The Arkwright House File
By Nicholas Larkin
Written when Nicholas was attending a one-year journalism course at the former Preston Polytechnic (now University of Lancashire) in 1979-80. When the article was written, the Arkwright House had just been rescued from demolition. Sadly, The enthusiasm and drive of those who fought to save the building was unsuccessful in preserving itas a cultural and heritage hub for the town. It has since passed through different hands, serving very different purposes than was envisaged by the campaigners who fought to save it. It is now back in private hands, and is again in the sorry state it was in the 1970s.
Introduction
Arkwright House is a three-storey Georgian building in a street named Stoneygate in Avenham, a run-down area of Preston, Lancashire. In this house in 1768, Richard Arkwright developed an invention which revolutionized the cotton trade, played a major part in the Industrial Revolution and, because it gave rise to a factory system of production, changed the lives of countless millions of people all over the world.
Today, the house stands newly renovated, waiting to be opened to the public in July 1980. Yet only three years ago, Arkwright house was empty and in a decayed state, under threat of demolition. In this project I have tried to find out why a building of such historic significance was allowed to deteriorate. I have also looked at its history, how it was saved and its future.
Richard Arkwright and his significance
The second half of the 18th century saw a rapid expansion of industrial and economic growth in Britain which is commonly known as the Industrial Revolution.
Industry changed from a domestic system of production, under which people worked on a small scale in their own homes, to a factory system, involving large-scale production methods in the mills and factories of industrial towns. These changes would not have been so ‘revolutionary’ if they had not also involved a social transformation. Many people who had worked in agriculture moved to new jobs in the towns.
British society, which had been predominantly agrarian and rural, became mostly urban and Industrial.
Richard Arkwright was born in Preston in 1732, the youngest of 13 children. As a young man he worked as a barber and wig maker at Bolton.
In 1760, with the help of John Kay, a watchmaker, Arkwright developed a spinning machine which became known firstly as the spinning frame and then as the water frame. This consisted of four sets of rollers rotating progressively faster so that the thread became finer and finer as it was drawn through them, and finished up by being wound onto spindles at the far end of the machine.
The water frame was too heavy for human motive power and needed a water wheel to drive it. It thus had to be housed in a mill, and the cotton industry moved out of the cottage and into the factory. In addition, Arkwright’s Invention meant that an all-cotton fabric could now be produced. Previously a linen thread had been used.
Arkwright patented the water frame in 1769 and in partnership with two hosiery manufacturers, Need of Nottingham and Strutt of Derby, he established his first factory at Cromford, Derbyshire, in 1771.
Throughout his life, Arkwright worked incredibly hard, and possessed an extraordinary business sense. By the time of his death in 1792, he had set up a number of cotton mills, becoming immensely rich. A large part of his income came from licences granted to other manufacturers who wished to set up factories using his machinery. Cotton industries set up in America and Germany used the water frame,
Soon after his death the immense importance of Arkwright’s achievement became universally recognised, Factory production was dominant in the textile, metal and mining industries by the 1830’s. The average factory employed between 50 and 1,000 workers,
The Victorians gave Arkwright the epitaph ‘father of the factory system’.Arkwright House: Its Past, Present and Future
From its building to its decay
Arkwright House was built by public subscription in 1728 as the residence for the headmaster of Preston Grammar School. Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries the school headmasters were also the vicars of nearby St. George’s Church, and the house was known as St. George’s Vicarage.
In 1768, Arkwright and Kay rented a room in the building so that they could develop the water frame without arousing the suspicions of local handloom weavers and spinners, who saw new inventions in the textile industry as a threat to their livelihood. Some people living nearby believed that the whirring of machinery which could be heard coming from the house was the sound of the devil tuning his bagpipes.
During 1857, the Borough of Preston sold the house and recently added shops to a Mr. Richard Threlfall for £1090 and the building became a public house, the Arkwright Arms’, with a room dedicated to Arkwright. The Temperance Movement bought the ‘Arkwright Arms’ in 1892 and converted it into a model lodging house, which it remained until the 1940’s.
In 1950, the art director of Preston’s Harris museum, Mr Sydney Paviere, tried unsuccessfully to persuade cotton firms to buy the premises and turn them into a textile museum. Arkwright House then became workshops and fell into disrepair.
The eleventh hour
By the early 1970’s, the house stood empty and in poor condition, exposed to the weather and vandalism. As early as 1948 it had been declared a listed building and so could not have been demolished without special permission from the local planning authority.
