Wainhouse Tower
Wainhouse tower is one of the finest examples of a Victorian folly in the UK and is the legacy of John Edward Wainhouse. The tower has many stories attached to it and has captured the imaginations of generations of both local townsfolk and visitors to Halifax. The tower is also referred to as Wainhouse's Folly, Octagon Tower and the Tower of Spite.
Wainhouse Tower stands at an impressive 253ft and reaches a further 24ft in height when measured from the rear base. There are 403 steps which sprial up through the structure in between the conventional brick chimney and the outer stone casing.
Wainhouse Tower
What was it for?
The Smoke Abatement Act of 1870, declared that industrial works such as Wainhouse's dyeworks on Washer Lane must comply with new legislation aimed at lessening the impact of smoke produced by such companies in towns and cities. At the time the act came in, Halifax was under a blanket of thick smog. The air was so polluted with smoke that newly hung out washing would be blackened within moments, the smog was so thick that townsfolk rarely witnessed the sun out in all its glory. These were miserable and unhealthy times for the people of Halifax.
At the time the act came into force, the dyeworks on Washer Lane did not fully comply with the new legislation. The manager at the time was Mr Henry Mossman and he was prosecuted over failure to comply wit the act. Wainhouse believed these charges were brought about by the intervention of his then enemy, Sir Henry Edwards (for details of the famous feud, see the John Edward Wainhouse page).
Mossman had to prove to the authorities that the dyeworks were making efforts to comply with the act. This was summarised by Mossman when he declared that the dyeworks intented to install fans in their furnaces to hasten the dispersement of the smoke, to demolish 6 small chimneys on the site and erect one large chimney in their place. Although the plan for this chimney was not the basis for the construction of Wainhouse Tower initially.
At some point prior to 1871, Wainhouse devised a plan to erect a chimney high on the hillside above his dyeworks, which, would lift the smoke out of his factories and away towards Halifax. The ambitious plan, involved situating the new chimney a few hundred meters away from the dyeworks up on the hillside towards King Cross. This would involve tunneling the flue up under the road and the hillside. This plan received lots of objections, mostly from Sir Henry Edwards at the potential damage and inconvenience this may cause.
There are many, many theories as to whether Wainhouse actually intended the tower to be used as a chimney. If this was his intention all along, then why build a staicase up it? This implies that whatever the reason, Wainhouse intended to have some sort of viewing platform (at least) at the top of the structure. If it was being used as a chimney also, I doubt one could actually see anything with smoke billowing from the flue! Locally, the construction of the tower is linked with feud between Wainhouse and Edwards. The hostility between these two men was at its hight as the tower was being constructed.
Accoring to Wainhouse, Edwards thought of himself as aristocracy and boasted on several occasions that no house on his side of the valley could see into his grounds. He was also known to abhor the sight of industrial chimneys, he is even said to have complained when white linen was hung out up on Norland Hill because it spoiled the view. Some believe that the construction of Wainhouse Tower was purely intended to goad Edwards, although speaking in 1925, a former friend of Wainhouse confirmed that he never built it on the sole basis to goad him, he was merely trying to comply with the Smoke Abatement Act.
Far reaching views from Wainhouse Tower
The Architects
In 1871, John Edward Wainhouse aquired the services of Isaac Booth (1823-1891), a local architecht and surveyor. Booth served as one of the Clerks of Works during the construction of Leeds Parish Church and later managed the building of Keighley Parish Church. In 1851, Booth moved to Halifax and in the latter stages of his career, he focused more on surveying and engineering works rather than architecture. The last major public scheme Booth was involved with was the construction of the railway through Booth Dean to Lancashire. He later became a member of the Halifax Town Council where he served for three years before he was elected as Chairman of the Markets Committee.
At the time Booth was working on the designs for Wainhouse, the feud between Sir Henry Edwards and Wainhouse had reached boiling point. Booth was also working for Edwards during this time and felt that his relationships between both men was suffering due to the ongoing feud. He decided that he could no longer work for both men and chose Edwards, a decision he later reflected on as the wrong choice.
Richard Swarbrick Dugdale was Booth's assistant at the time Booth went to work for Edwards. In 1873, Wainhouse kept Dugdale on and he was responsible for altering the design of the first balcony, and for designing the ornamental crown. Dugdale was a successful architect and engineer and in 1879, he was appointed Borough Engineer for Huddersfield. He later designed and carried the very first system of steam tramways in the town. At this time the first municipal tramways had recently been authorised by Parliment for any town in the country. Dugdale also designed Greenhead, Beaumont and Norman parks.
