IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Tannery Lane, SKIPTON, BD23 6NQ

37 Pasture Road, at the top of West Lane

A new housing development has been created by Embsay Beck, at the north end of the village of the same name. This tall chimney appears to have been restored and left intact at the entrance - a rather interesting feature, which is probably a relic of one of the six spinning mills that used to thrive here at one time. Once known as Primrose Mill, The Tannery in Embsay is one of the largest industrial building complexes within the National Park. Tannery use on the site began in 1917 when the site was bought and developed by Brooksbank of Bradford. Before that the site had been used for the processing of worsted, cotton and tobacco. The worsted spinning mill was erected around 1791 and part of its structure survives within the later tannery buildings. Power came from two water wheels. In 1836 the mill, now known as Primrose Mill, was sold to a partnership which used it to spin cotton and process tobacco. After 1891 the mill was entirely turned over to tobacco production. During this period the mill was significantly extended. Tobacco production ceased around 1908 possibly caused by a major flood in the area at the time. The mill buildings remained empty until 1917 when Brooksbank bought them. They constructed a lime yard and effluent tanks and extended the complex yet further. Art Deco style offices were added in 1938 and there was more building work in 1947. Brooksbank continued to process leather on site until the end of the 20th century when modern synthetic materials were brought in to replace the leather items they were producing for the weaving industry. The company has now relocated and in 2004 the mill buildings are scheduled for demolition. Information was found on http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=482 This site is based on the Historic Environment Record (HER) maintained by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

Postbox No. BD23 39. See Image] for context.

Showing position of Postbox No. BD23 39. See Image] for close up.

This photo was taken by me in September 1961 and shows the original Elm Tree in front of the Elm Tree Inn. The Inn displays the BYB logo – Bentley's Yorkshire Breweries, which was bought by Whitbread in 1968 and closed in 1972. On the right is a glimpse of the (Shell) petrol pump of Wynn's garage. The van on the left would be outside the grocery shop run by Mr Hawkesworth who was a prototype of Granville's uncle Albert.

Looking upstream and taken from the same footbridge as Image The beck is very overgrown here.

Embsay used to be an industrial village, but now most of the industry is gone; modern housing has been developed to give a very pleasant and spacious environment.

The chimney may be a relic of a spinning mill (Image]).

Looking east. The houses on the left as Nos.28 to 14 (evens), Pasture Road