal restoration project cost £84.5million and has repaired 121 listed structures. The two 30m long caissons at either end of the Wheel that hold the boats rotate around a hydraulically actuated axle and the Wheel is kept balanced by computers controlling the water levels in the caissons. It was fascinating to see the ease with which the 35m high Wheel can lift loads of up to 600 tonnes. Judging by the crowds waiting for a ride and in the associated Visitor Centre, others were also impressed! The other visits were to the Forth Bridges (rail and road) and the planned village of Charlestown built in 1756 by Charles, 5th Earl of Elgin and a tour of the West Lothian Oil Shale Industry. Everyone arrived back in time to change for the formal conference dinner.

Sunday morning saw me miss the seven members’ contributions starting at 9am in favour of a late breakfast. However I did attend the presentations of the annual AIA Recording Awards. This year there were 13 entries and the standard was very high with only 7 points separating the top 7 entries. The main award went to the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society (GLIAS) for their work on producing a database of site records, images, biographical and bibliographic entries for London. The database structure can be used by any society wishing to record their local industrial remains. More details are available from the GLIAS website www.glias.org.uk. The Initiative award went to John Harrison for his book Eight Centuries of Milling in North East Yorkshire (1086-1883). The survey covered the area between the Tees, Derwent and Cod Beck and the book includes measured drawings of over 100 mills and a gazetteer, as well as a history of milling.

The final event of the main conference was the AGM where there was talk of the mission statement and three-year plans. Nominations for Council were short by one person, so no elections were needed. The 2003 conference will be based in Cardiff and 2004 possibly north London. Sunday afternoon saw the first of the trips in the associated conference programme. I chose the cruise on the steam ship “Sir Walter Scott” which involved a fairly long coach-ride to Loch Katrine, which became a reservoir in 1856-60 to provide water for the increasing population of Glasgow. The other trips were to Coatbridge and the Summerlee Industrial Heritage Park or Alloa with its glass works and brewery.

There were two lectures on Sunday evening. The first was by Miles Oglethorpe from Historic Scotland on Recording the Heritage of Coal and Iron. It was an excellent well illustrated talk tracing the decline of these two major industries. There is now no deep coal mining left in Scotland with the number of pits declining from about 300 to none in 55 years. A few have been recorded and there were some interesting archive photographs; I particularly liked the one of a coal vending machine. The second was a talk on Shipbuilding on the Clyde by Michael Moss who traced the history and decline of this industry. He was fortunate to get access to the company records of John Brown and an amazing collection of about 50,000 photographic records, many of which came from other shipbuilding yards covering the period from the 1840s to the 1970s.

The choice for the day visit on Monday was either New Lanark or Glasgow. I chose Glasgow where the first stop was at Glasgow Green to admire the exterior of Templeton’s Carpet Works completed in 1892 in the style of the Doge’s Palace in Venice and is now a business centre. Also here was the People’s Palace which contains a museum of Glasgow’s social history and has a very fine iron conservatory. Adjacent was the St Andrew’s Suspension Bridge, which had been restored in 1997. We moved on to view the interior of the Duke Street Cotton Mill built in 1849 to produce cotton thread but converted in 1901 to become a working man’s hostel grandly named the Great Eastern Hotel and finally closed in 2001. It was sad to see the small dormitories where the men slept and our guide told us that even now occasionally homeless men would arrive looking for a place to sleep. We then moved on to look at the Forth and Clyde Canal at Port Dundas. Spiers Wharf was an impressive complex now converted to housing and offices. Then it was on to walk part of the Maryhill Locks (of Taggart fame) and view the Aqueduct. The coach took us through Govan where there is very little evidence of shipbuilding now, but new waterside developments. We ended the day at the workshops of Heritage Engineering who specialise in the restoration and reconstruction of a wide rang of industrial plant and machinery including waterwheels, steam engines as well as Victorian drinking fountains and elaborate iron gates. Then it was back to Edinburgh in a torrential downpour. After dinner there were two evening lectures. Stuart Turner spoke on the Early Chemical Industries in Scotland covering the period 1740-1850. In 1790, the largest sulphuric acid plant in the world was situated at Prestonpans using the lead chamber process, invented in 1777 by John Roebuck who worked with James Watt. The industry included the production of bleaching powder, caustic soda, tar, turpentine, varnish and chemical dyes. This was followed by a talk on Borders Textiles illustrated by examples of fabric samples and pattern books from the Scottish College of Textiles Archive.

