Wood and Bedford

1853

of Airedale Chemical Works, Kirkstall Road, Leeds, Yorks

• Manufacturers of Cudbear**, Paste, Weed and Liquid Archil**, Extract of Indigo, Ammonia, etc., etc.

• 1820 The business started at 40 Briggate, Leeds, where James Bedford was a "chymist, druggist and oil refiner".

• By 1830, and with a burgeoning interest in orchil dyes, he had added "cudbear manufacturer" to the list.

• He then moved to Hunslett Moorside.

• 1842 James Bedford died, and his son, also called James, then aged 22, took over and expanded the business.

• He was joined by Edward Wood, who went on to develop the commercial aspects of their partnership.

• Their skills were much in demand and soon they were producing cochineal, dyewoods and indigo, which necessitated a move to land owned by the Wood family on Kirkstall Road where, from premises known as Airedale Chemical Works, they operated as Wood and Bedford.

• As their reputation grew, so Wood and Bedford dyes were sold throughout the whole of the north of England.

• 1888 James Wood II retired and his two sons, James and Charles, had already joined the business.

• Wood and Bedford held many patents including inventions for dyeing and drying machinery; dyes; synthetic rubbers; oil; mordanting and finishing processes; linoleum.

• By the end of the 19th century, Germany had taken the lead in dye synthetic production.

• 1900 In a radical move to gain control, eleven separate companies merged to form the Yorkshire Dyeware and Chemical Co (YDC). The new company made dyes, soaps, inks, oils, varnishes and glues.

• 1912 They purchased Canal Works at Selby, which specialised in logwood extract, hematine red paste and crystals, as well as oils used in the manufacture of linoleum and tanning products.

• 1914 A large formaldehyde plant was installed for the production of the first synthetic tannins.

• 1920s The company developed processes for azo dyes.

• Inter-War. Times were hard and in a bid to survive, the company diversified by manufacturing laundry products, cod-liver oil, malt and baking powder.

• Note: **
  • Cudbear - a purple dyestuff, a powder prepared from various lichens.
  • Archil - a red or violet dye made from various lichens; a lichen yielding it.

See Also

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