SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

The following is reported in John Mayhall’s ‘Annals of Yorkshire’ vol 3:-August 15 1871. “Several trade disputes occurred about this time in the borough of Leeds, in the engineering, cloth, dyeing, and leather trades. The extensive establishment of Messrs. Fairbairn and Co., the Wellington Foundry, where 1,700 persons were employed, was closed, in consequence of the boy workers having struck for an advance of wages. The extensive mills of Messrs. Marshall, of Holbeck, and Messrs. Briggs, Water Lane, were closed, owing to a strike among the girl workers. The dispute at Messrs. Fairbairn’s was settled by an advance of 1s. a week all round, and payment for lost time”.I still recall the Fairbairn Lawson works to the end of Wellington Street shortly before that met Kirkstall Road (before the major change in the area with the building of the Inner Ring Road).

When I left school in 1961 Fairburn and Lawson was regarded as one of the top firms to get an engineering apprenticeship at.

Thanks Loiner in Cyprus for your interest in this thread. Fairbairn's original Wellington Foundry occupied the site for very many years. This is a link to one of several photos (some with comments) of Fairbairn Lawson that are in the Leodis website:- http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... 874_167036

Leodian wrote: Thanks Loiner in Cyprus for your interest in this thread. Fairbairn's original Wellington Foundry occupied the site for very many years. This is a link to one of several photos (some with comments) of Fairbairn Lawson that are in the Leodis website:- http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?reso ... 874_167036 Thanks for the link and the correct spelling and name. In my defence I noticed in one of the comments on Leodis the guy used Fairbairn AND Lawson same as me. Perhaps that was the local term back in the 60s.

Hi Loiner in Cyprus. I never noticed our differences in the name and so if I have seemed to have corrected your way I apologise.

Hi Leodian, No apology is necessary. I look forward to the next extracts.

If only we had the firms mentioned in the original post stillin business ,the unemployed figures would plummmet !

I remember from my Ledgard bus days in the 1950s/60s that there was a very impressive red neon sign on the eastern end of the premises - subject to spelling mistakes by me I think it read "FAIRBAIRN LAWSON COOMBE BARBER." The lengthy title always impressed me. Opposite the northern wall of the building there was a fascinating old cinema, in use as a warehouse for "ARDATH" cigarettes - it all seems a long long time ago now.