Description and History of Site:-
Keighley's first purpose built mill of the Industrial Revolution era. A water powered wire drawing mill built by Thomas Ramsden of Halifax, a manufacturer of carding combs for the textile industry. Carding is the process of untangling and straightening out the fibres of cotton or wool in readiness for spinning. Traditionally the process had been carried out by hand using two combs across each other, however the process had been mechanised by the 1850's and was one of the first textile processes to be completely automated. Small wire hooks were fitted close together on a leather backing base which was secured around a drum about 2' diameter (610mm) and 18'' wide (457mm). The operator fed in fibres and as the drum rotated against a fixed card the fibres were straightened.
Wire Mill was a two storey structure 60' long (18.2m) and 24' (7.3m) wide. On the western gable a wheelhouse was attached housing a state-of-the-art waterwheel that was built on the latest principles of Leeds engineer John Smeaton. The latest innovation was to build a close fitting breastwork against the wheel to prevent water loss from the buckets and so losing power. The breastwork for Ramsden's wheel survived until the mill was demolished around 2020 and had been built out of the finest tooled ashlar blocks to ensure the wheel fitted closely to it. The wheel was approximately 22' diameter (6.7m) and 4' wide (1.2m). Two small ponds above and behind the mill, one flowing into the other provided power for the wheel. The axle of the mill wheel turned the gearing on the ground floor and a drive-shaft ran vertically into the upper floor where the wire drawing machinery was located along the south facing wall. The finished wire was then taken to his workshops in Halifax where he employed large numbers of children who had the dexterity to fit the tiny wire hooks into the leather backing. In 1756 Thomas Ramsden had married Ann Watson, the daughter of Rowland Watson Senior, a prominent Keighley lawyer. When Rowland Watson died in 1776 he left land in Ingrow and Oakworth to his daughter which gave the opportunity for her husband to build his own mill for the manufacture of his textile cards.
Once his new mill at Ingrow was established, Thomas Ramsden oversaw the construction of Low Mill (see WYK01305), the first cotton mill in Keighley and Yorkshire in 1779. His brother in law was the steward for Lord George Cavendish on who's land Low Mill was built and he would already have the contacts after building his own mill.
After the death of Thomas Ramsden in 1787 his youngest son, also called Thomas, took over the wire drawing business and transferred it to Halifax.
Wire Mill continued to be used by various businesses over the years such as, briefly a cotton spinning mill, shuttle makers, saw mill and finally a steel bluing company.
The mill was demolished sometime during 2020.

Further Reading and References:-
George Ingle, Yorkshire Cotton, Carnegie Publishing 1997. p165
http://www.keighleynews.co.uk/news/19400473.memory-lane-reminder-keighleys-rich-industrial-past/ by Robin Longbottom

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Key Words :- wire drawing mill water wheel ironworking

Viewing the Site :- Can be viewed from Wirefield Road.

Address :- Wirefield Road, off Staveley Road, Ingrow, Keighley, West Yorkshire
Grid Ref :- SE 05376 39669
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.853226 , Long -1.919758
Local Authority :- City of Bradford
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site cleared - no above ground remains visible
Site Dates :- c1776 - 2020
Record Date :- 1 June 2017

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Andrew Garford