Sun Lane, Burley in Wharfedale
Wharfedale Steam Laundry Company
The following is an article in the Wharfedale & Airedale Observer 24th April 1896
AT A STEAM LAUNDRY - by an unknown correspondent
"Washing day," that bete noir of the family man, when the house is redolent of soap suds, the atmosphere thick with steam, and the auricular organ affected with the groanings and creakings of the family "wringer," is happily a thing of the past if only advantage is taken of the scientific methods which an inventive age has evolved, and which are gradually and surely elbowing out of existence the antiquated peggy-tub, set-pot and wringing machine which have done duty for so long.
If anyone doubts this, let him pay a visit of inspection - as the writer has done - to the well-appointed premises of the Wharfedale Laundry Co. They are situate in Sun Lane, Burley-in-Wharfedale, out of reach of the dusty highways and far removed from the influence of factory smoke, looking out upon open country & verdant pastures. Such a doubting one would doubtless be met by the courteous managing partner Mr. Joseph W. Akam, who takes a considerable pride in the neat & natty appearance of the premises, and who will entertain the visitor in an agreeable manner in showing him round, meantime describing the modus operandi of the several processes and explaining the uses and capabilities of the various machines. Of these there are no lack : they are all of the latest improved types, from designs by an eminent firm of engineers, whose aim has been to put into the market machinery which while it cleanses perfectly, does so with the minimum amount of wear and tear. This is an important point, for, as is known to those who patronised laundries before these later inventions came out, there was formerly a very considerable amount of wear and tear on most washable articles. Here there is practically none. Another advantage with this model laundry is that the whole of the drying is done by a continuous volume of pure air, by means of which the linen etc., maintains a good colour. But we are anticipating. At the entrance is the office, neatly furnished. By means of speaking tubes, communication can be had with the heads of any of the departments, each of which, it may be mentioned in passing is scrupulously clean and the sanitary arrangements perfect throughout. On the opposite side is the Receiving Room, quite separate and distinct from the rooms wherein the finished work is effectually aired and packed ready for delivery. Here the goods which are daily collected by the company's vans, are sorted. Immediately adjoining is a commodious washhouse, fitted up with a variety of labour and time-saving appliances, the chief of which are a "rotary washer" - a huge horizontal wooden cyclinder half-filled with water, soap and clothes. This revolves both ways by reversing motion, but there is nothing of the mangling or wringing process bout it, and consequently no wear and tear. When this capacious washer has done its duty, the newly washed articles are placed into a perpendicular vessel called a "hydro extractor" - undoubtedly the best machine extant for the work it has to do, which is to extract the water from the articles without squeezing or pressing. It consists of a circular cage which does 1300 revolutions per minute. It is this high rate of speed which extracts, in a surprising short space of time, the water, the clothes in it being practically dried in 3 minutes. This done, the linen that has to be starched is taken into the drying chamber, through which passes a strong current of hot air, which can be regulated to almost any heat. The air is drawn directly from outside by means of a fan, passed through a heater then into the drying room. The clothes are thus quickly aired, and as the hot air passes outside again the current is always fresh. The linen is then starched - and there is a simply contrived machine for that purpose - and afterwards goes up into the ironing room. Machinery is here also requisitioned for ironing, it being a regular thing for a shirt front and the cuffs to be turned out in 3 minutes, with a glossy surface free from wrinkles, which, to say of the natural-like curl of the collar, would make many a good laundry-maid of the old school green with envy. The bodies of the shirts are, however ironed by hand, the irons being heated by electricity. Plain articles needing no starching, on leaving the hydro-extractor are taken to the callendar room, where they are practically "ironed" by a machine of great capacity, afterwards folded, and, in common with the starched linen, the whole put into the airing-off room (which is of a low temperature) to ensure their being absolutely dry. They are then neatly packed into hampers and conveyed to the patrons' houses by the company's vans. Those who have not seen the results of this model laundry's operations will scarcely believe it, but by those who have it is generally conceded that the finish obtained by the improved methods far supercedes hand work. The whole of the machinery is driven by a powerful horizontal steam engine of the ordinary type, and the various departments are lit by electricity. Centrally located for the surrounding district, the Wharfedale Laundry at Burley should do a big business in Otley, Yeadon, Guiseley, Menston, Ilkley and Burley, especially as the company's vans call at any address to convey goods to and from the Laundry, thereby saving cost of carriage, besides a great amount of trouble and inconvenience at home. |
A Burley Mystery - Where on Sun Lane, Burley in Wharfedale was the Wharfedale Steam Laundry Co., premises?
What we know:
- At the time of the Laundry in the early 1890s, there were no buildings on Sun Lane, west of Farr Royd. (If it had been at Farr Royd then its likely the writer of the article would have described it as such).
- According to the article above, the premises are "looking out upon open country & verdant pastures". This suggests that the frontage of the building faces either south or west, as north & east views are already built upon (i.e. West Terrace etc., on Main Street to the north and Hill Top to the east).
