In 1909 Broadhead & Graves purchased the Mill at Kirkheaton and rapidly developed a successful business establishing a reputation for manufacturing superfine worsteds and especially for milled and semi-milled qualities
H.R.H. The Duke of York visited the mill in 1932 at which time he was presented with some lengths of cloth and six years later, as King of England, he ordered a further three suit lengths from the mill.
King George and Queen Mary visited the mill in 1919 and in 1949 the mill was again honoured by a royal visit, this time by Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. By this time the mill had established a superlative reputation for their fine worsteds and their products were sought after by buyers throughout the world.
Disaster struck the mill when there was a serious fire at the site in 1964. Over fifty firemen were needed to tackle the blaze but they could not prevent the collapse of the roof of the building or the destruction of pattern and design records from the mill’s early days.
Production recovered after the fire and continued at the site until a very questionable closing of the site in February 2005, despite ample profit margins, stock levels and orders on the books. The site was once again hit by fire in April of 2008 after arsonists piled up cloth and materials and set fire to them.
The mill has now been demo-ed unfortunately. I didnt get any exterior pics due to having to dodge locals and generally be very quick on the ground on both visits so check this out for exteriors and demo:
http://www.examiner.co.uk/videos-pi...ne-worsted-mill-in-kirkheaton-86081-22309513/
And now my pics:
H.R.H. The Duke of York visited the mill in 1932 at which time he was presented with some lengths of cloth and six years later, as King of England, he ordered a further three suit lengths from the mill.
King George and Queen Mary visited the mill in 1919 and in 1949 the mill was again honoured by a royal visit, this time by Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. By this time the mill had established a superlative reputation for their fine worsteds and their products were sought after by buyers throughout the world.
Disaster struck the mill when there was a serious fire at the site in 1964. Over fifty firemen were needed to tackle the blaze but they could not prevent the collapse of the roof of the building or the destruction of pattern and design records from the mill’s early days.
Production recovered after the fire and continued at the site until a very questionable closing of the site in February 2005, despite ample profit margins, stock levels and orders on the books. The site was once again hit by fire in April of 2008 after arsonists piled up cloth and materials and set fire to them.
The mill has now been demo-ed unfortunately. I didnt get any exterior pics due to having to dodge locals and generally be very quick on the ground on both visits so check this out for exteriors and demo:
http://www.examiner.co.uk/videos-pi...ne-worsted-mill-in-kirkheaton-86081-22309513/
And now my pics:
