A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY AND ARTIFACTS COVERING FOUR FLOORS
Gathered together over a number of years this special collection represents a wide cross section of industry that operated in and around Calderdale. Some of the machines are the only surviving examples in the country and have been placed in settings to try and recreate a close representation of the time when they were fully operational in the not too distant past.
Halifax has been referred to, in the past, as the town of a hundred trades. Whilst Calderdale Industrial Museum cannot claim to represent ‘100 trades, ’ the collection of exhibits does illustrate the tremendous variety of industries and products which existed in not only Halifax but throughout Calderdale. Industries, for which the area was not only well known locally, but also nationally and world wide.
The exhibits at the museum are an amazing collection of machinery, products , industrial and social history of Calderdale which will be fascinating for visitors with a wide variety of interests whether it is in engines, pottery, textiles or just a love of the past .
THE BASEMENT
Down in the basement, oil engine, ‘Sadie’, provides the motive power for part of an extensive collection of locally manufactured machine tools, including lathes, drills and planers. Take in the experience of nineteenth century Mytholm Coal Mine, and learn about stone extraction and the exploitation of clay in the fireclay industries.
A quarry mans tools of the trade
Treadle powered lathe
Experience coal mining
CARTER & WRIGHT plate
A Robson Engine
Coal mining at the turn of the century
THE GROUND FLOOR
The Power Gallery illustrates the story of power generation, from the water wheel to the internal combustion engine, by way of steam and electricity. The availability of power, initially from the numerous well fed streams throughout Calderdale, was key to the growth of industry locally.
We are seeking grant funding to allow us to reconfigure the Power Gallery to achieve the following ends:
- to procure new steam plant to allow the steam engines to run once again
- to allow better display of the internal combustion (gas and oil) engines so that hey can be demonstrated
- to build a small maintenance workshop where skilled staff can be seen making and repairing parts for the historic machines.
Early beam engine
Impressive mill architecture
Horizontal single cylinder steam engine
THE FIRST FLOOR
The first floor displays products that were made in Calderdale. World famous names such as Mackintosh’s Toffees and Crossley’s carpets were everyday brands originating in Halifax. The museum houses an amazing collection of carpet and moquette samples manufactured by local firms John Crossley and Sons and John Holdsworth and Co Ltd, both of world wide renown. Two carpet looms and a working moquette loom also form part of the collection as well as more information about the industries.
Moquette Loom
Staircase window glass of c1921
Three quarters Wilton-Brussels carpet loom
THE TOP FLOOR
This floor is still to be renovated and will be opened progressively over the next few years. The objective is to develop and present the story of how worsted cloth is manufactured from sheep’s wool. This was an essential industry based in Calderdale from medieval times, which provided the fertile grounds for the seeds of the industrial revolution to take root.
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