EDITORIAL

Another lecture programme came to an end with the AGM in April. The turnout for the AGM was an all time low with only 7 members present. Clearly moving it to the afternoon has not been a success in terms of attendance so the 2005 AGM will revert to the morning. There was a lengthy discussion on the main Society’s proposal to increase the subscription from January 2005. Apparently for some years the Society has had a deficit budget and the new Treasurer feels the time is right to have a subscription increase. There is a knock on effect for the Section in that the capitation fee is also likely to increase from £4 to £8. The view from the AGM was that increasing section only members’ subscriptions from £8 to £12 was a step too far, and an increase of £2 was approved to take effect from January 2005. This will be the first increase in four years and it may be necessary to have a further increase in 2007 if the main Society’s finances do not improve. However, if we can attract new members, then the Section’s and the Society’s finances will be improved. It was suggested that the Lecture Programme should be added to the Society’s website (I didn’t realise there was one and will investigate this) and members should circulate the membership leaflet more widely. I am told by the YAS Library that supplies of the membership leaflet are limited but photocopies can be made and we will need to produce a revised version in January with the new subscription rates. We had an offer of text for a new walking leaflet based on York, which is good news.

There was also some discussion of sending out the Newsletter by email to save on copying and postage costs. This had been raised before by a member but I got no response from other members when I asked in the Newsletter if this would be their preferred method of delivery. Obviously I would need the email addresses of members to do this, so if you would prefer to receive the Newsletter electronically please send me an email (details at the end of the Newsletter) and I will start a separate distribution list.

The Section Officers were re-elected unopposed, but we have a vacancy for Lecture Secretary due to David George standing down. Fortunately this will not affect the 2004/5 programme which David has already organised, but we will need someone to take this on before the end of the year for the 2005/6 programme. Please, please think about this – if we have no lecture programme then in effect the section will cease to exist. While on this subject, it was reported at the AGM that sadly the Local History Section has agreed to close with effect from December due to lack of support. Ironically it was felt that with an increasing interest in the local history of specific areas, a section covering a more general approach was not as attractive. It was also reported that after many years EYE on the Aire had also been wound up due to a lack of Trustees and long term funding. EYE on the Aire was established in 1987 and has achieved much in terms of improving the environment of the Aire corridor. Now there is a greater interest in green issues and EYE’s work will be carried on by other organisations.

Turning to more positive matters, I hope that members will be able to join David George on our excursion to the Todmorden area on 15 May and David Cant on our visit to Castle Carr on 27 June. Details were given in the last Newsletter and are repeated below. I have also included information about a series of heritage walks in Calderdale which have an industrial theme, so no excuses for getting out and about this summer, let’s hope the weather will be kind. I am pleased that there are new members to report this time – a welcome to Mrs V Clark, Mr C Jagger, Mr & Mrs P Carroll, Dr J Cruikshank and Mr R Dalton. I hope that you will be able to make one of the summer excursions and if not be able to join us in October for the start of the Lecture Programme.

I shall be producing the next Newsletter in early September so please let me have your news, information and short articles by the end of August. Enjoy your summer.

Margaret Tylee

NEWS FROM THE NORTH EAST INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY PANEL

Autumn Meeting

The Autumn meeting was held at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society HQ at Leeds. Following the meeting a guided walk visited some of the important sites immediately to the south and west of Leeds city centre, including Barran’s warehouse, in St Paul’s Square; Harding’s Tower Works, with the impressive Italianate towers; Marshall’s mills, including Temple Mill; and the site of Murray’s Globe foundry. Grateful thanks to Helen Gomersall for expert guidance and interpretation.

At the Panel meeting we discussed the continuing need for vigilance by everyone concerned on the impact of proposals for new buildings, roads and other developments. Although the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) should receive notification of any demolition affecting a listed structure, not all local authorities send details. Furthermore, most industrial sites are not listed. The Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) has appointed Dr Mike Nevell of Manchester as their Threatened Sites Officer, and he can offer advice (Contact  0161 275 2314). Both the CBA and the AIA emphasis the important role that can be played by local people in notifying and better still recording threatened sites, even if it is only a photographic record which is deposited in the local Sites and Monuments Record.

Following my appeal last year I received and passed on several contributions for the guide to sources that could assist people researching industrial history in the north of England. Grateful thanks to all those who contributed.

Reports received from panel members

National Coal Mining Museum of England

The railway between Caphouse Colliery and Hope Pit has been reinstated, although not on exactly the same alignment. A scheme is being discussed with Wakefield Council to re-instate the 5-mile railway from Hope Pit to the Calder & Hebble Navigation. An application has been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for funds to pay for the conservation and conversion of interiors of historic buildings at Hope Pit, and the installation of displays.

National Trust

Major project underway to reinstate water supply systems at Cragside, the Armstrong family estate in Northumberland.

Funding secured for further work at Gibson Mill, Hebden Bridge, to reinstate turbine and provide a working example of the use of alternative energy sources.

Next Meeting – and how you can help

The next Panel meeting is on Saturday 24 April 2004. I would be pleased to receive any comments from members or answer any questions about the Panel and its work.

If you see or hear of an industrial site that is under threat from development, contact your local planning department to see if the Council for British Archaeology or the local archaeology service have been involved in any consultation or recording. If they haven’t, and you think the site is important, get in touch with them and in the meantime, go and take some photographs before it is too late!

David Cant

NEWS ITEMS

The National Railway Museum is hosting Railfest 2004 from 29 May – 6 June at a site adjacent to the Museum in York. It is planned as a celebration of 200 years of powered railways from Richard Trevithick’s steam powered locomotive of 1804 onwards. The 9 day festival will cover the past, present and future of rail transport with train rides, displays, vintage machinery, model engineering and film. Admission will be £7.50 (£6 in advance) with concessions £5 (£4 in advance). For more details contact the information line  01904 686268.

An international textiles archive has been established in the old Leeds Grammar School Chapel at the corner of Clarendon Road and Moorland Road. The archive is in a state of the art “ark” constructed within the old chapel building. The archive will be officially opened to the public in early May.

In 1999 the Friends of the National Railway Museum (FNRM) launched a major project to create a National Archive of Railway Oral History focusing on the railways since nationalisation in 1948. The success of this project has encouraged the FNRM to consider a more focused project looking at the significant employment, social and cultural changes in three specific railway communities – Stratford, Harwich/Parkestone Quay and Leeds/Bradford/Sheffield over the same period. The project is looking for individuals who would be willing to have their recollections recorded. If you wish to know more about the project or are interested in making a contribution, please contact Michael Walker, Project Director, Friends of the National Railway Museum, Leeman Road, York YO26 4XJ or email fnrm@nmsi.ac.uk

FUTURE EVENTS

15 May

Industrial History Section visit to Todmorden Area. 10.30am – 3.45pm Meet at Tourist Information Centre, High Street, Todmorden. More details on page 5.

17 May

The History of Rivelin Chase and Stanage Moors. South Yorkshire Industrial History Society talk by David Hey. Kelham Island Museum, Sheffield. 7.30pm.

23 May

NER Foss Islands Branch plus Derwent Valley Light Railway. Railway Ramblers walk. Meet 9.30am York Railway Station for 6 mile linear walk with pub lunch. Rides available on the DVLR. Return by bus from Murton to York for 16.20. Details from Jane Ellis  0113 2494644.

19 June

Architectural visit to Newcastle Central Station and guided trip through the Victoria Tunnel, an 1840s wagonway. Organised by Railway Ramblers. More details from Jane Ellis as above.

25-26 June

Understanding the Workplace: an agenda for Industrial Archaeology in Britain. Cripps Hall, Nottingham University. A joint AIA/English Heritage meeting to produce an agreed national framework for the archaeology of the industrial period. More details from Simon Thomas, AIA Liaison Officer, School of Archaeology & Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH or email aia@le.ac.uk

27 June

Industrial History Section excursion to the Castle Carr Estate. 2.15pm-5pm. Meet at the Estate. More details on page 5.

27-30 June

The Age of Steam in the West Country. A course at Dillington House, Ilminster, Somerset examining the evidence for past industries in the West Country landscape. Details from Illington House, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 9DT  01460 52426.

13-19 Aug

AIA Annual Conference and additional programme. University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield. This year covering the IA of Hertfordshire and the Lea Valley. Programme details and booking forms available from Margaret Tylee or directly to the Conference Secretary, Tony Parkes, 60 School Lane, Hill Ridware, Rugeley WS15 3QN  0780 303 3909.

9 Oct

Surveying Mining Sites – Abby Hunt & Marcus Geecock. 1st IHS lecture in 2004/5 season. 11am, Claremont

16 Oct

Yorkshire Landscapes Past & Future. Day conference organised by the Society for Landscape Studies and the PLACE Research Centre at York St John College, York. For more details contact Margaret Atherden, Director of PLACE, York St John College, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX email m.atherden@yorksj.ac.uk or  01904 716753.

Heritage Walks in Calderdale

David Nortcliffe has sent me details of the summer programme of Heritage Walks in Calderdale. All the walks are easy and circular and last about 2 hours. There is a charge of £3 and tickets can be purchased from Calderdale Tourist Information Centres in Halifax, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. The following have an industrial history interest.

31 May

The Town on the Cliff. Discover the ancient village of Clifton with mining, wire and Brontes in its past. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm by the war memorial in the centre of the village.

9 June

Booth then and now. A walk in Luddenden Dene including former water powered mill sites. Meet Iain Cameron at 7.15pm in the car park at Jerusalem Farm beyond Booth. Stout footwear recommended.

11 June

500 Years of Textiles. A walk covering the villages of Lumbutts and Mankinholes with particular emphasis on the period from the domestic handloom weaver through to the closure of Fielden’s mill in the 1920s. Meet David Nortcliffe at 7.15pm by Lumbutts Chapel.

