Powerhouse Manningham Mills

Image: © Chris Allen Taken: 30 Aug 1994

I believe this guano encrusted plant is now sadly a memory. It was a fascinating survivor of a brief period in the history of powering mills - between mill engines driving the machinery and electric motors powered by grid electricity. This was a set of 1930s mixed pressure, non-condensing turbines driving alternators and replaced a mixture of mill engines. In its day this was state of the art and I was really pleased to see it. I visited and photographed it following my finding a photo of it in Giles and Goodall (my favourite Yorkshire mills book). There were two turboalternators arranged end to end with the turbines towards the middle of the room and the alternators at the ends. They were by the General Electric Company although the turbines were essentially Fraser and Chalmers machines (GEC had taken that company over). This is a view on the turbine end of one set with the steam supply, stop valves, pass out valve, governor arrangement and tachometer all in view. The turbine was a single casing machine. The switchboard is seen on the right with the door in the right background providing access to the wiring. As the board was still live in part I resisted the temptation to explore behind it.

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