Rags to Riches: the Building of a Town

A one-hour walk exploring the extraordinary wealth generated by Dewsbury’s dominance of the trade in the recycled woollen fabrics shoddy and mungo, reflected in the magnificent nineteenth-century town-centre buildings where the cloth was stored and the deals were done.

We will take a walk back in time, through 60 years of building boom, charting the coming of the railway in 1848 enabling the expansion of the shoddy and mungo production, through the development of the fields behind Daisy Hill and the Market Place. We will visit key buildings designed by local architects including Albert Holmes Kirk who ran the Dewsbury Office of John Kirk & Sons. Many are newly listed and designated in the Historic England Heritage Action Zone (HAZ). We will take in the former Market House Inn (1901) and return to the West Riding (the former Station Masters House) on Dewsbury railway station.

Timings & Tours

Wednesday 11 September:

11 am

Location & directions

Dewsbury Railway Station, Wellington Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, WF13 1HF

Directions:

Meet at the front entrance of the West Riding, Wellington Road, next door to the main station entrance, Platform 2.

Contact on day:

Rosalind Arden

Telephone number:

+447473609876

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

Parts of the tour will be walking up and down the streets of Dewsbury town centre which are moderately sloping. The West Riding opens at 10 am, and a disabled toilet is available. Coffee is served.

Additional information

Coffee and Refreshments can be purchased from the West Riding before or after the walk if required. Opening Hours 10 am to 11 pm.

Max no of people per tour:

12

Est. tour duration:

1 hour(s)

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