EDITORIAL

Another lecture series has come to an end and my thanks are expressed to Jane Ellis for taking on the task of arranging the programme. As I have said many times before, the lecture programme forms the heart of the section. It is the main activity that brings members together both in terms of attendance at the lecture and also through reports in the Newsletter. I am pleased to report that attendances for the 2005-2006 programme were slightly up on last year, with an average of 22 attending over the year.

Unfortunately again the AGM was poorly attended, but we were able to have a short members’ session this year when, in recognition of the Brunel Bicentenary Year, David George showed some slides of the restoration of Brunel’s ship the Great Britain and David Cant showed slides of the Upper Luddenden Valley. At the AGM the current officers were all re-elected unopposed, contact details are given at the end of the Newsletter. We agreed to continue to support David Cant as the Co-Convenor of the NE IA Panel with payment of costs up to £30 per year and we agreed to make small donations from the Section to the Northern Viaduct Trust and the Mills Archive. Details are given below of both organisations if members would like to make individual donations. The meeting also expressed unhappiness that the call for nominations for election to YAS Council was poorly advertised, the closing date was 31 March and was only advertised in the YAS Programme of Activities and I’m afraid that I missed it. The meeting did agree that I should attend Council meetings as an ex officio representative of the Section. This will enable us to keep in more regular touch with the activities of the main Society. Main Society members may note that the AGM of the YAS will be held on Saturday June 24th.

I made my usual request at the AGM for offers to help with further walk leaflets – they are a good way to publicise the Section as well as being one way to publish members’ research of a local area.

I am pleased to be able to report that Janet Senior, Assistant Librarian at Claremont has agreed to continue to organise main society excursions and for 2007 she wishes to concentrate on an industrial theme. The first event is already planned for the weekend of 24-25 March 2007 studying the Upper Luddenden Valley, near Halifax. Saturday will see a programme of lectures at Claremont and Sunday will have field visits to ironworking sites, mills and dams. Numbers will be limited to around 50 on the Sunday but unlimited on Saturday, cost is not yet finalised, so watch this space for further details. The rest of the programme, probably two further excursions later in the year, are still to be arranged. By the time you read this the Section’s summer excursion to the model industrial village of Ackroydon, near Halifax, on Saturday May 6th will have taken place. A report will be written for the next Newsletter.

Just one new member to report this time: a welcome to Mrs R Matthews.

I am aiming to produce the next Newsletter in early September together with details of the 2006-2007 Lecture Programme. I’m particularly interested in hearing from members if they spot any news items in their local press with an industrial history theme for example new listings of industrial buildings; new museum displays or exhibitions. Save them up and post them on or email me with information before the end of August.

I hope members have an enjoyable summer.

Margaret Tylee

 

NEWS FROM CLAREMONT

Several weeks ago the YAS Management Board circulated a questionnaire to all sections seeking information about and views from each section. The results are now available and will be considered during the formulation of a new strategic plan for the YAS. There was a common response from all sections for the following:
The need for the continued use of the YAS Library and Archive
The use of Claremont as a base for research, lectures and meetings

Other suggestions and comments received were as follows:
A need to clarify and possibly increase the relationship between the main Society and the Sections
A need to allay the confusion on the financial arrangements particularly with regard to capitation
The introduction of a unified database for subscriptions
Damp-proofing of the outer walls to protect books and materials
Installation of a broadband connection at Claremont
No interference in the micro-management of well run sections

A copy of the proposed new strategic plan will shortly be sent to sections and to Council.

I have received a reminder from the YAS Library that suggestions for purchases for the Library are always welcome as are donations of unwanted suitable material. Please contact Janet Senior or Robert Frost at Claremont if you have any suggestions or offers.

 

HELP WANTED

Professor Alan Rogers has written to the YAS asking about Balk Mill near Thirsk. He wants to know its date and how it was powered – was it a water mill overshot or undershot or did it have some other power. It has been suggested to him that it may have been animal powered at some point. Any information would be gratefully received. Professor Rogers can be contacted at Hill House, 8-10 Station Road, Reepham, Norfolk, NR10 4LF. Email alan.rogers14@btopenworld.com.

