- West Yorkshire's mills used to be full of toiling workers in noisy and stifling conditions doing 60-hour weeks
- Photographs by Nicola Miller, 42, who gained access through any open doors and windows she could find
- Male onlookers earned up to 22 shillings a week, while women working in weaving shed received 10 shillings
By Mark Duell
Published: | Updated:
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Hark back 150 years and these now-derelict woollen mills would have been noisy, stifling and full of toiling workers on 60-hour weeks.
But gone are the days when the huge mills towered above the skyline of West Yorkshire, helping to make the county the wool capital of the world.
Now, almost a century after the area’s wool makers pulled their final threads, the eerie shells of its forgotten mills have been brought back to life.
Days gone by: The Hey and Co Mill in Bradford, West Yorkshire, which once would have been would have been noisy, stifling and full of toiling workers on 60-hour weeks
Descending: Dalton Mills in Keighley, part of an industry that once towered above the skyline of West Yorkshire, helping to make the county the wool capital of the world
A 60-HOUR WEEK AND 34 WORKERS TO A WASHROOM: LIFE IN THE MILLS
While West Yorkshire's woollen mills were booming in Victorian times, life was not so fun for many of the workers they employed.
It was typical in 1849 to work a 12-hour day and 60-hour week, with an hour and half for meals - which remained the case until 1870.
One washroom had to serve 34 workers in a single mill, and children employed there were often susceptible to illness.
The life expectancy for tradesman was just 25 years - compared to 60 for the upper classes.
Wool was a dominant industry in northern England until retailers began to look abroad for lower production costs in the 20th century.
They have been explored in pictures highlighting the architecture of the now-empty spaces that would once have housed a hive of activity.
Nicola Miller, who was born in Scotland but studied in Bradford, has toured the area after being drawn to the old mills by their grand architecture.
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The 42-year-old photographer said: ‘I think they are absolutely stunning and so I explored many of the old buildings in the Bradford area.’
Wool making became popular across Yorkshire due to the terrain of the Pennines - unsuitable for growing crops and too coarse for cattle to graze.
But sheep thrived - and the woollen mills were first powered by water, while great wooden hammers bear the cloth until the fibres interlocked.
Due to the steep streams around Halifax, they used water methods there much longer than other neighbouring towns - who quickly adopted steam.
Abandoned: Dalton Mills in Keighley, which is one of many forgotten mills in West Yorkshire that has been brought back to life by a Scottish photographer
No longer used: The Hey and Co Mill in Bradford, West Yorkshire, which was photographed by Nicola Miller, who was born in Scotland but studied in Bradford
Eerie: Dalton Mills in Keighley. The woollen mills were first powered by water, while great wooden hammers bear the cloth until the fibres interlocked
These included Bradford and Keighley - soon brought to the forefront of the wool industry, and where many woollen mills began operating.
Workers in the local mills were predominantly young and female, with a dozen women, boys and girls for every man.
Many of the children employed were 'half-timers' who worked at the mill for half a day and spent the other half at school.
Onlookers - men paid to work with women - earned up to 22 shillings a week, while women working in the weaving shed received up to 10 shillings.
Red tape: Stephensons & Bros Mill in Bradford, West Yorkshire, where more modern signs such as 'wear ear protectors' can be seen still attached inside the building
To scale: Dalton Mills in Keighley, which is one of the areas soon brought to the forefront of the wool industry, and where many woollen mills began operating
But in the carding - the drawing and spinning departments - the weekly wages for women and girls were only around five shillings.
In 1849, when the wool industry was in its prime, workers had a 12-hour working day with an hour and a half for meals. This remained in force until 1870.
In the mills temperatures were often stifling, and 34 workers were forced to share one washroom, leaving children working there susceptible to epidemics.
Therefore, the impact upon life-span was dramatic. In 1840 in Halifax and Skircoat, the average age of death for the upper-class was 60.
Victorian prime: Dalton Mills in Keighley. Workers in the mills were predominantly young and female, with a dozen women, boys and girls for every man
Left out: Dalton Mills in Keighley. Many of the children employed in mills were 'half-timers' who worked at the mill for half a day and spent the other half at school
Drawn out: Denholme Mill, another of West Yorkshire's abandoned wool manufacturing spots, where a chest of drawers has been left open and papers are on the floor
But for tradesmen and artisans it was 25 years. This number was raised by an unusual number of deaths at advanced ages among weavers.
Hundreds of traders would flock to auctions at the Bradford Wool Exchange every week as merchants purchased and exchanged their goods.
It was the only place in Britain where wool was sold from at this time - until retailers looked abroad to mass-produce fabrics at a low cost.
Until this time, wool had been dominant in northern England as far back as the 8th century when a Norman emperor requested woollen cloaks.
Old designs: Bradfax Mill in Bradford, West Yorkshire, where decaying signs can be seen for different departments such as floor coverings, cutlery and curtains
Antiques: A scene from Dalton Mills in Keighley is seen (left); while Crabtree and Co Mill in Bradford is pictured (right) - both displaying items that are now antiques
Open door: Stephensons & Bros Mill in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is a shadow of what it once was - full of workers who toiled in a noisy and stifling environment
Photographer Ms Miller visited the mills and gained access through any open doors and windows she could find.
‘It was nice to see things that people haven't seen for a long time,’ she added. ‘The pictures I took are unique to anything else I have done.
‘(But) I love exploring things, particularly buildings that have been abandoned. It's good to be able to step back in time and see life back then.’
Laxtons Specialist Yarns in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, now remains by far the biggest and most dedicated wool production company in the UK.
Wheel of fortune: Midland Mill in Bradford. In 1849, when the wool industry was in its prime, workers had a 12-hour working day with an hour and a half for meals
Faded glory: Stephensons & Bros, Mill in Bradford. Traders would flock to the Wool Exchange every week as merchants purchased and exchanged their goods
Falling apart: The names of two people can be seen scrawled on the left-hand wall - apparently 'Fran' and 'Chris' - of this West Yorkshire mill which was once thriving
Black and white: It might be decades after the Victorians, but mill workers can be seen operating the giant wool fluffing machine at the New Mill Elgin in Scotland in 1952 (left), while automatic weighing machines for feeding the wool into the first parts of the carding engines are seen (right) at Porritts & Spencer in Lancashire in 1935
Established in 1907, George H Laxton and Mr Gordon Holmes formed a spinning company by the name Holmes Laxton & Co.
They survived two World Wars, invested in new machinery and established Prospect Mills in Keighley.
The company then changed its name to Laxton Crawford Ltd in 1978 and became one of the biggest fancy yarn spinning mills in Europe.
Its new wool mill in Guiseley began spinning specialist yarns at home as late as January 2010, in a bid to bring wool production back to its roots.
