Armley Mills Industrial Museum
Encyclopedia
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of industrial heritage located in Armley
Armley
Armley is a district in the west of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It starts less than a mile from Leeds city centre. Like much of Leeds, Armley grew in the industrial revolution and had several mills, one of which is now the Armley Mills museum...
, west Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It includes collections of textile machinery, railway equipment and heavy engineering amongst others.
The Grade II* listed building housing the Armley Mills museum was once the world's largest woollen mill. The current structures were built in 1805 by Benjamin Gott
Benjamin Gott
Benjamin Gott was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the Armley Mills Industrial Museum.Gott was born in Calverley, Pudsey in West Yorkshire,...
and closed as a commercial mill in 1969. They were taken over by Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council
Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...
and reopened as a museum of industrial heritage in 1982.
Railway collection
The museum has an extensive collection of standard gaugeStandard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
and narrow gauge railway rolling stock. The collection was started in 1956 when the Leeds City Museum acquired Barber from the recently closed Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
Gas Works Railway. A short display line is installed at Armley allowing some of the collection to run.
Locomotives
| Name | Builder | Gauge | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barber | Thomas Green & Son Thomas Green & Son Thomas Green & Son, Ltd. were engineers who manufactured a wide range of products at the Smithfield Foundry, Leeds, United Kingdom.- Introduction :Thomas Green came to Leeds from Carlton-on-Trent near Newark and founded the company in 1835... |
0-6-2T | 1908 | ex Harrogate Harrogate Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th... Gas Works Railway. Acquired 1956. Currently on long-term loan to the South Tynedale Railway South Tynedale Railway The South Tynedale Railway is a heritage railway in England and is England's highest narrow gauge railway. The route runs from Alston in Cumbria to Kirkhaugh in Northumberland via the South Tyne Viaduct, the Gilderdale Viaduct and the Whitley Viaduct... |
||
| Jack | Hunslet Engine Company Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for... |
0-4-0WT | Acquired 1957 | |||
| Lord Granby | Hudswell Clarke Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:... |
0-4-0ST | Acquired 1961 | |||
| Junin | Hudswell Clarke Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:... |
2-6-2DM | 1930 | The world's first commercially built diesel locomotive | ||
| Southam 2 | Hudswell Clarke Hudswell Clarke Hudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:... |
0-4-0DM | 1942 | D625 | Ex-Rugby Cement, Southam Southam Southam is a small market town in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509 in the town.The nearest sizeable town to Southam is Leamington Spa, located roughly 7 miles to the west... , Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare... |