Description and History of Site:-
Impressive and architecturally striking maltings, set in a dramatic location close to a curving railway viaduct within the Wheatley valley, surrounded by fields. Designed in 1898 by the nationally significant brewery architect William Bradford for Messrs. Samuel Webster & Sons Ltd., and completed at a cost of £10,000 in 1900. 16,000 square yards of land were acquired for the purpose, and an agreement reached with the Great Northern Railway and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway for the construction of a siding from Wheatley goods station onto the land owned by the brewery. The maltings were of 120 quarters capacity and equipped with four growing floors and two sixty quarter malt kilns. The top floor was used for the storage of unmalted barley and each of the growing floors had a capacity of 35 quarters. The railway siding passed beneath a section of the building allowing direct unloading from railway wagons to the hoist. Despite the installation of new Suxe solid fuel burners as recently as 1963, the decision was taken in 1965 to close the maltings, at which time they provided only one third of the brewery's requirement. For many years the building was used for storage purposes, but in 1987 it was converted by the company for use as offices. After a period of disuse following the closure of the brewery the Old Maltings re-opened as a day nursery in 2007, with a community centre being added in 2011. The Maltings Sixth Form College opened at the site in 2013.

Further Reading and References:-
P.W.Robinson, A History of the Fountain Head Brewery, (unpublished, copy deposited with Calderdale Central Library, Reference Dept.), pp. 100, 102, 184.

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Key Words :- brewery maltings malthouse

Viewing the Site :- The maltings can be viewed from Ovenden Wood Road, alternatively it can be viewed from across the valley at the junction of Long Lane and Lane Ends Wheatley

Address :- Maltings Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX2 0SJ
Grid Ref :- SE 06666 26815
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.737680 , Long -1.900422
Local Authority :- Calderdale Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No - 1138779,
Site Condition :- Site refurbished to industrial / commercial use
Site Dates :- 1900 - 1960s
Record Date :- 2 August 2016

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Peter Robinson