Kirk Work Walk & Arcade Site Visit
West Riding Refreshment Rooms, Wellington Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF13 1HF
In 1820, seven years after its invention by Benjamin Law, John Halliley installed a rag machine at Aldams Mill and began the manufacture of shoddy in Dewsbury. In 1860 the Huddersfield architect John Kirk opened an office in the town, took his twenty-year-old son Albert Holmes Kirk into partnership and entrusted that part of the business to him. At that time no fewer than fifteen of the twenty-three mills in Dewsbury belonged to shoddy manufacturers. By the turn of the century, Mark Oldroyd & Sons of Spinkwell Mill owned factories in Germany and Silesia and German firms such as Bielefeld Bros & Wertheim and Frederick Wutow had premises in Dewsbury. Shoddy was well suited to the manufacture of military uniforms, and there must have been battles – between the Crimean War and the conflict in Aden, by which time the trade was over – when both sides were dressed in cloth from Dewsbury-based companies. The Kirks specialised in opulent textile warehouses built to resemble the palazzi of Renaissance merchant princes, but during the good times, as prosperity spread through the whole population, they diversified into buildings for retail.
[This walk also runs on Wednesday 17th without a site visit.]
SITE VISIT
We will visit The Arcade for a hard hat tour of the site work-in-progress, due to complete in spring 2026. This will include a Health and Safety briefing. Please wear suitable footwear for a building site.
Walk led by Simon Poë and Rosalind Arden.
Timings & Tours
- Friday 19 September:
- 1100
Location & directions
West Riding Refreshment Rooms, Wellington Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF13 1HF
- Directions:
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- Contact on day:
- Rosalind Arden
- Telephone number:
- +447473609876
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking required
- Booking conditions:
- Please book on the eventbrite link.
- Booking contact name:
- Simon Poë or Rosalind Arden
- Booking telephone number:
- +447473609876
- Booking email:
- [email protected]
- Booking website:
- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kirk-work-walk-arcade-site-visit-tickets-1404164887979?aff=oddtdtcreator
- Booking opens:
- 02 Jun 2025 12:00 AM
- Booking closes:
- 18 Sep 2025 12:00 AM
Accessibility details
We meet at the front door of the West Riding at 10.45 where there is ramp access to the side door and a disabled toilet. The bar opens 10.00 and serves tea and coffee.
Additional information
Assemble at the Front of the West Riding at 10.45 for a prompt start at 11.00. For urgent contact please call Rosalind on 07473 609876
- Max no of people per tour:
- 10
- Est. tour duration:
- 1 hour(s) 45 minute(s)