The YAS is having a stall at this year’s Kirkstall Festival on 8 July. The Festival is held annually in the grounds of Kirkstall Abbey and is a popular and well attended event. The aim of the stall is to publicise the Yorkshire Archaeological Society; recruit new members to the YAS and affiliated groups and to raise funds by selling new publications and appropriate second hand books. Each section is invited to provide some publicity material and offers for help on the stall for part of the day. The Festival runs from 11am – 5pm. If members can help in any way, please contact Maureen Berlin at Claremont or by email m.berlin@ntlworld.com

We have received a request from the Northern Viaduct Trust appealing for support to preserve two historic grade II* listed viaducts on the former railway across the Pennines from Barnard Castle to Tebay opened in 1891. Smardale Gill was rescued from demolition in 1989 and now carries a footpath across a remote valley through a nature reserve. Podgill was acquired in 2000 and again forms part of a new footpath created by the Trust on the trackbed of the old railway. Both viaducts were designed by Sir Thomas Bouch whose reputation was later ruined when the first Tay Bridge collapsed in 1879. The Trust is now looking for funds for maintenance and to complete the Podgill footpath to a standard suitable for wheelchair access. The Section AGM agreed to make a donation to the Trust of £20 and if any member wishes to support its work please send your donation to Jonathan Miller, Appeal Secretary, Northern Viaduct Trust c/o Saint & Co. Chartered Accountants, Poets Walk, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7HJ. Cheques should be made payable to the Northern Viaduct Trust.

The Section AGM also agreed to support the work of the Mills Archive. This is a public repository for historical and contemporary records for mills and milling. The archive is based in Reading where the collection can be viewed by appointment but there is an extensive website launched with grants from, amongst others, the Heritage Lottery Fund totalling £60,000. It still needs funds to help with housing, sorting and cataloguing over half a million images and documents. It also welcomes donations of relevant material. More information can be obtained from the Archive’s website at www.millarchive.com. Donations can be sent to The Mills Archive Trust, Room 9, Watlington House, 44 Watlington Street, Reading, RG1 4RJ

 

NEWS ITEMS

The Middleton Railway has been successful in being awarded a £730,000 Heritage Lottery grant which is being used to develop a new visitor and resource centre at Moor Road, Leeds. More information is available on the Middleton Railway website www.middletonrailway.org.uk.

The Darnall Works in the lower Don Valley, Sheffield is believed to be the world’s only surviving 19th century crucible steelworks and is to be saved as part of a £7m project to regenerate this derelict area of Sheffield. The project is being funded largely by steel laser cutting firm Mayflower Technology and Darnall Works Ltd who own the seven acre site. The European Regional Development Fund has pledged £1.4 million towards the cost and English Heritage is granting £300,000. It is anticipated that more than 200 jobs will be created when repair work begins later this year. When completed the historic buildings will be restored and returned to industrial use. Archaeological investigations will also be carried out on the buried remains of earlier glass and steel making operations.

More mill conversions into housing in Leeds have been approved. Country & Metropolitan have received planning permission for 101 flats and a café/bar at Winker Green Mill, Armley. The mill was established in the early 19th century as a woollen scribbling and dyeware mill but was rebuilt in 1824 as a large scale integrated mill. It was further rebuilt in 1833 and 1836.

A public consultation is underway on the future of St Ann’s Mills and Abbey Mills in Leeds. Both are owned by Leeds City Council. A number of options are being considered including the sale of both sites to the private sector; the Council to retain ownership of both and fund restoration or sell off one to fund the restoration of the other.

FUTURE EVENTS

6 May
IHS Excursion to Ackroydon. Meet at 1.45pm at Colonel Ackroyd’s statue outside All Soul’s Church on the A647.

6 May
Barnsley to Hall Green. 9 mile linear Railway Ramblers walk with pub lunch. Meet Douglas Robinson at Barnsley Station at 10.35am. Return by bus to Wakefield or Leeds. For more details contact Jane Ellis ? 0113 265 9970.

20 May
EMIAC 71 Darley Abbey and its Mills. 71st East Midlands IA Conference on the theme of the Evans cotton mills, their technology and their impact on the surrounding community. Held at Darley Abbey, near Derby. Details & booking from Mark Sissons, 1 Far Coton, Market Bosworth, Warwickshire, CV13 0PJ.

