Short Tour 31

The late 18th century saw the building of many mills in the Laycock area. The combing, spinning and. weaving had previously been done in the homes of the people, but about 1834 weaving by power looms commenced.

These were not the dark satanic mills of Blake. They were built in lovely valleys and to a large extent relied on local labour, therefore, whole families worked together and this must have helped in keeping Laycock a solid community.

Laycock folk were originally cotton spinners and weavers due to their proximity to Lancashire – the route to Lancashire for pack horses and horses and carts being easier than the descent into Keighley. The water power was certainly there, but once the mills expanded and needed more power, thus demanding steam power, the owners ran into difficulties. The cost of bringing coal to Laycock from Bradford area or the neighbouring coal mines of Harden, Wilsden and Denholme, which were operational up to the 1850's, made it uneconomical to run the mills. Keighley also had the advantage now of the railway and the Leeds and Liverpool canal.

Thus the middle of the l9th century saw a change in the type of industry in the mills in the Laycock area. Cotton spinning had given way to worsted spinning or bobbin making or paper making. Only Wood Mill survived until the 1960’s.