9 July

Victorian Expansion. Discover how Brighouse expanded northwards 150 years ago, looking at workers’ housing 1865-1900. Meet David Nortcliffe at 7.15pm at the Rydings Library & Art Gallery, Halifax Road, Brighouse.

18 July

Carpets & Moravians. A walk covering Bailiff Bridge, including the TF Firth carpet mill site, and Lower Wyke. Also the former Low Moor to Brighouse railway. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm outside the Punch Bowl Inn, Bailiff Bridge.

23 July

A Slice of 19th Century Mytholmroyd. A look at the village as it was in the 1880s, including its industry. Meet Pam Jordan at 7.15pm in the car park by Mytholmroyd Parish Church.

15 Aug

Industry 1820-1920. Exploring the sites of textile production in the Lower Calder valley. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm by Hebden Bridge Parish Church.

22 Aug

500 Years of Textiles.  A repeat of the walk on 11 June. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm by Lumbutts Chapel.

12 Sept

Booth then and now.  A repeat of the walk on 9 June. Meet Iain Cameron at 2.15pm in the car park of Jerusalem Farm beyond Booth.

19 Sep

Transport, Town & Tabernacle.  Discover three interlinking aspects of Hebden Bridge’s history during the past 200 years. Meet David Nortcliffe at 2.15pm outside the Visitor & Canal Centre at Butler’s Wharf, Hebden Bridge.

The dates and provisional titles for the remainder of the Section’s 2004/5 lecture programme are as follows:

6 Nov 2004

The Yorkshire coiners – Cliff Stockton

4 Dec 2004

Mann’s Patent Steam Wagon Co - John Pease

8 Jan 2005

The textile industry of Skipton in the 19th century – Kenneth Jackson

12 Feb 2005

Women pilots in the 1930s – Midge Gillies

12 Mar 2005

The West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service – Helen Gomersall

16 April 2005

AGM

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF

Marriner’s Yarns: the story of the Keighley Knitting Wool Spinners by George Ingle. Carnegie Publishing. 2004. 288pp. ISBN 1-85936-028-9. £9.95.

Members may recall that some years ago we heard a lecture from George Ingle on Yorkshire Cotton based on his then recently published book. I have received information from his publisher, Carnegie Publishing Ltd, of this new book from him. I haven’t read it myself but it looks of interest. It traces the history of Greengate Mill in Keighley, the firm and the Marriner family who have owned the mill since 1818. The mill was originally built as a cotton mill in 1784/5 but the Marriner brothers changed it to spin worsted yarn in 1818. The mill was a five storey building with 1,500 sq yards of floor space. The book puts one firm under the microscope and gives an insight into millworking and the management of the wool spinning industry. It includes stories from the people who worked at the mill together with a section on Marriner’s Brass Band which became the Keighley Town Band.

INDUSTRIAL HISTORY SECTION EXCURSIONS 2004

15 May - Visit to the Todmorden Area

The morning walk will start at 10.30am from the Tourist Information Centre, High Street, Todmorden. We will walk to Lumbutts to view the unique triple tiered waterwheel tower taking in mills and the Rochdale Canal en route. Lunch can be at the pub in Lumbutts or bring a packed lunch before returning to Todmorden. Note this walk involves some steep and muddy field paths, so will require a reasonable level of fitness, walking boots/shoes and suitable clothing.

The afternoon walk will start at 2.15pm also from the Tourist Information Centre, Todmorden and will consist of a gentle stroll around Todmorden looking at buildings of interest. The aim is to finish around 3.45pm. Our guides will be David George and Jonathan Orford and you can join either or both walks. For further details contact David  0161 790 9904.

27 June - Visit to Castle Carr

An opportunity to have a guided tour of the Estate described by David Cant and Clive Lloyd in their recent lecture to the Section.

Access to the Estate

From Halifax, follow Pellon Lane and Moor End Road through Mount Tabor to Wainstalls. At the Delvers Arms in the village take the left fork (Wainstalls Road) past the school. Follow this road for about a mile and a half to Height Lodge, continue under the arch and through the gate onto the estate. Please close the gate and follow the road to the parking area by Lower Dean Reservoir. A steep footpath leads down to the water gardens. Transport down (and back up) can be arranged if David or Clive are notified beforehand. You are recommended to arrive by 2.15pm to allow time to walk to the gardens.

The visit will start at 2.30pm by the Pump House above the gardens and will aim to finish by 5pm. Access to the estate is by kind permission of the Scholefield family and you should note that you will there at your own risk and should take care whilst on the estate. Sturdy shoes and suitable clothing will be required.

For further information and notification of any transport requirements contact David Cant  01422 883846 or Clive Lloyd  01422 883542. 