3 June
West Yorkshire Dayrover Day. Railway Ramblers exploration of scenic transport routes using the West Yorkshire Dayrover train and bus ticket. Details from Mike Warrington ? 01977 614954.

10 June
16th East of England IA Conference. Held at Museum of Fenland Pumping, Pickwillow, Cambridgeshire. Details (please send SAE) from Mrs Brenda Taylor, Crown House, Horsham St Faith’s, Norwich, NR10 3JD.

10-11 June
Mines in the Landscape. NAMHO Conference 2006. National Association of Mining History Organisations Annual Conference to be held at the Royal International Pavilion, Llangollen. Details available on the website www.namhoconference.org.uk.

1 July
All in a Days Work. YAS Family History Section Day school. Speakers include John Goodchild on working in the Yorkshire Coal Industry. Held at Claremont 9.30am – 4pm. Fee £12 (includes buffet lunch and beverages). Booking via Maureen Scholey at Claremont, 23 Clarendon Road, Leeds LS2 9NZ. Cheques payable to Family History YAS and include SAE to receive programme.

2-5 July
Past Industries in the County borders. Course on IA in the coastal and inland landscapes of the Somerset, Devon and Dorset borders. Held at Dillington House, Ilminster, Somerset. Details from Dillington House, Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 9DT. ? 01460 52426 or website www.dillington.co.uk.

6-7 July
Brunel Bicentenary Conference. To be held at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Bristol (previously Brunel’s train shed at Temple Meads Station). More details available at www.brunelevents.co.uk. For bookings and enquiries contact Dayle Long, ICE Conferences, 1 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA. ? 0207 665 2313.

15 July
Railways of Hull Part II. 5 mile linear Railway Ramblers walk with pub lunch/ Meet Brian Slater at Hull Paragon Station at 10.45am returning by bus to Hull. For more details contact Jane Ellis ? 0113 265 9970.

6-13 Aug
Practical Industrial Archaeology. A week’s course for beginners and the more experienced. Held at Plas Tan y Bwlch, the Snowdonia National Park Study Centre. For details ? 0871 871 4004 or consult the website www.plastanybwlch.com

8-14 Sept
AIA Isle of Man Conference. Full details given below and booking forms available from Margaret Tylee.

7 Oct
Ship and Boat Construction – John Buglass First Industrial History Section lecture of the 2006-2007 programme.

Industrial History Section Lectures 2006-2007

Details still to be finalised but please note the dates in your diaries. All are held at Claremont on Saturday mornings starting at 11am.

2006: 7 October; 4 November; 9 December
2007: 6 January; 10 February; 17 March
The 2007 AGM will be on 21 April 2007

Heritage Walks in Calderdale

David Nortcliffe has sent details of this summer’s heritage walks programme in Calderdale. The walks take about two hours are circular and easy walking, with stout shoes required for the rural walks. Attendance on each walk costs £3 and no booking is required – just turn up. The programme is varied and the following walks have an industrial theme.

28 May
The Wainhouse Trail. Meet 2.15pm at the foot of Wainhouse Tower (off Skircoat Moor Road) Halifax.
4 June
A New Jerusalem. An exploration of Copley one of the first industrial villages. Meet 2.15pm by the church in Copley village.
18 June
The Wainhouse Trail. Details as above.
25 June
Heptonstall. Meet 2pm by the village store in Heptonstall.
2 July
Sowerby Bridge. Meet 2.15pm by the statue at the entrance to Sowerby Bridge canal basin.
23 July
Lower Rastrick. Meet 2.15pm at the Assembly Rooms, Briggate, Brighouse.
30 July
Elland Centre. Meet 2.15pm by the noticeboard at Elland Parish Church.
27 Aug
The Wainhouse Trail. Details as above.
17 Sept
Todmorden. Meet at the main entrance to the Town Hall, Halifax Road.
24 Sept
Fustianopolis. Meet 2.15pm at the Hebden Bridge Visitor & Canal Centre, Butlers Wharf, New Road.

The full programme can be obtained by contacting Calderdale Heritage Walks ? 01422 201640 or email CdaleHeritageWks@aol.com.

