HCS discovers why all history lovers should visit Sunnybank Mills in Farsley
By David Wyles
I’ll begin by saying that if you weren’t able to join Huddersfield Civic Society colleagues and friends on this tour of the mill’s archives I urge you to go at some point.
Sunnybank Mills produced fine worsted cloth and the carefully preserved archive is so much more than a dusty record of the mill’s history. With a very able, knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide in David Cox we were able to appreciate the history of these mill buildings dating from the early 19th century after which it expanded as a vertical mill, combining the various processes of cloth production. Production at the mill finally ceased in 2008.
I’m sure many will have visited local industrial museums and know their weft from their warp, bobbins and shuttles. Here, there is not only an insight into the machinery of cloth production but a true feel of the quality, range and complexity in producing fabrics, of which the archive holds many thousand examples.
Here, you can feel the difference between the wool combed from local sheep to the soft, high-quality wool from Merino sheep, originally from Spain but introduced into Australia in the early 19th Century by Farsley born Samuel Marsden. By the mid-century most quality worsted cloth producers were using imported Australian wool.
The archive has a fascinating collection of mill ledgers and documents recording the production and sale of the cloth to all corners of the globe and the complex range of colours and their chemical attributes.
The archive owes much to the family of William Gaunt. William bought the mill in the First World War and experienced periods of decline and growth during economic depression and war. The family has supported the preservation of this archive under the supervision of Heritage Director Rachel Moaby to ensure the unique and remarkable story is preserved.
There’s much more at the mill, with a contemporary gallery, café and shop with some of the HCS group having previously visited the mill for talks and exhibitions. You can find out more by visiting the Sunnybank Mills website: https://www.sunnybankmills.co.uk/