REPORTS OF LECTURES/VISITS

Reports from 2003/4 Lecture Programme

Market Halls – David Perrett

3 October 2003

David explained that his interest in markets arose from working at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and seeing Smithfield Market daily. Like many meat markets it had been built outside the city walls because of the noxious smells of slaughtered animals. In the middle ages there was not a great deal of difference between butchery and surgery. Most towns of any size had a market, indicated by market street or place. Markets were controlled by the lord of the manor or sometimes religious organisations, and were a valuable source of income. Originally, markets were open air in a wide street, not ideal as they were cold in winter and hot in summer. Manors often built a market hall with the town hall upstairs and the market on the ground floor e.g. at Bingley, and the 1734 Butter Cross at Pontefract. Other types of market were developed for retail, and the sale of wool and corn. Halifax’s Piece Hall of 1779 and Leeds’s White Cloth Hall of 1775 were for woollen cloth. Leeds’s Corn Exchange was built by Cuthbert Brodrick in 1862.

David outlined the development of markets 1750 – 1850. South of a line from Anglesey to the Wash, markets were mainly agricultural. North of this line markets were mainly for general goods and they developed particularly from the 1850s with the growth of towns and cities. As the population increased public health legislation was introduced and corporations were empowered to force the purchase of manorial markets to regulate them, and they made money from them. Corporations established weights and measures inspectors to measure the quality of goods and prevent adulteration of food. Chemical analysis eventually led to the development of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.

In Newcastle the Grainger Street Market Hall was built in 1835, an example of the classical style in vogue until the 1850s. The market weigh house has been checking balances since 1835. Market opening times were controlled by a clock and bell. By the 1850s the gothic style was spreading. Durham Market of 1852 was designed by P.C. Hardwick, an established railway architect. Trainshed design was valuable experience in covering large expanses and a completely new concept emerged after the 1851 Great Exhibition with open airy spaces under cast iron and glass roofs. Stockport’s new covered market, built in 1861, was described as an “umbrella on stilts”. Smithfield Market in Manchester, 1854, and Derby’s market hall of 1864-1866 are other examples. Typically the larger market halls had a gallery at first floor level. The general market hall at Huddersfield was built in 1880 after the corporation had bought the manorial market from the Ramsdens for £35,000. In Newcastle a new Fish Market was built in 1880 with provision for ventilation and cellars for ice storage.

Towards the end of the 19th century there were further developments. At Leeds the Kirkgate general market was expanded from 1857 onwards. A fish market was added in 1896, and a New Meat Market was opened in 1899. A new Kirkgate Market Hall, replacing the 1857 structure was opened in 1904. Designed by Leeming & Leeming it had a central tower with arcades and a gallery. A new general market was built at Goole in 1896 following destruction of the previous building by fire.

David reviewed the current state of markets. Many have gone, but there are still 850 in England. In Yorkshire there are 51 outdoor markets, 14 indoor and 11 mixed. Some have been demolished: Huddersfield’s general market was demolished in 1970, though the wholesale market has been restored; Bradford’s Kirkgate Market, 1872, by Lockwood and Mawson, was demolished in 1973, despite considerable opposition. On the other hand Castleford Market, opened in 1880 and rebuilt after a fire in 1927 is still functioning, as is Kirkgate Market in Leeds. In Manchester the big market halls of the 1870s have been reused as museums and flats have been constructed within the Fish Market.

In concluding, David said he had considered writing up his research on market halls but two American professors beat him to it by publishing the definitive work: James Schmiechen and Kenneth Carls The British market hall: a social and architectural history, Yale University Press, 1999. David’s talk was illustrated by excellent slides illustrating and generated a number of questions and discussion.

Robert Vickers

The Wensleydale Railway – Ruth Annison

8 November 2003

Ruth Annison was well qualified to address the topic as she is a director of Wensleydale Railway plc (WR). The line was constructed between 1848 and 1878, and was closed to passengers in 1967. Until 1992 there was a single daily train taking stone from the quarry at Redmire. The aim is to reopen the entire 40 miles connecting the East Coast Mainline and the Settle Carlisle Railway (SCR). Currently there are 22 miles of track of which 12 miles are operational. Redmire is the current terminus. The next 10 miles will be in use by the end of 2004. The remaining 18 miles have to be acquired and the track rebuilt. There are many signs of the former railway and much of the route is public footpath, though other stretches are private land. Most station buildings remain, in private ownership. Only those that are viable will be reopened, and one new station will be built. Aysgarth station was rescued just in time and the signal box has already been restored. Garsdale signal box is in use on the SCR.

Ruth explained that at the end of the 1980s it had been planned to turn the A684, the main road along the dale, into a trans-pennine trunk route. This caused a furore and the first meeting of the Wensleydale Railway Association (WRA) followed in 1990. This was the foundation of the restoration and voluntary work. Until then many people did not realise the railway was there. The WRA started campaigning for restoration but, with the demise of British Rail and rail privatisation in the mid-1990s, it had to switch to restoring and running the railway itself.

Sheep farming had been the backbone of the Wensleydale economy, but tourism has supplanted it. Wensleydale is highly marketable and it is easily accessible from major population centres. The key factors for restoring the WR are tourism, it is a potential diversion route for the West Coast Mainline, and it will provide an alternative to the A684. The Army now uses the WR rather than road to transport tanks to its ranges in the dale, and pays the WR to do so. The regeneration of the SCR provided the model for the WRA. The SCR has a trust to publicise it and improve facilities; Railtrack maintains the infrastructure. Local businesses have gained from regeneration of the S&CR and it is used by tourists and walkers who need cafes, pubs and shops. Railways can be part of the local community providing and generating employment.