The owner, an elderly widow, offered the house for sale to Preston Borough Council. She said “I don’t bother a lot about the house because the estate agent attends to these affairs.”
In 1972, a council meeting was held to discuss the offer. Coun. Frank McGrath said: “The importance of the house cannot be underestimated. I am embarrassed that we have allowed the building to get into its present state.” On the other hand, Alderman Ernest Bunker said: “The house is in an area which the authority want to tidy up. We certainly can’t do this with that building there.“
The council voted against buying the house, and the offer was rejected.
In 1975, the London Science Museum announced its interest in a proposal that Preston Council should buy Arkwright House and convert it into a textile museum, and the Lancashire Education Committee said it would be glad to use any facilities which might be set up in the building.
Two years later, the council sent the owner of the house a notice saying that it should be either repaired or demolished, and she made an application for listed building consent to demolish it. This action prompted a number of complaints from such bodies as the Arkwright Society of Cromford, Derbyshire, the Ancient Monuments Society and the Georgian Group.
At a public meeting at the County Hall in Preston it was decided to form a committee to investigate whether restoration would be viable, how much it would cost and how the money could be raised.
A charitable trust, the Friends of Arkwright House was formed by interested members of the Preston and South Ribble [Civic] Trust to raise money to save the building. Preston Council decided not to demolish the house if the cash to buy it could be raised within three months. The Friends of Arkwright House negotiated a loan from Lloyd’s Bank, and the building was bought for £6,100, its approximate site value.
On 12th April 1978, a Reception and Press Conference was held at the London Science Museum to publicise the renovation project, the speakers including Mr Albert Booth, who was Secretary of State for Employment at the time, and Coun. Joe Hood, Mayor of Preston. A reception sponsored by local firms was held at Preston’s Harris Museum on the same day, to launch the appeal for funds.
Surprisingly, the ill wind of unemployment was a great help to the renovation of Arkwright House. The Manpower Services Commission agreed to make a grant of £6,500 for a job creation scheme to carry out work on the house. Twenty local people who would otherwise have been on the dole were recruited to work under the supervision of a site manager from Form Structures, a Bristol firm of conservation specialists. This firm carried out all the design work involved in the renovation scheme, and also helped with fund raising activities.
In addition, a £35,000 grant came from the Architectural Heritage Fund, and during August 1978, Preston Borough Council decided to contribute £10,000 towards the scheme, despite protests that this money could have been better spent on amenities. It would, however, have cost more than £10,000 if the council had decided to demolish the building.
Other major contributors included the Historic Buildings Council (£10,000), Courtaulds Ltd. (£5,000), Stone Flatt Industries Ltd, (£250), A.B. Aspinall (£100), Lloyds Bank Ltd. (£100) and J.B. Hide Ltd, (£250). Crown Paints Ltd. donated all the necessary paints and varnishes, and the renovation work was completed during July 1979, at a cost of £61,000.
The renovated Arkwright House and its future
Arkwright House will be officially opened by Princess Alexandra on July 4th 1980.
The building has not been restored, but renovated. The new annexe represents ultra modern 20th century architecture, and incorporates a lift and fire escape, which will be necessary when the building is open to the public,
During the renovation, the roof and ceilings had to be renewed, together with one of the walls. Nevertheless, as much of the original structure as possible has been retained, including the 18th-century wooden panelling in some of the rooms: The frontage of the house has been painted raspberry pink, a popular colour in Georgian times.
The building will serve many purposes. It will house a permanent exhibition recording the development of the cotton industry and Arkwright’s work. A local cabinet maker, Mr. Peter Walmsley, has made a model spinning frame, which will go on display in the room Arkwright occupied.
Local societies and groups will be able to hold meetings, lectures and exhibitions in the house, and there will be a coffee bar and shop.
It was recently proposed that part of the could be used to accommodate adult students attending foundation courses in Preston.
The North West Tourist Board is to include Arkwright House in its future guidebooks and illustrated maps.
As well as this, Preston Borough Council is to build a sheltered housing scheme in the vicinity of Arkwright House, thus helping to improve the Avenham area.
Points of view
I got in touch with as many people as possible who were involved with the restoration project, and others whose views on Arkwright and Arkwright House may be of interest. To avoid repetition, I have not included all the comments given by each person, nor have I listed all the questions I asked.
Mr. Tony Byrne, secretary, Friends of Arkwright House
Q: Would you have preferred a straight restoration rather than a renovation?