AIA Annual Conference Isle of Man 8-14 September 2006

This year’s conference will be hotel based in Douglas and the travel and booking arrangements are being handled by Travel Services, a company based in the Isle of Man. The programme looks interesting and contains the usual mixture of lectures and excursions. It commences with dinner at the Claremont Hotel followed by the introductory lecture. Saturday morning has lectures on the Manx National Heritage, the Great Laxey Mine and Victorian Tourism followed by a choice of visits and the conference dinner in the evening. The AGM and Rolt Memorial Lecture take place on Sunday morning and the afternoon visits include a sea cruise and Laxey Wheel. The main conference ends on Sunday afternoon but there is a full programme of visits and lectures from Monday to Thursday including several mines, the Snaefell Mountain Railway, a kipper factory and the TT course. The complete package, including travel, costs from £388 per person. Details are available from myself or from the AIA liaison officer Simon Thomas c/o School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH ? 0116 252 5337 email aia@le.ac.uk.

FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF

 

The History of Mann’s Patent Steam Cart & Wagon Company by John Pease. Landmark Publishing. 2005. 192pp. ISBN 1 84306205 4. £24.99

Section member John Pease has published his research into Mann’s Patent Steam Cart & Wagon Company which was the subject of his lecture given to the section in December 2004. This is the first published history of this well known Leeds steam engine builder. The Mann steam cart and lorry which were introduced in 1898 and 1899 respectively were pioneers and the company had previously produced a variety of traditional steam traction engines. The book traces the history of the company from its purchase of the Canning Works on Dewsbury Road, Leeds in 1893, through the formation of the Mann & Charlesworth company in 1894 to the formation of the Mann’s Patent Steam Cart & Wagon Company in 1899. New works were established on Pepper Road in Hunslet in 1900-1901 and the period up to and including the First World War proved to be the heyday of the company. As well as standard lorries, the company also produced specialist vehicles such as gully cleaners, street watering wagons and tar sprayers. The company went into decline in the 1920s mainly due to the increase in the numbers of petrol driven internal combustion lorries and the works closed in 1929. Few company records survived and John has done an excellent job of bringing together a range of material including patent specifications and trade literature to describe the vehicles and their development.

There are chapters dealing with the products of the company from 1894 –1929 as well as a history of the company and its founders and a list of the principal users of Mann’s carts and wagons, these were mainly local councils and breweries but many were exported to places such as Australia, India and South Africa. The book is well illustrated and should appeal to any member with an interest in the history of road transport as well as the industries of Leeds.

Margaret Tylee

 

REPORTS OF VISITS, LECTURES ETC

Reports from 2005-2006 Lecture Programme

 

Recent Archaeological surveys of the Coastal Alum Works at Kettleness & Loftus – Marcus Jecock
15 October 2005

We were pleased to welcome Marcus Jecock back to Claremont to talk about the investigative surveys carried out by English Heritage on the coastal alum works on the north east coast of what was historically Yorkshire. Marcus started his talk by explaining about the importance of alum, it has been used since the 15th century in the leather trade and most importantly as a mordant in the textile trade for fixing dyes to the cloth. Before the 15th century it had to be imported which was expensive and the supplies prone to interruptions. A new process was developed using shale and the method was a closely guarded secret with North Yorkshire becoming the main centre for domestic alum production, with at least 24 sites known. Production became centred on the coastal sites because as well as the alum shale, large quantities of coal and alkali were required –every ton of alum produced required 6 tons of coal and it was easier to transport the raw materials and the finished product by sea. The alkali came from burnt seaweed and humane urine collected from industrial towns such as Sunderland.

English Heritage realised that it was important to survey these industrial sites before erosion destroyed any evidence of the operations. The survey concentrated on two sites - Kettleness and Loftus. Sites at Ravenscar and Saltwick had already been recorded and an inland site at Stow Brow had been surveyed as part of a wider survey carried out on the North York Moors following the recent fire. Marcus explained the difficulties faced in surveying these two coastal sites and described the techniques of aerial surveys and GPS satellite data.

Kettleness was a key site, the exposed shale was overlaid with sandstone which was used for building the various structure associated with the works. He described the complex chemical processes involving burning the shale, the retrieval of the alum through steeping and settling tanks, grinding of the alum crystals before transportation. There are few natural harbours along the coast, so boats were beached and then floated off at high tides. There are clear remains on the beach at Kettleness of the rutways cut into the rock to guide the carts laden with alum to the waiting boats.