I left the conference early on Tuesday morning but it continued with the familiar pattern of day visits and evening lectures until the Thursday. As always, an interesting and enjoyable time. The conference arrangements were good but I was disappointed with the lack of lectures on the Saturday morning and feel it would have been better planned to have scheduled the excellent talks we heard on the Sunday evening for Saturday so that they could have been heard by more delegates. The highlight for me was the trip to the Falkirk Wheel and I’d like to return when there were fewer people about. A copy of the conference guide, The Industrial Heritage of Central Scotland by John Crompton has been deposited in the YAS Library.

Margaret Tylee

Industrialisation of the Western Dales

Report of a Local History and Archaeology Day School held at the Victoria Hall, Settle on 28 September 2002

Over 70 people had an enjoyable day in fine weather and there was time to browse on the bookstall and the Hudson History shop near by or to enjoy the tea rooms. Dr Tony Stephens gave the opening lecture in which he accounted for the development of the area in the past few centuries during three phases. Yeoman farmers had switched gradually from arable crops to sheep farming encouraged by piecemeal enclosures, then the town became a trading and market centre with increasing number of shops as farms became less self sufficient and there was more passing trade. Banks opened to provide facilities and it was the local bankers who financed the new mills and the railway to Leeds and Lancaster. Professor Roger Fawthrop then told the story of the promotion and financing of the Little Northwestern Railway to Lancaster.

After lunch, the audience heard from Mike Gill of the Northern Mines Research Society on the Technology of Lead Mining concentrating on the area around Grassington. He explained the real technique of hushing, the shape of the driven levels and the use of water pressure engines in the shafts. The potentially poisonous process of smelting was alleviated by the construction of very long horizontal flues up the hillside and tall chimneys to remove the fumes. Women and children were also employed in hand methods of ore crushing. Mechanisation was used in the ore separation processes using such devices as buddles and water wheels. The last speaker was Dr George Ingle who has researched the cotton industry in the Dales. He gave an excellent selection of slides to illustrate the many remaining water and steam powered mill buildings of the area, some now picturesque ruins and others converted into houses.

David George

October 2002

Editor’s note: Longstanding members may recall that Mike Gill gave a lecture to the Section on Lead Mining in Grassington in October 1992 and George Ingle spoke on Yorkshire Cotton in November 1996. I have a copy of Dr Ingle’s book Yorkshire Cotton: the Yorkshire Cotton Industry 1780-1835 published by Carnegie Publishing in 1997 ISBN 1-85936-028-9, which is an invaluable guide to this industry and includes an extensive gazetteer.

Fairfield Mill, Sedbergh

I was inspired by the talk given by Mrs Maureen Lamb, Secretary of the Sedbergh and District Buildings Preservation Trust to the Section in October 2002 and finding myself in Ingleton late one October afternoon I decided to visit Fairfield Mill at Sedbergh.

It is well signposted from the town, which is just as well, for apart from the new road that leads to the mill, one would miss it! The newly created Art and Heritage Centre is just one of a selection of buildings, and is an excellent example of before and after. The car park and paths are all well graded and a lift is available in the mill. Each level is bright and spacious, allowing the various artists a self contained workspace. The entrance is on the highest level available, the level beneath contains further workshops and a heritage display, which whilst adequate, gives a rather “soft” view of textile production, I feel more research is needed here. The basement floor contains the water turbine, restored by the firm that originally made it. One follows the signs to the coffee house and shop where the menu is varied and served by friendly local staff, if not particularly cheap. The highlight of the mill is the two Dobcross looms, I spent over an hour watching these machines work. What struck me was how nimble the weaver had to be and the noise (earplugs are provided). It is sad that this element of “heritage” has not been recorded. We have the buildings, the artefacts, the pictures and photographs, but not the soundscape. Upon leaving I did notice a nice touch, both looms had Brooks of Huddersfield motors and kept near by was a Braime Pressing of Leeds oil can, together with a WIRA handbook, just in case.

The setting of the mill is truly wonderful with the hues of the autumn colours rolling across the smooth humps of the Howgill Fells. Wainwright could almost be heard encouraging one to follow him to the tops, but that would be for another day.

Adrian Bailey

December 2002