Prospect Iron Works, Huddersfield - March 2022
Visited with @Esoteric Eric
I wouldn’t say that there was ever much of an expectation that anything remained from this building’s history as a textile machinist, with William Whiteley and Sons and its later incarnation as J. Charlesworth, ceasing operations many decades ago. Those firms would become the forerunners of the world-renowned David Brown Gear Systems, who still own this block of buildings, but in their heyday supplied many of the nation’s mills with all manner of machines for textile production from the 1850s. The whole of the iron and brass foundry covered a larger area than is represented in this report, at one stage even having its own private sidings extend into the works from the mainline including a wagon works. Nowadays the site houses a collection of steel suppliers and manufacturers such as K Steels, Moventas and some much smaller sheet metal fabricators. Regardless, this curved building on the corner of Yew Green Road and Swan Lane has always looked a little bit empty and unloved - sat quietly in stasis, with its hand-painted ‘CHARLESWORTH TEXTILE MACHINISTS’ text emblazoned across the side of the building, it has often smirked knowingly at me for my ignorance at what actually remained inside. The answer, is not very much… but for all the former factory and offices lack, retained inside was at least quite a photogenic carcass, and as the UE cliche goes, it was good to ‘tick it off the list’ - I’ve seen really ancient Wm. Whiteley machines in mills in mid-Wales sat gathering webs, and yet conversely have witnessed 75 year old warping machines made by this firm still spinning away, so it’s always nice to see inside the walls from where the machines were made.
History
Wm. Whiteley & Sons Ltd. were textile engineers and machinists based at Prospect Iron Works in Lockwood. The company's letterhead from 1916 described them as:
“Makers of all descriptions of cloth tentering and drying machines, wool and cotton drying machines, self acting mules, winding, warping, sizing and beaming machines and all other kinds of woollen machines.”
A later letterhead from January 1945 stated that the company was established in 1854. By that time, they had incorporated the firm of J. Charlesworth and were contracted by the Admiralty, the War Office, India Office and the Australian Government.
According to Discovering Old Huddersfield (1993-2002) by Gordon & Enid Minter:
“Immediately beyond the railway bridge [on Swan Lane] and before Yew Green Road, the factory on the left, now part of Brown Corporation P.L.C., was once the premises of William Whiteley & Sons Ltd., manufacturers of textile machinery. William Whiteley founded his business in 1850 and such was the demand at that time for new machinery that by 1890 the factory had spread to cover three acres and the workforce numbered four hundred. Goods were moved from the factory by rail from the firm's private railway siding. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the Whiteley family's home, Park Cottage, was bought by the Brown family and, eventually, the factory also passed into their hands.”
The History of Lockwood and North Crosland (1980) by Brian Clarke:
“Although this firm has been out of existence for a number of years it is worthy of mention as one of the larger suppliers of textile machinery. By 1890… …according to their catalogue of the time, supplied in addition to the full range of textile machinery, steam engines, electric generators and electric locomotives. As far as can be established the electric locomotives were amongst the first in the world but there is only trace of two being produced, one being sold to Hellingley Hospital Light Railway. The other, built in 1898 was used on their own railway sidings at Lockwood, being in use until 1932 and known to the workmen as “The Rubber Pig”. The factory is now part of David Brown Gear Industries and the former Whiteley family home, Park Cottage, became after the death of William Whiteley in 1901 the "springboard" for the David Brown concern.”
Ta,
tweek
Visited with @Esoteric Eric
I wouldn’t say that there was ever much of an expectation that anything remained from this building’s history as a textile machinist, with William Whiteley and Sons and its later incarnation as J. Charlesworth, ceasing operations many decades ago. Those firms would become the forerunners of the world-renowned David Brown Gear Systems, who still own this block of buildings, but in their heyday supplied many of the nation’s mills with all manner of machines for textile production from the 1850s. The whole of the iron and brass foundry covered a larger area than is represented in this report, at one stage even having its own private sidings extend into the works from the mainline including a wagon works. Nowadays the site houses a collection of steel suppliers and manufacturers such as K Steels, Moventas and some much smaller sheet metal fabricators. Regardless, this curved building on the corner of Yew Green Road and Swan Lane has always looked a little bit empty and unloved - sat quietly in stasis, with its hand-painted ‘CHARLESWORTH TEXTILE MACHINISTS’ text emblazoned across the side of the building, it has often smirked knowingly at me for my ignorance at what actually remained inside. The answer, is not very much… but for all the former factory and offices lack, retained inside was at least quite a photogenic carcass, and as the UE cliche goes, it was good to ‘tick it off the list’ - I’ve seen really ancient Wm. Whiteley machines in mills in mid-Wales sat gathering webs, and yet conversely have witnessed 75 year old warping machines made by this firm still spinning away, so it’s always nice to see inside the walls from where the machines were made.
History
Wm. Whiteley & Sons Ltd. were textile engineers and machinists based at Prospect Iron Works in Lockwood. The company's letterhead from 1916 described them as:
“Makers of all descriptions of cloth tentering and drying machines, wool and cotton drying machines, self acting mules, winding, warping, sizing and beaming machines and all other kinds of woollen machines.”
A later letterhead from January 1945 stated that the company was established in 1854. By that time, they had incorporated the firm of J. Charlesworth and were contracted by the Admiralty, the War Office, India Office and the Australian Government.
According to Discovering Old Huddersfield (1993-2002) by Gordon & Enid Minter:
“Immediately beyond the railway bridge [on Swan Lane] and before Yew Green Road, the factory on the left, now part of Brown Corporation P.L.C., was once the premises of William Whiteley & Sons Ltd., manufacturers of textile machinery. William Whiteley founded his business in 1850 and such was the demand at that time for new machinery that by 1890 the factory had spread to cover three acres and the workforce numbered four hundred. Goods were moved from the factory by rail from the firm's private railway siding. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the Whiteley family's home, Park Cottage, was bought by the Brown family and, eventually, the factory also passed into their hands.”
The History of Lockwood and North Crosland (1980) by Brian Clarke:
“Although this firm has been out of existence for a number of years it is worthy of mention as one of the larger suppliers of textile machinery. By 1890… …according to their catalogue of the time, supplied in addition to the full range of textile machinery, steam engines, electric generators and electric locomotives. As far as can be established the electric locomotives were amongst the first in the world but there is only trace of two being produced, one being sold to Hellingley Hospital Light Railway. The other, built in 1898 was used on their own railway sidings at Lockwood, being in use until 1932 and known to the workmen as “The Rubber Pig”. The factory is now part of David Brown Gear Industries and the former Whiteley family home, Park Cottage, became after the death of William Whiteley in 1901 the "springboard" for the David Brown concern.”
Ta,
tweek
