Brown Brothers (of Gildersome)

Flax spinners, of Gildersome, Yorkshire

'WET SPINNING IN FLAX MILLS. In the last half-yearly report of the Inspectors of Factories appears the following account by Mr Walker, assistant inspector in Mr Redgrave’s district, of the means adopted by Messrs Brown Brothers, of Gildersome, for maintaining dry atmosphere and regulating the temperature in their flax-spinning rooms: I beg to bring under your notice that, in the course of the last six months I have visited, with one or two exceptions, all the flax mills in this district in England which there is wet spinning, for the purpose taking measures to enforce the 19th section of the Factory Act of 1844, requiring that sufficient means should employed for protecting the workers from being wetted, and, where hot water is used, for preventing the escape of steam into the rooms occupied by the workers. In some few instances I found that these precautions had been very much neglected, the clothes of the principally young girls and women, being completely saturated with wet caused by the condensed steam and spray thrown off by the revolving spindles. Some of the floors were also flooded, and in one instance the thermometer was standing at 83 deg. It is, however, only right to mention that, on pointing out these defects, I received ready assurance from all the millowners or other responsible persons that proper means would be at once taken to comply with the above provision of the statute. When at Leeds, Mr Rickards directed my attention to a mill in the neighbourhood, Messrs Brown Brothers, at Gildersome, who take peculiar pains to introduce improvements in ventilation into their works, which I visited, and was glad to find that they deserved all that Mr Rickards had stated in their praise. There were covers on the troughs of hot water, to prevent, as much as possible, the escape of steam: and aprons or splash boards had been placed in front of the spinning frames to intercept and carry off the spray from the spindles. They had also introduced into their wet spinning room an admirable contrivance, consisting of a fan, etc., for carrying off the steam and hot air, which it accomplished so effectually that, while the thermometer in the work to which I have referred stood on the same day at 83°, the temperature in Messrs Brown’s mill was evidently very little above 60°. As none of the partners were at the works upon the occasion of this visit, and being desirous that the workers in other flax wet spinning mills might enjoy the same advantages of those at Gildersome, I, immediately my return to Leeds, wrote to Messrs Brown Brothers, expressing the great satisfaction I had derived from visiting their works, and requesting their permission to bring under the notice of some of their brother millowners the improvements above alluded to. To this letter I received the following reply;—
Gildersome, near Leeds, May 5th, 1869.
Dear Sir,— Having been absent yesterday, I have only today received your very gratifying letter the 3d. inst., and are most happy to learn that you appreciate our endeavours to rid our workrooms of dust and steam, and thus to promote the health and comfort of our workpeople. We have never made a secret of the fan, but, on the contrary, have wished for its general introduction into all mills where they have to contend with dust and steam ; and we have named it frequently in conversation with spinners of our acquaintance. Messrs Hives & Tennant, and Messrs Tetley, Tathams, & Walker have, we believe, one at work; and we shall all times be most happy to afford every facility to anybody you may recommend to call here for the purpose of witnessing the action of our fans. We consider that "in a pecuniary sense" they amply repay for their adoption, because the workpeople are more regular in their attendance, consequence of being in the enjoyment of better health, which also, of course, enables them to do their work better. In the spinning rooms the driving belts last longer and drive better, than they do in mills where they constantly become saturated by day with condensed steam, which relaxes them ; then they dry at night, which contracts them; and this alternate relaxing and contracting tends greatly to their destruction. In those departments of a mill where dusty operations are carried on, the removal of the dust makes it easier to keep the machinery clean, and thus saves labour in cleaning, and, of course, greatly diminishes the risk of fire: then tho oil does not clog, and thus machines drive better with less power; and, of course, clean machines make better work than dirty ones. It is, therefore, evident that it must pay master spinner to incur very small expendituro needed to fit up the fans.— We remain, dear Sir, yours most respectfully, (Signed) Brown Brothers
Daniel Walker, Esq., 7, Moorland Road, Leeds. ...' Continued at some length.

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