The WRA discussed with government departments the organisation and funding of the venture. WR plc will own, operate and maintain the railway; the WRA will provide volunteers to assist with restoration, raise funds, etc. It was and is important to involve local politicians and celebrities; the share offer was launched by the WRA’s patron, Robert Hardy. The WRA studied rural railway best practice in Europe. No railway covers more than half its costs from fares and other income is generated from shops and other business at multipurpose stations. In the Netherlands stations house post offices, travel agencies and bicycle hire shops.

The WR works within a number of constraints. Drivers need training, which is costly, and it has to work within listed buildings such as Leeming Bar station, built by the Great Northern Railway in the 1850s. Leeming Bar is the current hub of the WR’s activity and all services start from there. The first trains of 1960s vintage diesel railcars ran on 4 July 2003. The long term aim is to acquire modern trains to run a better service.  Ruth stressed that the WR is a working line not just for enthusiasts.

During questions Ruth noted that the cost of insurance was a problem that government would assist in resolving. To meet requirements rigorous training is essential for volunteers. It was hoped to run services to Northallerton in 2004 providing a link to York. Ruth’s enthusiasm for the WR was obvious and she encouraged the audience to use the railway with friends and family.

Robert Vickers

The Luddites and their Representation in Two Yorkshire Novels – David George

13 December 2003

Unfortunately Helen Gomersall who was to have given the advertised lecture on Industrial Archaeology and the work of the West Yorkshire Archaeology Service was indisposed and we were grateful to David for stepping in at the last minute to give this talk. David divided the lecture into 3 sections covering the introduction of machinery into the woollen and worsted industries which sparked the Luddite unrest; details of the development of other machines and how the Luddites were represented in two works of fiction.

The first Luddites were croppers whose job was the raise the nap on woollen cloth by hand using cropping shears. The shears were large and heavy, weighing around 40lbs, so croppers needed to be strong and because the job was skilled and essential to produce the finished textile, they were relatively well paid. David described the development of mechanisation for spinning and the move from home working to working in mills. It is claimed that the first steam powered worsted mill was in Baildon. The Luddites saw the new machinery as a threat to their livelihood and there were many attacks on machinery, including shearing frames, spinning jennies, water frames and throstle frames. David also showed examples of this early machinery that developed throughout the 1820s and 1830s. It is thought that the Bankfield Museum in Halifax is believed to hold the only remaining piecening machine which was invented in 1827.

After giving the historical and technical background, the rest of the lecture was devoted to examining the portrayal of the Luddites and their attacks on machines and mills in two Yorkshire novels – Shirley by Charlotte Bronte published in 1849 and Inheritance by Phyllis Bentley published in 1931. Both authors based their books on real events and researched using contemporary local newspapers; Charlotte Bronte for example gained information from the Leeds Mercury. David outlined the plots of both novels which I won’t repeat in this report because you can read them for yourselves! Central to the plot of Shirley are the Luddite activities of frame breaking and the economic situation during the Napoleonic Wars. Inheritance tells the story of 4 generations of a family involved in the Yorkshire textile trade and again has the Luddites as central to the lives of the first generation before moving on to the effects of the 10 Hours campaign and later the General Strike.

Overall a different look at industrial history and members were encouraged to read Shirley and Inheritance. I am sure both will be available from your local library.

The History of Castle Carr – David Cant and Clive Lloyd

10 January 2004 (joint with Local History Section)

David and Clive jointly presented this illustrated talk on the history of the Castle Carr estate and mansion which was touched on in David’s lecture last year on the Luddenden Valley. In 1853 a small estate in the Upper Luddenden valley was purchased by a Leeds’ gentleman for sporting pursuits and in the 1860s the grandest house in the whole of West Yorkshire in the 19th century was constructed. David explained that initially he was interested in looking at the depopulation of the upper Luddenden valley in the late 19th century and this could be traced through census returns. He discovered that George Bischoff a wealthy Leeds merchant had bought up a number of small farms by 1852, thus gaining access to the moorland for grouse driving. During this time, between 1841 and 1851 the previously active domestic textile production was declining, although the population remained fairly constant. David described the development of the area for leisure pursuits through the further purchase of land by wealthy gentlemen who saw hunting, shooting and fishing as a way to raise their status in society. By 1861 the local population had dropped drastically to 80 and there was no domestic textile production recorded.