Copies of the Reports of the Archaeological Field Investigations at Kettleness and Loftus Alum Works are available for £15 each (includes p&p) from English Heritage, 37 Tanner Row, York, YO1 6WP.

Margaret Tylee

 

200 years of textiles in Stanningley (Hainsworths Mill) – Ruth Strong
12 November 2005

Ruth Strong, well known for her study of Pudsey’s industrial history, explained she had been approached by the Hainsworth family to write a history of the firm. This was due to be published in 2006. She had been given access to source material in private family and company records, and used company minute books at Leeds City Archives. A W Hainsworth, Spring Valley Mill, is now the only mill in the Pudsey area.

The business began in 1783 when Abimelech Hainsworth, of a non-conformist family, started as a cloth manufacturer, aged 14. For this he needed a little more than a handloom. He soon took on his younger brother Joseph as a partner. In 1813 they took Cape Mills, Farsley. This was a small 3-storey, water powered scribbling and fulling mill. Scribbling prepared the fibres for spinning and weaving at the weaver’s house and the cloth was returned to the mill for fulling. The clothiers then took away the cloth for drying on tenters. The coloured cloth, dyed in the wool, was sold at the Leeds Coloured Cloth Hall. Abimelech and Joseph sold up to 130 cloth pieces a week. They had to deal with various difficulties. The mill was badly damaged by fire in 1824, though quickly rebuilt. There were Luddite strikes in 1819 and strikes over pay in 1833-34. However, by the 1830s Abimelech, “Old Bim”, was said to keep half of Farsley in employment.

Abimelech took his second son into the business. He sold cloth to merchants but also developed direct sales, through Liverpool, via Leeds & Liverpool Canal, to New York and Lisbon. had, the largest family in Farsley at the time. When Abimelech died in 1836 he left his business share to John, Samuel and Daniel, 3 of his 13 children and £12,000 (c £1.5m today). Samuel died the following year and Old Bim’s sons John, Peter and Daniel, and Joseph’s sons John and George continued the business. They acquired Upper Mill, Stanningley, and renamed the firm Hainsworth Brothers. They used English wool bought at Bradford, Scottish wool via Skipton and Halifax and imported wool via Liverpool and later London once the railways had opened.

Children were employed as pieceners and although the 1833 Factory Act prevented under 9s from working in mills there evidence that they did. The company, by now John Hainsworth & Sons, expanded in the 1850s, when new machinery was installed and a spinning mill was built in 1858. They won the contract to supply army uniforms for the Crimean War. John died in 1858 leaving his share to his son Charles. Later, Upper Mill was sold. Charles died in his 40s in 1875. His sons were too young to take over, so Cape Mill was acquired by his cousin Reuben Gaunt who took into partnership his cousin Abimelech William Hainsworth (AW). Reuben provided the finance, AW the expertise. In 1882 AW bought a large house, Claremont, and Temperance Mill in Stanningley. Both partners had up and coming sons; Reuben accused AW of favouring his own sons and in 1887 the cousins went their separate ways. Reuben retained Cape Mill as John Hainsworth & Sons and AW took Temperance Mill as A W Hainsworth. AW bought adjoining property and developed the mill as Spring Valley Mill. The Boer War brought growth with demand for uniforms. A setback followed when AW was knocked over in Leeds and he was unconscious for 6 weeks. His sons Gaunt and Charles were made partners in the business. AW’s recovery was slow and he never returned to his previous form.. He was difficult to deal with, not liking to spend and invest in the mill. AW wife had a breakdown in 1913 and he handed over to his sons. AW died in 1917.

The First World War brought prosperity, but depression followed. The firm was made a limited liability company, A W Hainsworth Ltd, though the shareholders were all family members. In the 1920s and 30s they experienced 3 strikes and wages reduced were 9%. They were, however, able to buy good second hand machinery cheaply as other businesses closed. World War 2 again brought demand for uniforms from the Admiralty and Army. Business continued steadily after the War and Gaunt and Charles succeeded by their sons Reuben and Peter.

