You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Bill Hampshire was born at Altofts near Wakefield, but has lived in Shipley for many<br />
years. Now retired, he was, formerly, a lecturer in Electrical Engineering at Leeds Polytechnic.<br />
The Shipley Local History Society was formed in 1986 by a group of classmates following<br />
the completion of an Adult Education course on the history of Shipley led by Dr. Gary<br />
Firth.<br />
It was felt at the time that a town such as Shipley was interesting enough to justify a society<br />
dedicated to the study of its history. As a result, over the last decade and a half a<br />
small, but enthusiastic group have worked on various small-scale projects relating to<br />
Shipley’s past.<br />
Now, for the first time since its foundation, the Society feels that the research that has<br />
been carried out by Bill Hampshire, on the evolution of three of the earliest water mills in<br />
Shipley, deserves a wider audience, and this book is the result.<br />
The story of Dixon Mill, Hirst Mill and New Hirst Mill is told here for the first time. We<br />
follow the story from their medieval origins as corn and fulling mills, through their various<br />
mutations within the wider textile trade, and their inevitable decline and replacement,<br />
following the development of the large centralised textile mills such as Salts of Saltaire.
Change language