MENSTON 1847

By Sara Hargreaves 2005.

The year 3 pupils from Menston Primary School have been learning about the history of Menston. We found an old 1847 map, and we tried to imagine what Menston would have looked like 158 years ago, in the middle of the nineteenth century.

In 1838, the population of Menston was only 326. The main industries were farming and textiles. There were several farms in Menston that grew corn, barley and oats. The corn was sent to the Grange where it was stored until it was needed. Next door, there was a corn mill which ground the corn into flour. The barley and oats were sent to the malt-kiln somewhere near Lane Ends or Derry Hill. Many farmers kept sheep, to supply the Bradford textile trade with wool. Bradford was an extremely important and wealthy city during the nineteenth century due to the textile factories and merchants. Probably the most famous mill to be built at this time was Salts Mill in Saltaire. It was built in 1853 and employed approximately 3000 workers.

Menston had its own textile industry, but on a much smaller scale. This industry was situated to the west of the village at the bottom of Bleach Mill Lane and the Glen. There were three textile mills which carried out the processes of scribbling and spinning of wool and linen. In addition to this, many cottages in the village would carry out various textile processes in the upstairs rooms. Examples would include spinning and making cloth.

Farm labourers at Chevin Dell Farm (now known as Chevin Hall Farm), West Chevin Road, Otley

Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford

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MAP OF MENSTON 1847

Some of the buildings featured on the map below, are still around today. Click on the hot spots to learn about each property. Many properties have changed their names over the years. The present names are in brackets to help avoid confusion!

Drawing of an old map of Menston dated 1847