A: The Georgian building – the original Headmaster’s house of 1728 has been repaired rather than restored – and wherever possible, original features have been retained. Certain elements of the interior had been destroyed or damaged beyond repair before the Trust bought the house – these had to be replaced. For example, nearly all the doors in the Georgian house had gone. With the Victorian shop addition of 1851 we felt it important to retain this building because of its pleasant shop fronts and because it offered valuable space for various uses.
Q: Why do you think it best that the house itself should have been preserved, rather than, as it was once said, a plaque put in its place?
A: Of course the house should be preserved because it is a tangible link with Arkwright – Preston’s most famous son and the oldest domestic building in the town to remind us of Preston’s long and proud history. When there is a choice between a plaque and the real thing the choice to make is as obvious as that between retaining a fine building or a photograph of it.
Q: What would you consider to be your personal part in preserving the house?
A: I had the time to act as organiser and co-ordinator of the campaign to prevent demolition: and an enormous amount of help from many people and organisations in setting up a trust to buy and restore the house.
Q: Have you any comments to make concerning the attitude of the council before, during or after the renovation work? Should it have allowed the house to deteriorate?
A:
1) The house was in private ownership – not owned by the council.
2) The council very kindly granted time to allow the formation of a trust to buy the house.
3) The planning department of the council gave every help in clearing planning applications and building regulations very quickly indeed.
4) Once the scheme was underway the council made a grant of £10,000.
5) The trust has always enjoyed excellent relations with Preston Borough Council and has received an enormous amount of help and encouragement from them.
Mr. Niall Phillips, who designed the 20th century architecture of Arkwright House, including the new annexe.
“It is best to add something to an old building which is being renovated. Arkwright House now includes architecture representing the 20th century.”
One difficulty encountered during the renovation work was that many of the wooden supporting members of the house had rotted and had to be replaced, he said. Mr Phillips added that everything original that could be saved was preserved, so much of the house is original. “It was a problem at first to convince people that the house could be saved,” he said.
He considered the building to be worth preserving not only due to its connection with Arkwright but also because of its Georgian origins and rooms with 18th century wooden panelling.
He said “An excellent job was done by the people working on the project under the job creation scheme. All these people came from the Avenham area and seemed quite proud of their work. It was a good relationship between the renovators, workers on the site and the council which made the project such a success.”
Mr. Charles Pallet, ex-chairman of Preston Borough Council Planning and development department.
Mr Pallett said that at one time, many people on the council considered the house to be a nuisance which should have been demolished, saying that it had “only a very tenuous connection with Arkwright,”
Disbelieving this, Mr Pallet made enquiries about the history of the building. He said that it was Mr. Tony Byrne who convinced him that the house should be saved. As chairman of the planning department, Mr Pallet persuaded the council to delay the decision to demolish the building for three months
He can understand why the council wanted to knock the house down, even though personally he was against this. He said “They believed they were doing the right thing at the time. It was only in retrospect that they were proved wrong,” Mr Pallet said. He added “Too many people say that the corporation should have done this or that. At the time, the house was open, and anyone could go in. It was frequented by prostitutes, drunks and the like.”
Mr Pallet pointed out that before the factory system, “people who were too old to work were left to die under the hedges.” There was no system of poor relief at that time. He also said “People in Preston will not appreciate the value of the history of the town. What bothered me was that so many people were against retaining the house.”
Mr. Alan Howard, ex-chairman, Preston and South Ribble Civic Trust
Mr. Howard believed that although the house was in private ownership, the council cannot be wholly excluded from responsibility for allowing the building to decay. Councillors, he said, have a duty to lead public opinion in matters such as the renovation of Arkwright House. “Had they done so, then plenty of voluntary help would have become available.”
He did, however, sum up the council as being “benevolently neutral” in allowing 3 months for money to be raised to buy the building.. He hoped that the Avenham area would be improved in the future.
Mr. Les Roskell, a teacher and member of the Preston and South Ribble Civic Trust
Mr. Roskell would have preferred a weaver’s shed to have been preserved as a working museum, instead of Arkwright House. He did, however, think that the people who had renovated the house had done “a wonderful job.” He also felt that the house could lose money when it is opened. “There are no good parking facilities, and the house is in an out of the way and run down area.”
He added that Arkwright House is not large enough to house a full scale museum, and that he thought there are many other old building worth preserving in Preston.
Coun. Joe Hood, Preston Council Leader and ex-Mayor of Preston.
“Many members of the council were against preserving the house originally, but were totally convinced otherwise by the sincerity of the people involved in the renovation work.”
