The former Beccles Silk Factory
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The former Beccles Silk Factory by Adrian S Pye as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The former Beccles Silk Factory
Image: © Adrian S Pye Taken: 22 Sep 2023
The foundations were laid in 1857 and when Silk Factory was completed; and the machinery installed, Mr Baylis, the manager announced "Employment can be given to girls from 11 to 20 years of age, upon application at the Factory". Beccles Silk Factory could employ 150-200 persons, but it wasn't long before hands were laid off, due to a depression in the industry. By the end of 1867 it had closed the hopes for the factory were not fully realised. The profits fell far short of the optimistic estimate. In 1876, an Architect was commissioned to convert the Silk Factory into a School. Mr Alfred Buscall was elected Master of the school and Miss Rachel Drewell was temporary Mistress. The conversion from the silk factory to "Board School" was completed in 1877 with provision for 251 boys, 251 girls and 299 infants. The average attendance was 164 boys, 137 girls and 132 infants.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
52.453329
Longitude
1.565687