Video: The Yorkshire museum that time forgot

There are dozens of machines from Yorkshire’s industrial heritage inside Calderdale Industrial Museum, yet the building is silent apart from the noise of volunteers tinkering with gears, cogs and pulleys.

Twelve years after it closed, volunteers are breathing new life into the museum and are hopeful of getting the machines working again – but they have a long haul ahead.

Yesterday volunteers with the Calderdale Industrial Museum Association, a group of mainly retired former engineers and their supporters, were at their work benches inside the boarded-up building as they continued restoring the 300-plus exhibits back to their former glory.

Association members want to see regular opening hours and permission to run the museum on behalf of owner Calderdale Council.

Leading the unpaid volunteers is the association’s chairman Tim Kirker, a former Rolls Royce engineer, who fears the museum could “disappear without trace” if cash cannot be found for its upkeep.

He has become frustrated by the amount of “rules and regulations” and wants a greater say in how the place is managed.

But taking over ownership in a “community asset transfer” – one option being discussed – may not the best solution, he has maintained.

“We are a bit reluctant to go for that,” he said. “The building is in a terrible state. Several thousand pounds – maybe £50,000 – needs spending. We have still got water coming into the building.

“The council has started basic repairs but it is a closed building on the council’s books and there is no budget to make it smart again.”

Mr Kirker is hopeful that some money will be spent when a proposed new library is built next to the museum, which is adjacent to the historic Piece Hall, which is also being redeveloped.

He added: “There is no point spending millions on that and having a derelict warehouse as a backdrop.”

Like many engineers, his eyes lit up as he showed the Yorkshire Post around four floors of impressive exhibits, which include old washing machines, a water wheel, a replica coal seam and a sweet wrapping machine.

“This is a wondrous thing and causes us endless fascination,” he said, pointing to an old ornamental lathe which was donated by the former Hopkinsons engineering firm in Huddersfield. The lathe, dating back about 200 years, has been in storage for 20 years and volunteers have spent the last six months slowly putting it back together, with help from the Society of Ornamental Turners.

Mr Kirker believes the museum could have a great future with modest investment.

He said: “The first year it opened it won a national prize and had 40,000 visitors a year. It was just allowed to wither – I am not quite sure why. Maybe these museums went out of fashion in the 1990s. But now there are a growing number of industrial museums popping up.”

Currently the museum opens its doors to the public six times a year and the response has so far been good.

Mr Kirker said: “The interest from kids who come in is amazing – they are just rapt. We are only in our second year of doing open days. If we can get to the point where we are contracted to run the museum we can decide when to open it and won’t have to go cap in hand to the safety officer. ”

Getting the machines working will bring in more visitors, according to Mr Kirker.

He added: “Something we keep trying to get across is that key to the museum being successful is steam coming off the machines, the hissing and the heat. We want to be able to smell the oil.”

The volunteers have set their sights on taking over the museum and getting the machines powered up within the next two years. Calderdale Council’s museum service managers are supporting the association.

Fran Wills, the council’s museums, arts and heritage manager, said the volunteers had made amazing progress in the last 18 months considering the building was not previously accessible.

She said the council had earmarked £90,000 for improvements to the facade of the building, although no date had been set for this spending.

She added: “This building contains a fantastic collection that tells the story of the area 
and deserves to be enjoyed by people.”