Description and History of Site:-
Joshua Buckton and Co. were active from the 1830's until the 1920's principally making heavy machine tools. By 1914 it was said that their specialities were in heavy ordnance and turbine lathes, armour plate and turbine planing machines, universal testing machines of the largest capacity and the 'Buckton' testing machine. Employees then 500. In 1928 the business was acquired by Craven Bros. and production moved elsewhere.

In 1903, The Institution of Mechanical Engineers made an excursion to the works and reported:

"Self-acting machine tools have been the speciality of these Works since they were founded by the late Mr. Joshua Buckton in 1842. The present heads of the firm are Mr. J. Hartley Wicksteed, chairman and managing director, Mr. Christopher W. James, joint managing director, Mr. Norman D. Lupton, secretary and director, and Mr. R. A. Bince, works manager and director.

The firm has turned out considerably more than 10,000 machine tools, varying in weight from 5 cwts. to 120 tons and composed of individual pieces up to 30 tons weight cast in their own foundry. The heavier tools are such as armour-plate finishing machines, large lathes, shearing machines for hot steel blooms and cold steel-plate, plate shears, and billet shears; and the lighter tools are such as medium-sized lathes, drilling, boring machines, &c. A speciality of the firm is a planing machine with double-cutting tool-boxes, and with power feed and traverse to the tool-boxes.

Amongst the machines finished or in progress which were open to the inspection of the members, the following represented recent developments:—Double-cutting table planing machine, 8 feet by S feet by 24 feet, with power feed and tool-box traversing motion; standard 12-inch lathe for high-speed cutting; two-spindle radial drill; locomotive crank-axle profile slotting machine; four-spindle rail drilling machine; vertical and horizontal planer with fixed table, and moving upright; chain and anchor testing plant; 300-ton universal testing machine; vertical testing machines; and 41-inch square cold billet shears."

Further Reading and References:-
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1903_Institution_of_Mechanical_Engineers:_Visits_to_Works
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Joshua_Buckton_and_Co
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/The_Engineer_1902/06/13_Supplement (Some Yorkshire Machine Tools)

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Key Words :- foundry machine tools steel

Viewing the Site :- Buildings have been demolished and the site redeveloped

Address :- Apex View, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS11 9BH
Grid Ref :- SE 2997 3244
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.787422 , Long -1.546596
Local Authority :- Leeds Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site redeveloped to industrial / commercial use
Site Dates :- 1842 -
Record Date :- 23 August 2018

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