Over the past few weeks, I’ve begun the slow, but careful process of exploring a significant archive connected to G. Garnett & Sons, a long‑established worsted manufacturers based at Valley Mills in Apperley Bridge. Much of the historical context for this work is supported by Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History, which has helped me situate these documents within the wider story of Bradford’s textile landscape.

What I have in front of me is not a complete archive — it’s a fragment, a handful of surviving technical drawings, plans, and working documents that once lived inside the mill’s daily operations. They are practical objects: demolition plans, roadworks layouts, engineering diagrams, and folded blueprints that still carry the marks of handling, use, and time. But they are also emotional objects. They belonged to someone’s father, someone who worked within the rhythms and demands of a mill that shaped a community for more than a century.

My first task has simply been to stabilise and document what’s here. The drawings are large and fragile, many folded tightly for decades. I began by photographing them with my mobile phone — a practical first step — but quickly realised that the quality wasn’t sufficient for what I’m trying to achieve. These documents deserve a more precise, professional approach, so I’ve now brought a digital camera into my workflow. It allows me to digitise each drawing with the clarity, scale, and care the material requires.

The process remains slow and attentive: unrolling each piece, photographing it properly, wrapping it in acid‑free tissue, and beginning a gentle catalogue. Nothing rushed. Nothing forced. Just listening to what each document reveals.

Already, patterns are emerging — the language of mid‑century mill engineering, the shifting architecture of Valley Mills in the 1960s, the traces of industrial decline and adaptation. These are not grand historical narratives; they are the quiet, material remnants of work, decision‑making, and change.

This project will grow slowly. I’m building a small home archive, one drawing at a time, and allowing the research to unfold at its own pace. Over the coming months, I’ll share more about the documents, the history they touch, and the creative and research pathways they open.

References:

Websites:

Graces Guide