Mr. Geoff Millward, public relations officer, Preston Borough Council
“Anything anyone does to preserve the past meets with my wholehearted approval.”
Coun. Frank McGrath
“I was involved when the house was derelict instrumental – in retaining it as a listed building.”
He said that the attitude of the council was mixed, when it was debating whether to buy Arkwright House “Some people believed that Arkwright was a very bad man and we should not be building monuments to him. We (i.e. those council members wanting the house to be saved) ’embarrassed’ the council into giving a £10,000 grant”.
Mr. Geoffrey Law, ardent campaigner for the restoration of Arkwright House
“The work of that man (Arkwright) should be an inspiration to everybody.” He added that it was “a jinx” that the house had been allowed to decay.
Street survey
The following questions were put to a selection of local people in Preston. and the results shown obtained.
1) Have you heard of Richard Arkwright?
YES 76%
NO 24%
2) What did he do?
8% of the people questioned knew that Arkwright had developed the spinning frame and water frame.
64% knew he had something to do with cotton
4% had heard of Arkwright but did not know anything about him.
3) Have you heard of Arkwright House?
YES 80%
NO 20%
4)Do you know where it is?
74% knew roughly the location of the building
26% did not know
5) Has it been preserved?
YES 78%
NO 22%
6) Would you have preserved it? – This question was asked after each person had been given a brief summary of Arkwright’s life and work and the history of the house
YES 64%
NO 28%
DON’T KNOW 8%
7) Why would you have/have not preserved Arkwright House?
Most of the people who were against preserving the house felt this way because of the suffering caused by the Industrial Revolution. Others thought the cost of the renovation was too high. Several people mentioned that the house was not in a good area and therefore people might be less likely to visit it.
Only one person said the house lacked architectural value. Most people thought Arkwright house should have been preserved because of its connections with Arkwright, and because it was old. Several people said that Preston lacked historic buildings.
One woman said “The house must be good to have stood all these years.”
Perhaps the most interesting comment came from a pensioner, who said
“I’ve a friend in Staffordshire and I told him, ‘If it wasn’t for that man (Arkwright) you wouldn’t have cotton shirts like the one you’ve got on.’ I’m glad they’ve preserved the house and I’m going to take my friend to see it when he comes up.”
Analysis
As could be expected, most people had heard of Arkwright and knew something of his achievements. In fact it was surprising that as many as 24% had not heard of him, living in a town still involved with the textile industry. 4% of those questioned had heard of Arkwright House but not Richard Arkwright!
It is a tribute to the people publicising the renovation of the house that only 2% of those who had heard of the building did not know that it had been preserved.
Obviously most Prestonians take an interest in their old buildings, but it seems that a lesser proportion would be prepared to personally take action to preserve them.
Conclusions and comments
Although not every old building can be preserved, there are several reasons why Arkwright House should have been saved, not all of them to do with Arkwright. The building is a brick-built history book. A Georgian gentleman’s house, Victorian shop, and now a modern annexe stand together on a site about the size of a tennis court.
Arkwright House is a piece of social history. All kinds of people have been associated with it, the Georgian headmaster, the Victorian drunk, the temperance reformer and the modern day vandal, as well as Arkwright himself.
In the future, the building will be very useful to the community, serving as a heritage and exhibition centre, meeting place and lecture rooms. It should form the beginning of an improvement of the Avenham area. If tourists are to visit the house, it would be best for Avenham to be tidied up.
At last, Preston has a memorial to Richard Arkwright. It is ironic to read the following passage from Hardwick’s History of Preston (1857): “It is somewhat singular that every effort which has yet been made, with the view to the erection of a suitable memorial in his (Arkwright’s) native town has met with very little sympathy.”
Considering the condition of Arkwright House in the early 1970’s, Preston Borough Council can be understood for wanting to demolish it. They were very helpful when the renovation project had got underway. It could be said, however, that the council ought to have made regular checks on the condition of the house over the years.
Obviously the main reason for the property having deteriorated was that it was in private hands. An elderly widow probably could not afford to carry out extensive repairs to the building. It also seems that the true importance of Arkwright House was not recognised until it was almost too late.
Arkwright House, Stoneygate, Preston will be open to the public from July 1980. It may well make a profit, something which would have pleased the business-minded Arkwright if he were alive today.
Bibliography
Hardwick’s History of Preston (1857)
Back issues of the “Lancashire Evening Post,” Preston
Reports of council meetings, Preston Borough Council.
Note: All the people in the “Points of View” section were interviewed in March and early April, 1980.