Map 11 – Exploring Farsley
Stories of Old and New Life
Farsley is a small town situated in between Leeds and Bradford, about seven miles to the west of Leeds City Centre. The current population of the area, along with Calverly nearby, is around about 23,000. The town was formerly part of the Municipal Borough of Pudsey but officially became part of the City of Leeds in 1974.
Over the years, it has provided a home to artists and sportspeople, mill-workers and industrialists, church-men and criminals, along with many others. There is evidence of settlement in Farsley as far back as the Domesday Book but it was during the Industrial Revolution that the town had its boom years. Local families like the Hainsworths and the Gaunts built numerous mills in the 1900s, which brought them wealth and provided jobs for many. The weaving of cloth remained the main source of employment for local people until well into the 20th Century.
The textiles industry has sadly been in decline for many years now but a number of the old industrial buildings have found new roles to play in the life of the town. Sunny Bank Mills, whose main entrance is on Town Street, is now a thriving business park, providing office space to numerous local enterprises. It is also a busy hub for artists, with its own shop and gallery.
We began work in Farsley in the Summer of 2015 and, over the course of a year, we explored the town in a range of ways. We ran a stall at Farsley Festival, interviewed local residents, documented the shops and high street with photographer Lizzie Coombes, delved around in the archives at Leeds City Library and designed a Farsley Monopoly set with children at Farsley Farfield Primary School. All of this activity has led to some amazing conversations, during which we’ve heard all sorts of different stories – some funny, some sad, some strange, some inspirational – a mixed bag of local folklore, historical anecdote and personal recollection.
Photos by Lizzie Coombes
One of the outcomes of our work in Farsley was a colouring book. We chose thirty of the stories we were told and coupled each one with a black and white illustration as a way of sharing back the material that we gathered. Then, in September 2016, we performed a show at Sunny Bank Mills as part of their Heritage weekend. The show was called (The Story is Not) Set in Stone. In preparation for the weekend we spent some time in Farsley, asking local people what they thought about the town. We included some of these answers in the show, and they are included below.
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If Farsley were a character in a story, what kind of person would they be?
Old. Wise. Someone with a lot of history.
I think they’d be very friendly, warm, fun sociable. A kind person – doesn’t matter which sex. It’s so diverse is Farsley, it could be any age. It’s like what they say about Disneyland. You can be 0 – 99 to enjoy Disneyland and Farsley’s the same.
An old man in a flat cap with a whippet and a woolly jumper – or a lady with a shawl and clogs, running down the hill to get to the Mill on time.
The kind of person who knows the difference between a snicket and a ginnel – someone who knows what a winterhedge is. That’s a clothes airer. They used to hang clothes on the hedges in the Summer but in the Winter it was too damp so they put them on the winterhedge indoors.
Independent. Basically, Farsley people don’t like being controlled. There’s a lot of non-conformist churches for example. They dissented St John’s being built because they thought it would take away their independence. They tried to get subscriptions but they only got ten pounds! I was told that when it was being built the workmen would leave for the night and the locals would come in and take down the stones that they’d been putting up!
It’d be a big warm friendly person. It doesn’t matter about male or female – they’d be like Pudsey Bear or someone like that – someone big and cuddly!
Schizophrenic – is that the word we use now? Or bi-polar. Moving away from its working-class roots. Someone going up in the world.
A Mill -Owner. It’s more male than female. It has a bit of the old working class about it though. It’s a little old-fashioned. That’s not a bad thing but it’s how I see it, as an outsider.
A warm, welcoming person. Interested in you – nosey but you’d feel safe. A bit like Santa Claus. It’s a community. You’d feel embraced by them. If you’d got a problem, you wouldn’t have it for long.
It would be Edwin Woodhouse – A Victorian Crotchety Mill Owner. He represented the liberals in Headingley.
A traditional Yorkshire bloke, who’s suddenly got into Cappucino. He’s moved on from Nescafé.
It’d be a man. Probably be fairly solid and down to earth, but with a sense of humour. And caring – there’s quite a big sense of community here.
Really good-hearted, slightly introverted, quite conservative and a bit suspicious, but open when they warm up to you. A bit like Prince William maybe.
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What will Farsley be like in 2097?
It’ll still be here but it’ll be very busy – a lot of people living here – maybe too many – but we won’t be here to find out.
It’ll be the same. There’s not a great deal to do to change things because there’s no land – not unless you knocked down what’s already here. I think they’ve built on everywhere they can. I don’t think it needs changing anyway.
I don’t know because no one can predict the future. We don’t know what’s going to happen next week. No one knew we were going to be exiting the European union in such a drastic fashion did they?
Hopefully very similar to how it is now, with all the buildings preserved and the character intact – but we’d like a new roof! Oh – and the parking problems solved. But there might be hover-cars in the future. We could stack them on top of each other – parallel parking!
I don’t think the industry will come back – not in the same way anyway. It’ll be industry but not as we know it. There’s a lot of smaller businesses now. People coming in and setting up. Maybe there’ll be more of that but nothing on the scale of what we had. It’d be hard to bring it back because you’ve lost the skills now – the heritage of it – from father to son, from mother to daughter. That’s been broken. It hasn’t been handed on. Do people have the discipline or the inclination to do that now? I don’t think so.
It’ll be the same. It’s not changed much over the years and I don’t think it needs to.
There’ll be no greenbelt. It’ll be swallowed up by thousands of people and cars. They’re building so much at the moment. We’re losing all the fields now – the divisions between Calverly, Farsley and Rodley. We’re merging into one place. We’re losing the distinct edges.
Well, unless they get rid of these old buildings, I can’t see it changing. Maybe the exhibitions at the Mill will be a bit more out there in the future.
I only know Sunny Bank and this restaurant. I think what the Gaunts are doing is brilliant – rejuvenating the Mill. It’s taken some imagination. It could almost become a model village – a bit like Saltaire, but not as big. You could make more of it as a tourist destination.
I hope it doesn’t change but I think it will. I don’t know if the shops will be here for a start. All the little independents.
It’ll be a creative hub with bits of city life close to wildlife and the countryside. Either that or a post-apocalyptic wilderness if my mad scientist alter-ego takes over.
I think it will be fiercely independent. I think it’s a bit hidden and it’ll be like trendy outpost. I think the Mill will still be central. I think the development will continue from where it is now. People get very attached to places they live. I don’t live here, but I feel more attached to Farsley than where I do live. I think community will become increasingly important and Farsley will become more self-sufficient. It will become more liberal-minded as well. I hope they knock down that horrible tower-block and replace it with a park.
By that time, we’ll be post big city. The metropolitan district will come out and engulf Farsley and then that will all die down and Farsley will reassert itself. It’ll become a village again with its own unique identity. The old Farsley will reappear. It’ll be like the aftermath of a big party – you know, when loads of people have been round and got drunk and then you have to deal with the aftermath.
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Farsley: a colouring book
We created a colouring book reflecting some of the history and stories gathered during our time working in Farsley. It contained thirty stories, each coupled with a black and white illustration.