Turning to the Castle Carr mansion, this was completed by the 1870s for its owner John Priestley Edwards; it had extensive grounds and was well described in a sale catalogue dating from 1874. In 1853, Halifax Corporation was looking to improve the town’s water supply and identified the estate as being suitable to build two reservoirs, one became an ornamental lake in the Castle Carr grounds. John Priestley Edwards and his son were killed in the Abergele railway disaster in North Wales in 1868 and his eldest son inherited the estate but preferred to live at the family’s other home at Fixby Hall near Huddersfield. In 1873 Castle Carr was lit by gas and had its own gas works in the grounds, but in 1874 it was up for sale and eventually purchased by the Laycock family in 1877. It changed hands again during the 1890s, being bought by the Murgatroyd family in 1895 and was last used as a private residence in 1902. During the 2nd World War, the house was requisitioned and used to store TNT and the grounds were re-opened to the public in 1947. The family tried to sell the house in 1949 when it was in a poor state but it was withdrawn from the sale. Eventually it was sold in 1961 and demolished. The estate is still used as a water collecting facility for Halifax.

David and Clive showed slides of what can be seen today, including the gatehouse, gas holder and foundations of some walls. The estate is still privately owned and the visit on 27 June will be a rare opportunity to see the remains at first hand. The speakers were thanked by John Goodchild who remarked how useful documents such as sale catalogues and census returns can be when researching local history.

100 Years in the Colne Valley – Duncan Beaumont

7 February 2004 (joint with Local History Section)

Duncan Beaumont works at the Colne Valley Museum at Golcar and his talk concentrated on the history and development of the museum. The Museum was set up in 1970 as a charitable trust and is run entirely by volunteers. Before talking about the museum, Duncan gave a brief history of the Colne Valley between Marsden and Milnsbridge. He pointed out that the landscape that we see today is largely man made. There have been transport links along the valley since Roman times, a cottage textile industry since the 16th century and several mills. The River Colne rises on Marsden Moor and Marsden is the first village at the top of the valley. The first mill opened in 1710 and cloth production increased after the invention of Kay’s flying shuttle. The increase in production meant that the old transport links of packhorse trails needed improving. In 1760 a turnpike road was built over the moors followed in 1785 by a second turnpike with a shallower gradient. In 1794 the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was started and completed in 1811. The Leeds to Manchester railway followed in 1845. In 1800 cropping frames were introduced into the Colne Valley and the Luddites became active particularly in the Marsden area.

Duncan then focused on the village of Golcar situated mid way down the Colne Valley. It was a centre for handloom weaving and there are still many examples of weavers’ cottages with rows of south facing windows on the top floor where the weaving took place. Originally the cottages would have had no internal staircase between the middle and upper storey to prevent dust getting onto the cloth. He then traced the history of the cottages now occupied by the Museum. In 1840 James and Sally Pearson were producing cloth in Golcar and by 1845 they occupied a row of four and a half cottages, three of which are now the Colne Valley Museum. Using information from census returns, Duncan was able to show the changing ownership of the cottages. In 1968, pupils from the Colne Valley High School were studying the history of cloth making in the Colne Valley and this led to a campaign to preserve a typical weaver’s cottage. A row of three cottages were eventually acquired and were developed to portray the cottage textile industry in the Colne Valley from 1840- 1920. A strong link with schools has been retained and demonstrations of the skills associated with textile production form a significant part of the Museum’s activities. The Museum possesses one of three spinning jennies that are operational in the UK and two working handlooms, this enables the Museum to produce its own cloth using traditional techniques. There is also a collection of spinning wheels and cropping equipment and a clogmaker’s workshop. The workshop contains a full range of tools and equipment from 1910 taken from a clogmaker’s workshop in Slaithwaite.

The Museum costs £12,000 a year to run, 60% comes from school visits and there are regular “Victorian Days” when school parties can spend the day at the Museum taking part in activities wearing period costume. Other revenue comes from film crews and working craft weekends. The Museum is open weekends and public holiday 2-5pm. New members and volunteer help are always welcome (members are entitled to free admission). Anyone interested in becoming involved should contact the Colne Valley Museum, Cliffe Ash, Golcar, Huddersfield, HD7 4PY or  01484 659762.

Thwaite Mills – Neil Dowlan

13 March 2004

The speaker had spent four years at Thwaite Mills while working for Leeds Industrial Museums, so was well informed about the history of the site. There may have been mills on the site since 1642. In the 1820s the mill was in the hands of the Joy family and it was used to crush seeds for oil. It was rebuilt by the Aire & Calder Navigation Company in 1823-5 and millwright Thomas Hewes supplied two breast shot wheels 14ft and 9 ft in diameters. A house and cottages were also built and a three storey warehouse and engineers’ workshop added later. In 1872 the Horn family introduced a flint grinding process to supply the local pottery industry. The flint was calcined in kilns then ground in pans with chert stones into a slurry. Wash tubs with paddles held it is suspension before passing to settling tanks. The product was sent to the pottery makers in barrels. Another process was the crushing of chalk using a jaw crusher and edge rollers. The resulting slurry was held in a series of pits to produce different grades of whitening e.g. “Paris White”. There were two drying sheds with firebrick floors. The raw material was unloaded on a wharf on the Aire & Calder Navigation using a steam derrick crane and moved on narrow gauge rail trucks, turntable and hoist inside the mill.