- On the OS 1895 map below, the area of land with cross hatching to the south of Sun Lane abutting Scalebor Gill, is Bell's Nursery. This had two buildings one in the centre of the L- shaped plot & one in the corner.
- The only other likely candidates for the Laundry are therefore the structures in the centre of the map sited on Sun Lane.
- At the time of the Laundry in the early 1890s, there were no buildings on Sun Lane, west of Farr Royd. (If it had been at Farr Royd then its likely the writer of the article would have described it as such).
- According to the article above, the premises are "looking out upon open country & verdant pastures". This suggests that the frontage of the building faces either south or west, as north & east views are already built upon (i.e. West Terrace etc., on Main Street to the north and Hill Top to the east).
- On the OS 1895 map below, the area of land with cross hatching to the south of Sun Lane abutting Scalebor Gill, is Bell's Nursery. This had two buildings one in the centre of the L- shaped plot & one in the corner.
- The only other likely candidates for the Laundry are therefore the structures in the centre of the map sited on Sun Lane.
On the modern views below, there are two possibilities for the Laundry. Either 38 Sun Lane & the terrace on Thornton Street that is attached to it.
Or the row of terraces running from Maria Street to Thornton Street fronting onto Sun Lane.
The article above describes all the processes happening within the structure & on at least two floors.
Rooms mentioned by name:
Office; Receiving Room; Wash House; Drying Room; Ironing Room (The linen .... goes up into) i.e. 2nd floor; Callendar Room; Airing Room;
Rooms implied: Despatch department; Steam Engine room.
Initial research suggested that 38 Sun Lane & the properties behind it was the most likely candidate for all the processes happening within a building.
But further research has thrown up the possibility that the terrace that runs from Maria Street to Thornton Street could also be the location.
Rooms mentioned by name:
Office; Receiving Room; Wash House; Drying Room; Ironing Room (The linen .... goes up into) i.e. 2nd floor; Callendar Room; Airing Room;
Rooms implied: Despatch department; Steam Engine room.
Initial research suggested that 38 Sun Lane & the properties behind it was the most likely candidate for all the processes happening within a building.
But further research has thrown up the possibility that the terrace that runs from Maria Street to Thornton Street could also be the location.
Lewes, East Sussex
Lewes Sanitary Steam Laundry Co., image of 1911 from East Sussex Record Office, shows what could be a row of terraces that have been converted to house a Laundry. Our terrace on Sun Lane is a fair bit longer than the one shown above.
The horse-drawn wagons or vans would be similar to the ones used by the Wharfedale Steam Laundry Co.
The horse-drawn wagons or vans would be similar to the ones used by the Wharfedale Steam Laundry Co.
Ilkley Sanitary Laundry Company
Article Wharfedale & Airedale Observer 04 March 1898
"THE ILKLEY LAUNDRY COMPANY - Is apparently a go-ahead affair. It is only a few weeks since the Company was formed, yet in that time land has been purchased, plans prepared, tenders obtained, and building operations commenced. As if this were not enough, the Directors have acquired the Wharfedale Laundry at Burley, a small but well-equipped concern, which is doing a good business. For the present - until new and larger premises are completed at Ilkley - this Burley laundry will be carried on by and for the Company, under the same management as heretofore. The probability, therefore, is that by the time the Ilkley Laundry is built, a considerable trade will have been built up ready to hand." |
Article Bradford Daily Telegraph 15 August 1898
PROPERTY SALES On Saturday last at the Middleton Hotel, Ilkley, Mr W. G. Stansfield, acting under instructions from the Ilkley Laundry Company, submitted seven freehold cottages and a steam laundry, situate in Sun Lane, Burley. There was only a thin attendance. The seven cottages were sold for £1000, the purchasers being the William the Conqueror Lodge of Oddfellows, at Burley. For the laundry, with which were offered the engine, boiler, shafting, stable, outbuildings, and vacant land, only £750 was bid, and the auctioneer announced that he could not let it go at that sum as it would be cheap at £1000. The lot was therefore withdrawn. |
Below is an example of the type of steam engine used in the Wharfedale Steam Laundry Co premises.
Penzance & District Steam Laundry, New Street Horizontal single cylinder engine built by J J Lane of London, probably 1901. Slide valve cylinder c12" bore x 15" stroke. Flywheel 5ft diameter.
Info & image courtesy of Chris Allen / Penzance & District Steam Laundry, New Street / CC BY-SA
Info & image courtesy of Chris Allen / Penzance & District Steam Laundry, New Street / CC BY-SA
According to the 1910 Burley in Wharfedale & district taxation records the Oddfellows Lodge owned a number of properties on Main Street plus x7 cottages on Sun Lane as per the property sales article of 1898.
Conclusion:
From the Property Sales article of August 1898 & what we know of the various rooms within the building, its now very likely that the Wharfedale Steam Laundry Company was based at 38 Sun Lane & the structure behind it.
From the Property Sales article of August 1898 & what we know of the various rooms within the building, its now very likely that the Wharfedale Steam Laundry Company was based at 38 Sun Lane & the structure behind it.
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