Wainhouse Tower during a full moon
The Design
When Isaac Booth designed the tower, it is not certain whether he designed only the chimney as originally intended, then, subsequently designed the stone casing and ornate balconies, or designed the entire structure as one, knowing that it would never actually be used as a chimney.
The design of the tower incorporates a conventional brick, circular mill chimney, which terminated with a swept capping to the normal flue outlet. The chimney was then encased in octagonal shaped stone, with a square base. Between the outer stone casing and the inner chimney flue lies a stone spiral staircase leading to four pediment balcony features. This immediately questions the idea that it was ever going to be used as a fully working chimney.
The tower was instrumental in deepening the famous feud between Wainhouse and Sir Henry Edwards. Prior to the construction of the tower, Edwards, a boastful and extrovert man, claimed that no house on the hills around his estate at Pye Nest could peer into his private grounds. It is thought Wainhouse acted on this comment and said he would alter all that by causing an observatory to be provided at the top of his mill chimney.
As one ascends the tower, they are presented with a number of window seats offset from the main stairwell should they wish to rest their weary legs.
Click here to see a larger version.
Detail on the second balcony & corona dome
Construction
Construction of the tower began in 1870 and it took nearly five years to complete before it was finally finished on the 9th September 1875. The total cost of the tower was around £14,000. The tower was constructed using locally quarried Ashlar which was excavated next to the site. Approximately 9000 tons of stone was used, each stone being dressed or carved there on the site.
As the tower grew, stone was hauled up inside the chimney using a tripod system of pulleys and horses. Nearby to the tower, you can still find a stone which was used to tether the ropes. During construction of the tower, Abraham Buckley who was the son of Isaac Buckley (the site foreman) was involved in an accident and lost an arm after one day, the tripod collapsed bringing the system of pulleys etc. down on him. It is noted that he adapted well to the loss of his arm and for many years, he used a leather prosthetic limb. After his death, this garish piece was kept and passed down to various people before being disposed of only a couple of years ago.
The entrance to the Tower, currently awaiting repair
Surrounding Landscape
The picture below shows a view from the opposite side of the valley, before construction of the tower began (c1870). Washer lane dyeworks is situated on the upper right of the photograph, just below the chimney on the top of the hill. The large house which is to the right of the Washer Lane Dyeworks complex, is known as Sapling Grove, where John Wainhouse lived in "Wainhouse Buildings" prior to the construction of West Air. The large mill in the picture is Edwards Mill, which was owned by Sir Henry Edwards. The mill burnt down in 1988. Click here to see a larger version.
Edwards Mill and the Washer Lane Dyeworks above - c1870
This is a view from the same spot taken in May 2007. As you can see, the Washer Lane Industrial estate still stands under Wainhouse Tower. The area to the right of the photograph formed part of Sir Henry Edwards land. Here, he lived in Pye Nest mansion which was demolised a number of years ago to make way for new housing developments.
View from Norland Hill towards Wainhouse Tower
Interesting Facts
On the 17th October 1878, the tower was struck by lightning and lost a stone ball (and part of a shaft) from the corona dome. The piece of stone was found the next morning embedded into the ground. It was never replaced and if you look carefully you can still see where it was damaged.
In 1909, W.E. Dennison [1866-1926], Chairman of Halifax Courier Limited, ran an amateur radio station - known as 2KD - from a shed next to the tower. The tower was used to house the radio stations transmitter. Around this time also, the tower had been used experimentally for transmitting other radio wave technologies.
In 1912, plans were drawn up to use the tower as a crematorium!
During both world wars the tower was also used as an ARP observation post. A guard would stand watch at the top of the tower and report any enemy sightings via a telephone line installed in the tower down to his fellow guards.
In 1959, a climber scaled the top of the tower and noted that the butterfly shaped finial was made of oak encased in copper. He also noted that the dome which crowns the very top of the tower (the corona dome) has glass bricks set into the masonry. These bricks are silver backed so that originally, the top of the tower would have gleamed in the sunshine. Unfortunately over time, the glass bricks have become covered in dirt and therefore, no longer shine.
Glass bricks on the corona dome (under the spikes)
Wainhouse Tower featured in a music video called "My foolish friend" by Talk Talk in 1983. Click the picture to watch the video.
My foolish friend - Talk Talk