Modernisation took place in the 1930s when a ‘Raymond’ mill, conveyors and rotary dryers were fitted and a second hand Marshall’s of Lincoln steam engine was acquired. After the 2nd World War the chalk was mixed with linseed oil to make putty which was packaged in tins or bags. A steam driven dynamo was also installed for lighting. Putty continued to be manufactured in the same way using water power until 1975 when the mill’s weir was destroyed by floods and the business was gradually run down. However all was not lost because a Thwaite Mill Society was set up to campaign for the local authority to save the Mill. Eventually the weir was reconstructed complete with fish ladder, silt was removed from the millrace, the wheels were repaired and the buildings restored including the impressive mill owner’s house.

Guides are available to interpret everything for group visits and there is a history gallery and shop. Neil illustrated the process, equipment, buildings and site with slides for this well attended section meeting.

A D George

Visit to Spring Valley Mill, Stanningley (SE 221 346)

In February I was able to join Ruth Strong on a guided tour of this mill led by Mr Roger Hainsworth, Woollen Director of A W Hainsworth & Sons Ltd. The following account is based on my notes taken as each process was described – I hope it is accurate.

Access to the mill is from Spring Valley, to the north of Town Street, Stanningley. The present premises include part of the former Stanningley Iron Works, immediately to the east. Foundry Lane, a small roadway that originally separated the works, has been built over. The firm has also acquired part of the former David Brown tractor works, which was to the north of the mill site. Housing is currently being built on the other parts of these two sites.

The mill yard is flanked on its western side by two- and three-storey housing, some of which was built for the mill workers in the nineteenth century. The mill itself consists of a number of nineteenth- and twentieth-century buildings reflecting the piecemeal development. There have been two serious fires in the last 100 years, and there are fragments of earlier walls in the present buildings.

The mill offices are in a two-storey stone building of the later nineteenth century, to which a porch has been added. This building has several decorative features to the door and window openings and is clearly intended to impress. To the rear there is a tall stone building with two tall arched-headed lights – we were told this was the boiler room. The interior is formed of glazed brick walling, which, with the tall windows, suggests this formerly housed one of the steam engines which drove the machinery. There is a chimney just to the north. Immediately to the east of this group there is a range of nineteenth-century stone buildings with an attic and two floors. All these buildings are visible on letterheads used by the company – these also show, perhaps with some artistic licence, the other buildings which have now disappeared.

The tour followed the flow of production, as the company undertakes all processes here, apart from initial scouring and cleansing operations. The wool store, a tall steel-frame building, is on the northern edge of the site. Here, jute or polypropylene bales of wool are stacked on open shelving serviced by forklift truck. Both new and waste wool is used in the production process, depending on the final product, which may use man-made fibres as well. The blend for each product typically consists of about a dozen different bales. These are loaded by hand into ducting and blown by fan to the two-ton blending bins. A new blending plant is being built next to the wool store, but at the moment blending takes place in another part of the complex. Once the blended fibres have been oiled they are loaded, again by hand, onto the carding machines.

There are 6 carding machines housed in one of the twentieth-century steel-frame buildings – two were running on the day of the visit. Names noted from the machines included Haigh & Sons, Huddersfield; and Tatham of Rochdale. The carding process involves straightening the fibres by passing them round a series of small drums which revolve around larger drums. At the end of the process the “slubbing”, consisting of a long rope of fibres about the thickness of a pencil, is ready for spinning. As a rough estimate two of these carding machines produce sufficient to feed one spinning machine.

In the next room stood three ring-spinning machines, where the fibres are twisted together and pulled through rollers to form yarn. The bobbins spin on a row of vertical shafts with a revolving plastic ring to impart twist into the yarn to give it strength. The yarn from the bobbin is wound onto cones and passed either to the weavers for use as weft (the threads that run across the loom) or to the warping section. The latter process involves preparing the warping beam – usually in sections of ten, to provide the longitudinal threads on the loom. Hainsworth’s specialise in the production of wide cloths, with beams between 2.9 and 4.6 metres wide.

Weaving is carried out on Somet looms, which come from Italy. The beam is placed on the back of the loom, the threads drawn through and tied. The sequence and position of the weft threads is controlled by a punched-card system. However, rather than a shuttle, the weft is carried across by two rapier-like arms mounted on either side of the loom. In all there were about 30 of these large looms in the north-light weaving shed, although only about a dozen were in use. We saw blankets for the Hudson Bay Company being woven. The finished cloth is then taken to the adjacent inspection section. Here, under bright lights, with the cloth hung over easel-like structures, the workers make a detailed inspection for small holes or stray threads.

Once inspection is complete, the piece of cloth is ready for the finishing processes. In general this involves reducing the length and the width of the piece, and then giving the cloth the appropriate texture. The first stage – milling – is a wet process, with the cloth passing many times between rollers and through apertures in the machine. At this stage fulling stocks may be used. These, like the other machinery, are driven by an integral electric motor. They look like miniature versions of the older water-powered ones once found in large numbers in textile areas.

The next stage is scouring, and then the piece has to be dried to the correct size. A large modern blue machine with a long continuous belt, with tenter hooks on either side, has replaced the traditional tenter frame. At the time of our visit the firm’s Nomex fireproof material, made from nylon with air pockets to resist the heat, was on the machine.

