How Dewsbury was one of greenest towns in the 19th century and why Yorkshire needs to make more of its industrial heritage - Andrew Vine

The importance of that heritage to Dewsbury, and to the whole of Britain, was recognised recently when 12 of the town’s buildings associated with the textile industry were listed for protection by Historic England to reflect their historical importance.

That was a welcome accolade, even though the town knows perfectly well the role it played for so long in clothing the people of Britain, as well as the armed forces, whose uniforms were manufactured there for a century.

In announcing its decision, Historic England made the point that Dewsbury’s production of shoddy and mungo made it the 19th century’s greenest town because it was a pioneer of recycling, which resonates with our own age’s concern about minimising waste to help the environment.

And in Dewsbury’s recognition for the role it played in Britain’s industrial past lies a pointer for the future which Yorkshire could and should exploit to boost its tourism trade.

Why stop at Dewsbury in recognising the massive contribution our county has made to the growth and development of Britain?

There isn’t another county that has such a rich and diverse industrial heritage, much of which is superbly preserved, and it ought to be marketed to an audience of potential visitors which has a growing appetite for exploring the past.

Their interest in history was proved six months ago when figures were released by English Heritage showing massive increases in visitors to its iconic Yorkshire sites, including Whitby Abbey, Clifford’s Tower and Richmond Castle.

A month later, during English Tourism Week, it emerged that York Minister had doubled the number of its visitors over the previous year and the National Railway Museum, a mile away, was up by 65 per cent.

There is huge untapped potential for Yorkshire here in creating a trail that tempts visitors towards exploring the part the region played in building Britain.

From north to south, east to west, there are multiple sites telling their own stories.

Think of the five heritage railways that carry hundreds of thousands of visitors a year between them, Salts Mill, at Saltaire, the National Coal Mining Museum, near Wakefield, or Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, in Sheffield, to name just a few.

All do a superb job of telling the stories of their industries, entertaining as well as educating, but these and more would benefit if there was a county-wide strategy aimed at encouraging visitors to spend a few days in Yorkshire exploring the industrial heritage, whether of Sheffield making cutlery for the world’s tables, Bradford becoming the wool capital of Britain, York’s chocolate manufacturing or Hull’s trawlers putting fish on the nation’s dinner plates.

Even when Welcome to Yorkshire provided a focus for promoting tourism to the county as a whole, there was insufficient attention given to exploiting the potential of this area of heritage.

It may not have the immediate family appeal of the seaside, and can’t compete with the magnificence of our national parks, the Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors, but it dovetails with them and adds to the sheer variety of what we have to offer visitors.

That will be seen when Bradford has its year in the national spotlight in 2025 as UK City of Culture.

Its textile trade is certain to be central to the story it has to tell, because it is inseparable from the city’s people and their diverse cultures, just as Hull’s maritime heritage was when the city held the same title in 2017.

Given the financial constraints on Yorkshire’s councils, the likelihood of a new county-wide body to promote tourism being established is remote, not least because of the financial disarray that accompanied Welcome to Yorkshire’s demise.

But co-operation between areas to establish some sort of industrial tourism trail surely would not be too expensive or difficult to coordinate, especially since West and South Yorkshire already have elected mayors, who will be joined by a counterpart in North Yorkshire next year.

Our tourist industry would gain a substantial boost from doing so.