Naylor Jennings Dye Works, Leeds, March 2014

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Wakey Lad

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The original mill on this site was built in 1868 on land purchased from the Rawden Baptist Church. The owner was a clothier called Thomas Pratt who lived in Little London.

Cloth was produced in the mill until 1906 when fire destroyed most of the buildings. The machinery was lost, however the weaving sheds survived.

The damage left some 300 workers unemployed. Rebuild costs were in excess of £20,000, the site became a Dyehouse for Naylor Jennings & Co.

The works closed in 2010

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Thanks for looking​
 
Lovely set of photos..love the big machine.is it some sort of dye machine.thanks for sharing.
 
Mikeymutt said:
.love the big machine.is it some sort of dye machine.
Click to expand...

Not exactly - it is what it says on the machine end,' Number 2 Plaiter'. Basically a piece of equipment used to handle rolls of woven cloth as part of the process line and produce a continuous folded bundle of cloth at the outlet end of the machine for further processing - i.e. actual immersion in the dyeing vats. In photo 3 the roll of cloth is held by the two upright supports at the extreme lefthand end and is then fed through the machine. In the machine the cloth is tensioned to ensure that the whole roll is of uniform width and in the background of the third from last photograph are other portions of the machine that were part of the outlet feed. The tall darker item being the device that caused the falling length of cloth to fall in a 'zig-zag' motion into a wheeled trolley - thus forming the folded bundle of fabric for further processing. It remains because it has only scrap value, but a quick Google search will reveal that Indian producers of weaving and dyeing machinery are still producing these machines in one form or another.

Sadly the most striking feature of this site was ruined some months ago, when the beautifully shaped chimney cap was removed. Clearly seen from our bedroom window, with an onward view up the valley to High Royds and beyond, it is a lonely reminder of the half dozen or so that appear in late Victorian photographs of this area.
 
Dirus_Strictus said:
Not exactly - it is what it says on the machine end,' Number 2 Plaiter'. Basically a piece of equipment used to handle rolls of woven cloth as part of the process line and produce a continuous folded bundle of cloth at the outlet end of the machine for further processing - i.e. actual immersion in the dyeing vats. In photo 3 the roll of cloth is held by the two upright supports at the extreme lefthand end and is then fed through the machine. In the machine the cloth is tensioned to ensure that the whole roll is of uniform width and in the background of the third from last photograph are other portions of the machine that were part of the outlet feed. The tall darker item being the device that caused the falling length of cloth to fall in a 'zig-zag' motion into a wheeled trolley - thus forming the folded bundle of fabric for further processing. It remains because it has only scrap value, but a quick Google search will reveal that Indian producers of weaving and dyeing machinery are still producing these machines in one form or another.

Sadly the most striking feature of this site was ruined some months ago, when the beautifully shaped chimney cap was removed. Clearly seen from our bedroom window, with an onward view up the valley to High Royds and beyond, it is a lonely reminder of the half dozen or so that appear in late Victorian photographs of this area.
Click to expand...


You amaze me with your knowledge! :)
 
Dirus_Strictus said:
Not exactly - it is what it says on the machine end,' Number 2 Plaiter'. Basically a piece of equipment used to handle rolls of woven cloth as part of the process line and produce a continuous folded bundle of cloth at the outlet end of the machine for further processing - i.e. actual immersion in the dyeing vats. In photo 3 the roll of cloth is held by the two upright supports at the extreme lefthand end and is then fed through the machine. In the machine the cloth is tensioned to ensure that the whole roll is of uniform width and in the background of the third from last photograph are other portions of the machine that were part of the outlet feed. The tall darker item being the device that caused the falling length of cloth to fall in a 'zig-zag' motion into a wheeled trolley - thus forming the folded bundle of fabric for further processing. It remains because it has only scrap value, but a quick Google search will reveal that Indian producers of weaving and dyeing machinery are still producing these machines in one form or another.

Sadly the most striking feature of this site was ruined some months ago, when the beautifully shaped chimney cap was removed. Clearly seen from our bedroom window, with an onward view up the valley to High Royds and beyond, it is a lonely reminder of the half dozen or so that appear in late Victorian photographs of this area.
Click to expand...


Dirus your knowledge amazes me..thank you so much for that detailed account..and it's nice to see that these type of machines are still being built.
 
As far as the textile industry is concerned; my wife's family built and owned Castleton Mill in Armley until the collapse of the UK industry forced its closure, in the 1980's. Fortunately the original five storey mill building is preserved as prestige offices now. The Company - Thomas Leuty and Co, originally wove linen cloth and canvases, hence the original mill being five storey. The linen weaving process was a 'virtically' organised affair, where as the weaving of woollen cloth tended to be a 'horizontal' process. Thus a good rule of thumb, is to consider any really old multi-storey mill as being originally built for the linen trade and later converted to woollens. All purpose built Victorian woollen mills are large area single storey affairs, having the classic 'saw tooth' shaped glazed roofing. I have heard this type of roofing called 'north light illumination', which refers to the fact that the slated side of the roof pointed south - to prevent sun glare and over heating and the glass faced north to provide even illumination.

As for any other bits of knowledge I appear to have- a lifetime of book collecting can lead to the brain being full of useless historical information! Thanks for the compliments.
 
Dirus_Strictus said:
Sadly the most striking feature of this site was ruined some months ago, when the beautifully shaped chimney cap was removed. Clearly seen from our bedroom window, with an onward view up the valley to High Royds and beyond, it is a lonely reminder of the half dozen or so that appear in late Victorian photographs of this area.
Click to expand...

I remember that cap going on in the first please. Wasn't it to do with making the smoke cleaner? Anyway, we used to call the two stacks big and little bertha, not sure if that was just my grandparents or a wider term. The dye works had two cooling ponds out the back that used to let off steam. I remember watching someone fishing in one of the clearly hot ponds wondering what he was hoping to catch.
 
Thanks for that information Mercury, nice to hear from a 'local'. I have also heard the term 'big and little Bertha' used. Canada Row is where I sling my hook at the moment! Your recollections about the function of the 'cap' tie in with what I was told by an ex boiler house worker.
 
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