Fire at Wellington Mills, Elland, West Yorkshire

Photograph taken 1912 © Copyright George Lumb Spinners Ltd ref: BB86/05782

The fire at number 2 mill in 1912 caused many families to be evacuated from their homes to the safety of this makeshift camp. People appear to have taken whatever they could carry, and chest of drawers, tables, chairs and bags of clothes have all been rescued from the houses in the way of the fire.

Location

West Yorkshire Elland

Period

Edwardian (1902 - 1913)

Themes

The machines to the right of this picture are carding machines. These used spiked drums in which the cotton was rotated. This process aligned the fibres, which were then placed in buckets as lengths or 'slivers'. The slivers were combined on a doubling frame, which is the machine that most of these women are working on.

Fire at Wellington Mills, Elland, West Yorkshire

Location

Period

Themes

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