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Description and History of Site:-

Redeveloped to student housingFirst recorded in 1815 as a woollen mill and described as "extensive and substantially built warehouses, press-shops, row shops, cottage, stable, a dry-house about 56 yards long with tenters complete all situated on 17,320 sq.y,ds. of land at Bagby Fields." By 1826 a gig-mill, steam engine (of of 30 h.p.), dryhouse and press-shop were added. In 1857 the mills were leased to Asquith Brothers, cloth finishers, who occupied the mill until 1894.

In 1895 the mills were sold to George Bray & Co., gas engineers, who considerably altered the premises in 1902-3 and 1904-5. Until the 1920's the company seems to have focused their manufacturing activities on products concerned with gas lighting, but as the use of gas for this purpose diminished they expanded into a wider range of refractory materials, gas, oil and electrical heating appliances. The company operated from these works into the 1980's but moved out and the works demolished in 1988.

Further Reading and References:-

Ward, M.F., Industrial Development and Location In Leeds North of the River Aire, 1775 to 1914, PhD thesis, University of Leeds, 1972.
Merriman, O, "Gas Burners Old & New", Walter King, 1885. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37928/37928-h/37928-h.htm
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Bray_and_Co
https://www.leodis.net/viewimage/117464

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Key Words :- gas lighting burners Bray

Address :- Leicester Place, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9BA
Grid Ref :- SE 2982 3498
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.810260 , Long -1.548627
Local Authority :- Leeds Council
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site redeveloped to residential housing
Contributor :- Nick Nelson - 31 August 2022

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