Description and History of Site:-
Four-storey stone mill building alongside Holmes Road, close to Sowerby Bridge railway station. A very faint painted sign for Wood Brothers may just be seen alongside the building, facing Holmes Road. The top two floors of the building incorporate brick detailing and are of more recent date. There are various more modern additions between the building and the river. Following a fire in 1880, the engineering side of the Wood Brothers business in Sowerby Bridge was transferred across the River Calder to Holmes Road. The firm were famous for the manufacture of stationary steam engines which were widely used to drive industrial machinery, particularly in textile mills. When this trade declined, the business was closed in 1924, the buildings being acquired by S. Dugdale Son & Co, cotton spinners and doublers. The firm continued successfully for many years, but with the eventual decline of the cotton business in the UK, Dugdales moved out of this trade and into pvc compounding, a business which has continued to expand over the years.

Further Reading and References:-
Colum Giles and Ian H Goodall, Yorkshire Textile Mills 1770-1930, London HMSO, 1992.
E. Webster, From Rule of Thumb to CNC, 1997.

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Key Words :- foundry steam engine cotton spinning doubling pvc compounding

Viewing the Site :- No public access. The site is visible from Holmes Road and from Wharf Street, across the river. Holmes Road is very busy, with a blind corner and is used by many HGVs.

Address :- Holmes Road, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 2AA
Grid Ref :- SE 06106 23535
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.708206 , Long -1.908975
Local Authority :- Calderdale Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Site substantial com
Site Dates :- 1880 -
Record Date :- 5 May 2015

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson