Temple Works is a former
flax mill
Flax mills are mills which process flax. The earliest mills were developed for spinning yarn for the linen industry.
John Kendrew (an optician) and Thomas Porthouse (a clockmaker), both of Darlington developed the process from Richard Arkwrigh ...
in
Holbeck
Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the o ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England. It was designed by the engineer
James Coombe a former pupil of
John Rennie; the painter
David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to:
Arts and literature
* David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter
* David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector
* David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...
; and the architect
Joseph Bonomi the Younger. It was built in the
Egyptian Revival style for the industrialist
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
between 1836 and 1840 to contain a 240
horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
double-
beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newco ...
by
Benjamin Hick
Benjamin Hick (1 August 1790 – 9 September 1842) was an English civil and mechanical engineer, art collector and patron; his improvements to the steam engine and invention of scientific tools were held in high esteem by the engineering pr ...
(
B. Hick and Sons
B. Hick and Sons, subsequently Hick, Hargreaves & Co, was a British engineering company based at the Soho Ironworks in Bolton, England. Benjamin Hick, a partner in Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell, later Rothwell, Hick & Co., set up the company in par ...
). Temple Works is the only
Grade I listed building in Holbeck.
History
By 1842 John Marshall owned four mills in Holbeck. They were known as Mills B to E, Mill A having been demolished in 1837. The early 1830s had been a time of great prosperity for the firm after the introduction of the wet spinning process in 1829, the transition to which took five years to complete. John Marshall's four sons all entered the business, but increasingly he relied on his son James concerning the manufacturing side. The firm's competitors in Leeds were all prospering and had built or had plans to build sizeable new mills. The firm at that time specialised in making fine yarns, principally for the French market, but this was starting to decline. Therefore, James Marshall decided upon a programme of diversification into thread and cloth manufacture. This decision to diversify required an extension to the manufacturing facility in Holbeck. James had two alternative plans, another six storey mill on the site of the demolished Mill A in Water Lane, or a single storey building extending from Mill C in Marshall Street south to the junction with Sweet Street. He compared the cost of the two mills and calculated the single storey structure would cost £24,000, about 15% cheaper than a comparable six storey building. The new building was modelled at one third the full size in the yard of Mill C. James persuaded his father, then in semi-retirement, that the single storey mill should be built.
[W. G. Rimmer (1960). 'Marshalls of Leeds Flax Spinners', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Studies in Economic History] A Mr Smith had already built the first single-storey cotton mill in Deanston, near Stirling, but Messrs. Marshall planned a much larger and complete specimen.
[Penny Magazine, December 1843 supplement, 'A Day in a Leeds Flax Mill]
![JD_1840_HickWingedSunEngine04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/JD_1840_HickWingedSunEngine04.jpg)
Temple Works, also known as Temple Mill, comprises an office building and a factory. The office building has a stone facade consisting of 18 full-height windows separated by 18 pillars with an overhanging cornice in the Egyptian style, based on the temple at
Antaeopolis and the
Temple of Horus at
Edfu
Edfu ( egy, bḥdt, ar, إدفو , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately sixty thousand people. Edfu is the site ...
. The factory building derived from the
Typhonium
''Typhonium'' is a genus in the family Araceae native to eastern and southern Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. It is most often found growing in wooded areas.Bown, Deni (2000). ''Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family''. Timber Press. .
;Species
#'' ...
at
Dendera
Dendera ( ar, دَنْدَرة ''Dandarah''; grc, Τεντυρις or Τεντυρα; Bohairic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲣⲓ, translit=Nitentōri; Sahidic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲛⲧⲱⲣⲉ, translit=Nitntōre), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient ...
. There was a chimney in the style of an obelisk, but after it developed a crack it was demolished and replaced by a brick structure in 1852. Hick's engine was modelled with
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
details, including a
regulator designed by his son
Benjamin
Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...
in the form of a winged
solar disk, and replaced the original
Watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
engines.
James Marshall wrote to his father John in May 1838 describing the arrangements for lighting the building using about 60 conical glass skylights, 14 feet in diameter and rising 10 feet above the roof. By this means light poured into the room at all hours of the day. Underground in brick vaulted cellars ran a maze of passageways, tradesmen's shops and private baths for the use of the workers (cold, free; hot, one penny). In one room a fan pushed steam-heated air into the factory, which was kept at a constant temperature and humidity. In 1847–50 a church, St John the Evangelist, was constructed behind Temple Mill to a Gothic design by
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
. Other outbuildings were added, including stables.
The opening of the factory in June 1840 was marked by a great
Temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
Tea for the firm's 2,600 workers. Six months later the machinery had been installed and the mill began production. The adjoining office building was completed a few years later. The new buildings did not extend to Sweet Street, as planned, and the factory was only half the size James Marshall had forecast and had only half the spindles it could have housed. All the extra yarn produced was turned into thread, and no cloth was ever woven, as had also been planned, because of the slump in demand for finished products in the 1840s. The flax spinners of Leeds then lost their competitive edge as free trade meant that they could no longer compete with their counterparts in Ireland, France and Belgium. The demand for linen was drastically reduced as it came to be replaced by cotton. Day-to-day control of Temple Mill passed to the manager, John Richardson, who had been with the firm since the 1820s. He installed several of his friends and relations in senior positions with salaries of between 300 and 500 pounds a year each.
On 11 August 1871 600 operatives at the Water Lane mills staged a one-day strike for a 10 per cent pay rise. Richardson first threatened them, then closed all the mills the following day. Stephen Marshall, one of the third generation, traced the unrest to Temple Mill, 'as bad a lot of men as we have'. He proposed the public dismissal of the foreman at Temple Mill in such a way as to ruin him. Other members of the family persuaded Stephen Marshall to re-open the mills and negotiate, but talks dragged on for days. The ''
Leeds Mercury'' published an article contrasting the poverty and insecurity of a worker's life with the spending and luxury of the Marshall family. The 10% wage increase was conceded after a family meeting, but the family determined it would deal with the trouble makers at Temple Mill in the long term.
The Marshall firm continued in business longer than most of its Leeds competitors, eventually closing in 1886, although it made a loss in twenty one out of the last forty years of its existence. However, by the late 1870s Temple Mill was sub-let and ceased to be a net expense to the business. It was sold by auction in 1886 along with all the other assets of the firm.
The Marshalls' inspiration for the design of Temple Works was their interest in
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
. When it was built it was said that Temple Works was the biggest single room in the world. An unusual feature of the Temple Works building is that
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
used to
graze on the grass-covered roof. This served the purpose of retaining
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
in the flax mill to prevent the
linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
thread from becoming dried out and unmanageable.
Sheep are not able to use stairs so the first
hydraulic lift was devised in order to resolve the problem of moving them onto the roof; Hick was a
hydraulics engineer, but it is not clear whether he was responsible for the invention, his youngest son,
William Hick (1820–1844) supervised the installation of the 'Egyptian' beam engine from Leeds during 1841.
1842 General Strike
The mill was caught up in the
Plug Riots of August 1842. The Leeds ''Annals'' described the events at the mill:
“The vicinity of the new mill in Marshall Street was completely crammed with an excited mob, many of whom were armed with bludgeons, stones &c. The yard-door leading to the boilers of the new mill was strongly defended by Mr J. G. Marshall, and a number of workmen; but the mob by repeated efforts forced down the door, and rushed into the yard. They could not find the plug of the boiler, and consequently did not succeed in stopping the mill. They left the premises without having done any serious mischief, and then proceeded to the mill of Messrs. Titley, Tatham and Walker, Water Lane, which they were engaged in stopping when
Prince George with the
Lancers
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...
came up at full speed and formed in a line in Camp Field. The
riot act
The Riot Act (1 Geo.1 St.2 c.5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and o ...
was read, and two or three of the ringleaders were taken prisoners … .”
Later use
In the 1970s the building was used as the Kays Mail Order Warehouse, and some of the workers were photographed by
Peter Mitchell Peter or Pete Mitchell may refer to:
Media
*Pete Mitchell (broadcaster) (1958–2020), British broadcaster
*Peter Mitchell (newsreader) (born 1960), Australian journalist
*Peter Mitchell (photographer) (born 1943), British documentary photographer
...
outside the building at the end of their night shift.
Restoration
![Temple Mill blue plaque 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Temple_Mill_blue_plaque_2018.jpg)
A
planning application
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
dated July 2005 proposed to partly demolish, refurbish, and extend the mill to form a retail centre, offices, cafes, 75 flats and parking. On 8 December 2008 a stone pillar in the mill's facade collapsed. A slab of millstone grit fell onto the pavement in Marshall Street and the roof parapet above the pillar bowed out.
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
advised on a strategy for repairs; their spokesman said that the building was "probably the finest example of a carved stone elevation in the whole region."
In November 2015,
Burberry announced plans to use the site for manufacturing. However, following the
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
vote, they put the plans on hold, finally abandoning them in 2017. The building was put up for auction in 2017 with a starting price of £1. The new buyer, CEG, gave an estimate of £35 million for the restoration works in June 2019, with the building forming part of plans for regeneration of the South Bank of Leeds.
In March 2020 it was announced that the building was under consideration as the home of a planned Northern branch of the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
.
The government's 2020 budget promised £25 million towards the restoration of Temple Works to enable its use by the British Library.
The government's
Culture Recovery Fund, in partnership with Historic England, made available over £1 million in funding for repair work.
In popular culture
Temple Works features in a
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
BBC film, ''John Betjeman Discovers Leeds'' made in 1968 about
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
city architecture.
In late 2009 the building was opened as an arts centre, with an initial exhibition and tour as part of Leeds
Light Night
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022
Light Night is an annual cultural event which first happened in the city of Leeds in October 2005, as part of the launch of the region-wide Illuminate Cultural Festival.
Based on the European model of Nuit Blanche ...
on 9 October.
See also
*
Grade I listed buildings in West Yorkshire
There are over 9,000 Grade I listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the county of West Yorkshire, by metropolitan district.
Bradford
Calderdale
Kirklees
...
*
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Double Beam Engine Model of
B. Hick and Son's 240 hp double beam engine on display at the
Science Museum
A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...
*
*
*
{{coord, 53.7897, -1.5529, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Grade I listed buildings in Leeds
Grade I listed industrial buildings
Buildings and structures in Leeds
Industrial buildings completed in 1840
Textile mills in West Yorkshire
Flax
Egyptian Revival architecture in the United Kingdom
Leeds Blue Plaques