Takeover at the Mills Part II

Thoughts from a member of the Leeds Playhouse Youth Theatre Member

Taking the 16a bus from Leeds I passed through areas of West Yorkshire I’d never been to before. On this bus you pass by mill after mill after mill, all closed down, all lost. Then you get to Sunny Bank Mills and Farsley and you look at all this history and you realise what a shame these other mills have all been lost to time. It’s amazing to have such a well preserved history in the archives and surrounding area of Farsley. I think I managed to take photos of nearly every single thing there.

Arriving a little late I didn’t get too long in the archives so I decided to make up for my lost time by exploring the rest of the other buildings in the mill. I looked at the art gallery, noticing it was pushing forward a lot of local and young artists from Yorkshire. Their ‘Ones to Watch’ exhibition focused on graduating artists from or based in Yorkshire. The exhibition also included very interesting pieces by Jane Gibson and Jane Wood which both caught my attention because of Gibson’s use of Merino wool. Which, thanks to Samuel Marsden, is very important to the textiles history of Farsley; and Wood’s use of recycled fishing line, plastic, metal and wood found on the shores of her home in Anglesey. The whole building in fact was full of a push for sustainability; from fliers I found pointing to local vintage fairs to the massive recycled sheep that stands at the entrance. Shampoo and laundry detergent where you bring your own bottle to refill it, reducing plastic waste. All Eco friendly, all cruelty free. I managed to grab some cloth which was given free of charge from a tub of excess cloth leftovers from clothes made. Although I’m no tailor myself I was very interested in what could be made with it and I am currently thinking what I could use it for. The whole experience was very welcoming to people willing to learn; audio tours for walking around, posters on walls covered in information on the history of the building. Everyone working there was very interested in keeping the history of the mill and the area alive which is something that has definitely influenced this show.

Speaking about history, the actual archive situated in Red Lane Mill, the old warping shed, was also extremely interesting. I listened to a recorded interview with June Pearce, an ex-employee, talking about her time working at the mill. She talked about starting when she was 15 years old, in 1949, after leaving school, wishing instead to work in confectionery. She worked from 7:30am till 17:30 pm on £2 a week for her apprenticeship learner’s wage. She spoke about cloth in such a fascinating way, talking about how you don’t really see it until you’ve worked with it. ‘Everything in nature has a pattern’ she told the archivist. Rachel, one of the archivists, spoke to me and [another youth theatre member] about how important she views keeping a record of this history. The archives really are impressively packed full of about a century and a half worth of stuff; an old company safety rules sign, a large array of packing case stencils showing where the cloth would be sent – New York, Sydney, Copenhagen a large stencil in the centre with ‘To England’ written in Serbian. An information section dedicated to the aforementioned Samuel Marsden and the Merino sheep he brought over from the Australian continent (recommend reading up on him, interesting bloke). 3,000 sq ft of shelves and shelves of history that’s lasted to this day thanks to the archivists working there.

What my visit to Sunny Bank Mills, less specifically Farsley and more specifically the archives taught me is that; wherever you find a history of workers you will always find a history of community. This archive and this mill have been kept open by the Gaunt’s since 1943 and, as the art gallery and archive it is today, since 2008. Even going back to its beginnings (where the Gaunt’s were involved) this was a co-operative space set up by local clothiers to share rent with one another ‘The Farsley Club Mill’. This is a space begun and maintained by a sense of community and that is seen in every room you walk in.

Book your visit and come and see us for yourself!

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