In 1956 fire destroyed two thirds of the mill. To bring new impetus during a period of slow recovery non-family members brought into the firm as directors, though the family retained control. Reuben’s sons John and David became partners, with uncle Peter as the senior partner. The late 1950s was a period of rapid inflation, and the 1960s brought competition from foreign manufacturers. EU entry in 1974 ended the subsidies for textile manufacturers. Hainsworth’s survived and were able to take over 23 companies, including John Hainsworth of Cape Mill. They now produce industrial textiles. Atkinson’s blankets, snooker table cloths – demand enhanced by colour TV, parade wear for the army They hold the Royal Warrant and make specialist orders such as covering the Woolsack in the House of Lords, and curtains for Windsor Castle and Downing Street. They have their own laboratory that has enabled them to produce high specification items such as felt for piano hammers, and develop a unique fire resistant fabric with Dupont. A further generation of Hainsworths now runs the company.

Questions and informed discussion followed Ruth’s well-illustrated lecture. In the audience, a relative of Gaunt Hainsworth had a Centenary book of Cape Mill, the mill now being let in units. A former managing director of Harwoods, one of the companies taken over, pointed out that Hainsworth’s had been astute and able to purchase competing businesses cheaply. This had enabled their survival.

Robert Vickers

The Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals: Rise, Fall and Future? – Derek Housley
10 December 2005

Derek Housley is the Chairman of the Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals Trust which is working in partnership to reinstate these two canals and the waterways link between the Aire & Calder and the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigations. The first section of his talk outlined the history of the canals, which were planned as a route connecting the River Don to the River Calder this providing a link between Sheffield, Wakefield and Leeds. This shorter route would provide a more economical way of transporting the extensive coal deposits around the Barnsley area. The principal share holders in the new company launched in 1792 were all prominent coal mine owners. The first section was opened from Heath, near Wakefield on the Aire & Calder Navigation to Barnby Basin in 1792, with the remaining 4 miles from Barnby Basin to Barnsley opening in 1802. Water supplies were a major problem and reservoirs had to be built to guarantee supply. The Dearne & Dove Canal was started by the Don Navigation Company and ran from Swinton to join the Barnsley Canal at Hoyle Mill. It was fully open in 1804 was 10 miles long and had branches to Elsecar and Worsborough.

The main cargo on both canals was coal, ultimately this caused their downfall as subsidence due to mining activities led to breaches and expensive maintenance. The Barnsley Canal closed in 1953, the main line of the Dearne & Dove Canal closed in 1934, the Worsborough Branch having previously been closed on 1906 and the Elsecar Branch closed in 1928. An impressive aqueduct adjacent to the junction of the two canals near Barnsley was demolished as being unsafe in 1954 and the waterways gradually deteriorated. The Barnsley Canal Group was formed in 1984 to campaign for restoration and some work was carried out under job creation schemes in the 1980s, resulting in some stretches of the canal being in water. Mr Housley then talked about the formation of the Barnsley, Dearne & Dove Canals Trust which has raised £40,000 for a feasibility study. The study has shown that there would be benefits to the local economy and the environment if the link was restored and the Trust is working towards this together with Barnsley and Wakefield Councils.

For members who would like to know more about these canals, they are recommended to read “The Forgotten Canals of Yorkshire Wakefield to Swinton via Barnsley” by Roger Glister published by Wharncliffe Books 2004 price £9.99. The book contains a history of both canals and is well illustrated with archive photographs. The section has purchased a copy for the YAS Library.

Margaret Tylee

The industrial heritage of the National Trust - Ted Connell
7 January 2006

Ted Connell is well known to members as a long-term member and a former Chairman of the Industrial History Section. He is active in the National Trust and a guide at Fountain’s Abbey. Ted began his review of NT industrial sites with Fountain’s Abbey, built by Cistercian monks as a self-sufficient community. It had a tannery, a blacksmith’s and a mill. In the 13th Century there were 400 people in the abbey, each requiring a pound of bread plus beer every day. The mill worked for almost 800 years from 1140 to 1935, grinding wheat and malt. Excavations have uncovered evidence of its development and construction. A hydro-electric generator was installed in early 20th Century.

Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, 1784, was one of the earliest cotton mills and one of the first big industrial buildings. The five floored building is long and narrow, as at that period beams could not be made longer than 25/30 feet. There was a school room in the basement for mill children and apprentices. As a Poor Law avoidance scheme the mill was in one parish was separated by the river from the workers’ housing in another. If unemployed the workers would be a charge on the neighbouring parish. As an economy measure the waterwheel was used, even when the steam engine had been installed. The axle from Glasshouses Mill, near Pateley Bridge, was used to restore Styal.

Gibson Mill, Hardcastle Crags, was built in 1820 by Abraham Gibson as a cotton mill. In its remote location, a mile from the main road, it was not particularly successful as a mill and by 1900 it was closed. It became a social and dance hall and tea rooms with boating on the mill pond. Gibson Mill has been restored to operate on green principles.

A number of the NT’s estates houses have industrial features. Cragside, built 1880 - 1890 by Richard Norman Shaw for Lord Armstrong, was the first house to use electricity, generated by a water turbine, for lighting and a sawmill. Calke Abbey, Derbyshire has a brickworks for the estate with a horse powered pug mill and narrow gauge railway. Laycock Abbey has brewery of pre-1860. Angelsey Abbey has a lode mill, flour mill and a quarry for coprolite the basis of Fisons’ fertiliser.

The NT owns a wide variety of industrial properties. Coastal sites include: Souter lighthouse, built in 1871, the first to be electrically lit; Port Mulgrave, built by the Zetland Estate to ship out iron ore to the Tees; the Ravenscar Alum works; and at Beadnell late 18th century lime kilns with river to transport to which lime stone was brought by river and coal by sea – the resulting lime being shipped to market. On Coniston Water the NT operates Gondola, built in 1859, for the Furness Railway, and restored in 1979. It owns the Wey Navigation, in Surrey, George Stephenson’s birthplace cottage, Wylam, Northumberland and Southwell workhouse, in Nottinghamshire. Industry on the Aberdulais Estate began with copper mining in 1564 later develop an extensive ironworks. This had the largest waterwheel in Europe, generating electricity. In Cornwall the NT looks after engine houses at copper and tin mines including East Pool and Wheal Coates. In Northern Ireland the NT owns Patterson’s Spade Mill, Wellbrook Beetling Mill water-powered linen manufacture

The well-illustrated talk generated a number of questions. Ted explained that the NT was founded to preserve places of beauty and interest. It now has a positive policy to make more of industrial heritage. Funding to maintain its properties, of national significance, is a major concern for the Trust and its policy is that each property should be self sufficient. The Trust works with English Heritage on many projects, which also generates income.

Robert Vickers

Sheffield’s Industrial Heritage – Derek Bayliss
4 February 2006

Derek Bayliss has been active in the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society and its predecessor the Sheffield Trades Historical Society for many years and demonstrated his extensive knowledge of Sheffield’s industrial past in this well illustrated lecture. He reminded the meeting that he last spoke to the section 20 years ago when he concentrated on the cutlery trade, his topic on this occasion was the changes in Sheffield’s metal trade from 1700-1850.

Derek started his talk by examining the cutlery industry of which very little is known about its origins. It probably derived from blacksmithing and needed local supplies of iron ore, charcoal and suitable stone for grinding. All of this was available in the Sheffield area. There are references to cutlers in medieval tax returns and a famous reference in Chaucer’s writings to a Sheffield knife. In the late 15th and early 16th century water power was being used in the cutlery trade, an example is Shepherd Wheel in the Porter valley where the site goes back to 1584. Cutlery manufacture involves three stages – forging, grinding and fitting the handle. Wisewood Forge is a good example of an early forge site and by 1624 there were 34 recorded grinding wheels in the Sheffield area and this number increased during the 17th century. A variety of materials were used for decorative handles including horn, ivory and mother of pearl. The first makers’ marks appeared on the blade in 1554. The Cutlers' Company was established in 1624 to regulate the trade which had expanded rapidly during the 17th century and led to specialist areas such as knife, scythe and scissor making as well as associated trades such as silversmithing and button making.

Turning to steel, Derek described the early cementation process which produced blister steel using mostly imported iron ore from Sweden and Russia and noted that by the late 17th century 1 in 4 of the cutlers were buying in the blades rather than using their own forges.. Sheffield grew rapidly from the 33rd largest town in the country to the 8th by 1801 and by the mid 19th century had moved from a single industry town to one where there were a variety of metal trades. There were some key inventions which contributed to this. In 1743 Thomas Boulsover (1705-1788) developed a process of fusing silver onto copper to produce Old Sheffield Plate which could then be hammered and worked. There was a large demand for this since it looked like silver but was cheaper to acquire. Joseph Hancock developed this further by applying the process to produce large objects such as urns and candlesticks. In 1775 Sheffield had its own Assay Office for silver.

The Huntsman process for making crucible steel which involved melting blister steel in crucibles needed very high temperatures but enabled the steel to be cast into ingots or other shapes. This meant items such as stove grates and hearths could be produced at works such as the one in Green Lane. Together with these developments, there were improvements in the transportation of goods and raw materials through the canal and road links. In 1786 the first steam powered grinding wheels appeared. All these developments had an adverse effect on the health of workers, the average life expectancy of grinders in the 1830s was 32.

Moving into the 19th century, Derek’s view was the period 1800-1860 represented the golden age for crucible steel production. The Sheaf Works was the first example of a large integrated steel works and during these period famous firms such as Vickers, Firths and John Brown were established on land adjacent to the developing railway system. The rolling of steel moved from water power to steam power, although the small rolling mill at Low Matlock continued to use water power into the 20th century. Steam hammers were replacing tilt hammers from 1850s onwards and there was a wide variety of metal products being produced from large steel plates to files, saws, machine cutting tools, steel wire for fish hooks, telegraph wires and crinolines; tape measures and razor blades. By the 1840s Sheffield was producing 90% of British steel. The next development came in 1858 with the introduction of the Bessemer process for steel making and it was noted that the only surviving Bessemer converter can be found situated outside the Kelham Island Museum. This could be the subject of a separate talk.

Summing up, Derek identified the three main phases of Sheffield’s industrial development. Pre 1750 there was rapid development demand led and organised by merchants. This was followed by the period 1750-1800 during which significant inventions were made, water power gave way to steam and Sheffield expanded rapidly. 1800-1850 saw the increased use of crucible steel and increasing exports, there was some mechanisation but much of the work was still done by hand.

Derek drew on a number of sources, these included several works by Ken Barraclough, for example “Sheffield Steel” published in 1976, David Hey’s “History Of Sheffield” published in 1998 and Joan Unwin’s “Sheffield Industries: Cutlery, Silver and Edge Tools” published in 1999

Margaret Tylee

Lead Mining in the Yorkshire Dales – John Hobson
11 March 2006

Over 20 members enjoyed this talk by former environmental health officer John Hobson who has studied the Dales lead industry and visited and photographed many of the sites during the past 30 years. Describing first the underlying geology of the ore field (which stretches over four dales), the speaker explained that the galena found among other minerals was lead sulphide. The lead had probably been exploited by the Romans and certainly by the monastic houses such as Bolton Abbey and Fountains Abbey. Companies were first formed in the 18th century in, for example, Nidderdale. Techniques improved which included hushing to expose the veins, pocket holes, bellpits, coffin levels, stoping, shafts and adits. Ladders and chains were a feature of climbing shafts, also stemples and ropes. Waterwheels were often employed for drainage and jackrolls wound ore in kibbles or buckets to the surface. Later these were replaced by horse whims. Swaledale was an area where much evidence has survived. Some levels such as those at Greenhow had rail access and there was an attempt at a boat level at Hebden Ghyll

Miners’ tools included picks, hammers, plugs and feathers for splitting the rock and after the introduction of gunpowder, tamping bars. The surface buildings usually included a miners’ bothy, blacksmith shop, stamps, bouses, buddles and crushing circles – the functions of which were illustrated and explained (Readers can refer to works by Clough, Raistrick and Jennings for a glossary of terms.)

The speaker dealt only briefly with smelting sites such as Grinton Mill which had blowing cylinders and the Peat House at Old Gang Mill, both in Swaledale. There was a mention of the water courses on Grassington Moor as well as the long flue which was around three quarters of a mile long. The speaker concluded by showing slides of miners in their typical headgear and clothing and explaining something of the work was organised in partnerships.

A good overview, which was well presented with some interesting slides.

David George