Description and History of Site:-
Site Partly now occupied by Costco. Two separate building on the Fowlers site, on the opposite (west) side of Leathley Road still exist with rails in the ground through one, these used to run through an archway (still visible) to a turntable SW of the Midland Goods Station site. Works founded by John Fowler in the mid 1860s to produce steam ploughing engines. These were initially manufactured by Kitson and Hewitson at their works immediately to the south, but the venture quickly proved so successful that the partnership between Hewitson and Fowler was commenced at the new Steam Plough Works. Hewitson died in 1863 and the firm became known as John Fowler & Co. Following the death of John Fowler in 1864, the result of a hunting accident, the firm continued under Robert Fowler and began to diversify into more general engineering producing railway locomotives, initially standard gauge but later specialising in narrow gauge and 'portable' railways, traction engines and road rollers. They also built stationary engines used for a variety of purposes including colliery winders and electricity generation. The first engines installed in the Whitehall Road generating station, Leeds, were made by the company. Unlike some former steam engine manufacturers, Fowler's were ready to embrace the internal combustion engine, the business continuing in Leeds up until 1974.

In 1903, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers made an excursion to the works and noted that : "These Works are situated in Hunslet about a mile from the railway station, and cover from 10 to 11 acres. The principal manufactures are steam ploughing engines, traction engines, road-rollers, light locomotives, semi-portable engines, winding and pumping engines, and all descriptions of colliery plant, alternators, dynamos, switchboards, and electrical plant. The principal work in progress at the time of the meeting was the manufacture of ploughing and traction engines, steam road- rollers, large winding engines and general electrical work. The number employed is about 1,500 men."

Further Reading and References:-
http://www.leedsengine.info/leeds/histjf.asp
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Fowler_and_Co

Help us improve this entry

The compilers welcome corrections or additional information on all sites.
Any information provided will be verified before appearing on the web site.

Email comments

Key Words :- steam plough locomotive engineering

Address :- Leathley Road, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 1JY
Grid Ref :- SE 3066 3234
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.786484 , Long -1.536133
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 :- 1860s - 1974
Record Date :- 4 September 2018

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson