HISTORY-walkleys mill has been making clogs since the 1870s , james maude and his sons run the business for many generations . in 1946 frank walkley took the helm and produced clogs into the 1990s.
britains heydays for wearing clogs was the 1840s till the 1920s , and the best place to make them was at walkleys in west yorkshire , though associated with the industrial north , most clogs were worn by southerners in the fishing and fruit markets and street traders and vendors etc etc.
walkleys clogs was the last remaining manufacturer of british clogs , supplying the needs for foundry workers and other heavy industries that rubber soled boots would not be able to stand upto !
during the 1980s walkley mill opened as a tourist attraction and was filled with small arts n crafts shops , kids play areas and a cafeteria , at its peak in 1990 it drew 600,000 visitors from all over the north.
in the early 90s the mill suffered a devasting fire with many shops destroyed , it arose from the ashes with even more shops n attactions being added , but with falling visitor numbers from rival attractions its days were numbered ! difficulty in parking and severe congestion on the minor surrounding rounds due to the mill being located in a bottle neck valley did not help its fortunes .
in 1996 the mill was bought by REVEGATE to revitilise the failing tourist attraction , in 2003 it gave up on its efforts and boarded up the place and has remained vacant ever since .
in 2010 plans were unveiled to turn the mill into 47 luxury apartments , these plans have fallen foul of the local council planning for various reasons , the mill is now only visited by curious urbexers like myself .
THE VISIT- i have to doff my cap to KIERAN for guiding us to this great site , cheers mate much appreciated !
visited with @Rachel Brade , @Daniel Birkett , @weeman and my usual derping sidekick @Cazel#HT .
i was wanting to visit this place for a long time , but for some reason had not ? we spent many happy hours exploring this lovely interesting mill , even after most of my party left to explore a warehouse !
i would give this mill a double thumbs up ! do try to visit even if you live bloody miles away , you will not be dissapointed !
THE PICS -as usual i used my 10-18mm wide angled canon lens which is so bloody useful on a derping expedition . ENJOY THE PICS FOLKS !
britains heydays for wearing clogs was the 1840s till the 1920s , and the best place to make them was at walkleys in west yorkshire , though associated with the industrial north , most clogs were worn by southerners in the fishing and fruit markets and street traders and vendors etc etc.
walkleys clogs was the last remaining manufacturer of british clogs , supplying the needs for foundry workers and other heavy industries that rubber soled boots would not be able to stand upto !
during the 1980s walkley mill opened as a tourist attraction and was filled with small arts n crafts shops , kids play areas and a cafeteria , at its peak in 1990 it drew 600,000 visitors from all over the north.
in the early 90s the mill suffered a devasting fire with many shops destroyed , it arose from the ashes with even more shops n attactions being added , but with falling visitor numbers from rival attractions its days were numbered ! difficulty in parking and severe congestion on the minor surrounding rounds due to the mill being located in a bottle neck valley did not help its fortunes .
in 1996 the mill was bought by REVEGATE to revitilise the failing tourist attraction , in 2003 it gave up on its efforts and boarded up the place and has remained vacant ever since .
in 2010 plans were unveiled to turn the mill into 47 luxury apartments , these plans have fallen foul of the local council planning for various reasons , the mill is now only visited by curious urbexers like myself .
THE VISIT- i have to doff my cap to KIERAN for guiding us to this great site , cheers mate much appreciated !
visited with @Rachel Brade , @Daniel Birkett , @weeman and my usual derping sidekick @Cazel#HT .
i was wanting to visit this place for a long time , but for some reason had not ? we spent many happy hours exploring this lovely interesting mill , even after most of my party left to explore a warehouse !
i would give this mill a double thumbs up ! do try to visit even if you live bloody miles away , you will not be dissapointed !
THE PICS -as usual i used my 10-18mm wide angled canon lens which is so bloody useful on a derping expedition . ENJOY THE PICS FOLKS !
.. and the infamous bird !!! 
... We all should create multiple fake FB accounts and give those FaceSchn0oks the " BIRD "!!! 
There used to be way more mannequins in here but the local youth threw loads out of the windows and probably nicked them 