Some products are dyed at this stage, in a highly-controlled but noisy environment. The dye-mixing process is computer-controlled and the application carefully monitored. The on-site laboratory tests results on samples of cloth.

Following dyeing another drying stage takes place, followed by the carbonising process. The cloth is immersed in a large tank containing a weak solution of sulphuric acid, to ensure the piece is clean. This is mainly needed for the darker cloths, and heavily-felted cloth is less easy to carbonise successfully. In the past few years Hainsworth’s have acquired machinery from a firm at Sowerby Bridge, which has gone out of business (Calder Carbonising Company).

The next process is raising, which involves immersing the cloth in boiling water for 4 to 5 hours. There are only a couple of firms in the UK which still do this process, others blow steam through, but the quality achieved is not of the same standard. A typical product where this is done is the heavy ceremonial uniform worn by guardsmen.

The final finishing now takes place – depending on the cloth this may involve pressing, cutting and steam-blowing. Some blankets that had reached this stage were for direct retail by Hainsworth’s through the John Atkinson trade name. This is the firm’s only direct retail item. The final making-up of blankets is in a separate part of the building from other products, such as ironing-board covers.

Hainsworth’s also produce lengths of cloth from which shorter pieces can be purchased. For example, theatrical companies meet the demand for specific costumes by purchasing in this way. They are especially keen on the heavily-felted cloths, which do not need a hem. This makes them relatively quick and easy to run up into the required costume.

The firm has survived in a declining UK industry by successfully serving niche markets; controlling the various stages of production to ensure quality; and by being willing to make complex arrangements where necessary to meet the needs of their customers. For example, although they do not produce worsted yarn they do buy it in for some of their products. Equipment has been bought from firms which have gone out of business, and established trade names taken over in order to supply their former markets.

Thanks to Ruth for inviting me to join the tour, and to Mr Hainsworth for spending the morning showing us round.

David Cant

Industrial Railways in Cumbria : Day School held at the Centre for North West Regional Studies, Lancaster University, 14 February 2004

As our own David George has commented, Railways will always prove a popular subject and so it was on Valentine’s Day this year with an attendance of over 120. The CNWRS proved once again how successful they are at organising such events. There was free on site parking (City of York take note!) and each talk came with ample handouts, maps and reading list (copies are available from myself- contact details below). An excellent overview was given by the Cumbrian Railways Association, who outlined the need for railways and trackways from the early 18th century to speed up the shipment of minerals. The first speaker spoke on early wagonways in West Cumberland, mainly around Whitehaven, showing what still remains today. The coal trade extended down the west coast, and as far inland as the Black Country, rivalling Tyneside. In the 18th century, Whitehaven was the 3rd most important port in Britain. The wagonways took coal from the cliff top pits down to staithes on the shore with horses returning the empty wagons.

Perhaps the most interesting talk came next – “The Brampton Railway and its Related Industries”, this very complex site was in use until the 20th century. Lord Carlisle controlled lime kilns for land improvement and collieries. A geological fault allowed easy access to the coal measures, being on the edge of the Durham coalfield but supplying Carlisle, Penrith and Brampton doubled the price of coal. Initially gravity fed wagonways were used and developed into a mixed system of both narrow and standard gauge. It was a surprise to learn that ‘Rocket’ was used on the system for a number of years. Again the speaker gave ample reading lists for one to follow up, including information about zinc production at Findale Fell that continued until the 1950s.

The lunch break gave ample time to visit the various societies’ stalls and a quick look at the Ruskin Exhibition. The first of the two afternoon sessions was a disappointment. A talk on the “Gypsum Mines of Cumbria and their Railways” turned out to be a list of locos, names and numbers and very little information on gypsum mines, still one of Cumbria’s biggest mineral exports. I must confess to nodding off, though I managed to note details of the Threlkeld Mining Museum, Threlkeld near Keswick, CA12 4TT  017687 79747. The Museum is open for the season from 7 March and seems a fascinating place to visit.

The last speaker pointed out an Act of Parliament was not needed to build an industrial railway. Local farmers were limited as to the number of horses and carts they could provide to move iron ore from the mines to the coast for shipping and it was always a seasonal occupation. A railway was much needed on the Ullswater peninsular to speed up transportation. Gradually a network was developed which allowed the Furness iron companies to become established and Vickers to develop its heavy industrial plants for shipbuilding. Even as late as the 1920s companies were planning ropeways to come down the fells to a railhead at Windermere, but by then tourism was proving a better economic bet.

The overriding conclusion drawn from all the speakers was that without railways, the rapid expansion of the Cumbrian coal, iron, gypsum, slate, granite and limestone industries could not have taken place. An interesting day with plenty of leads to follow up, and for £15 a bargain.  For future events contact:

Christine Wilkinson
CNWRS
Lancaster University
Fylde College
Lancaster
LA1 4YF
01524 593770

Adrian Bailey, Unit 11, Tower Works, Globe Road, Leeds LS11 5QG  01132 459569