Former Linen Warehouse, Cottages, and Cart-shed

64-72 Dodworth Green Road, Dodworth

Building

Roofed and walled permanent structures.

Asset type

Building

Age

Late 18th to early 19th Century

Rarity

A rare survival of a linen warehouse and associated buildings in the regional vernacular.

Architectural and Artistic Interest

The buildings at the site are built from coursed sandstone with coped gables supported on decorative corbels and dressed stone to windows, doors and on the quoins of the work buildings. Fronting onto the street is a modest two storey cottage of two bays, originally two cottages and now joined into one. To its rear is a detached north-south aligned range of two storeys with three blocked stone framed archways with pronounced keystones, and stone framed windows to first floor, illustrative of it having formerly served as a cart shed. To the south is a detached three storey building with three regular bays of window to its north elevation, and smaller windows to its south elevation. Several of the secondary elevations are rendered. A further cottage is present to the west of this group, but is not visible from the road.

Group Value

The buildings form part of a dispersed group of historic buildings within Dodworth Green with very little modern infill and a high degree of survival of historic character. The group value of these assets generates a distinctive townscape of special character and appearance,

Historic Interest

Barnsley developed as the centre of a linen weaving industry in the 1740s through the enterprise of William and John Wilson who established a warehouse and system of outworking to serve their own bleachworks. Other businesses followed, and a large number of weavers' cottages were built or converted from farm buildings in Barnsley and the surrounding villages of Ardsley and Dodworth. Handloom weaving continued to be important into the mid-19th century, after which it began to decline as a result of competition from Scotland and labour disputes. The buildings at Dodworth, although absent from Jeffrey's map of 1767-70, were built by the time of the 1839 tithe survey when it was recorded as 'houses, shops & gardens' owned by Joseph Speight and occupied by Thomas Sunderland. The complex is documented to have been built for Dodworth and Barnsley linen manufacturer Edward Taylor. It was converted into cottages in the mid-19th century.

Archaeological Interest

The buildings are highly likely to preserve evidence within their fabric for their original form and function. Further study of the structures is likely to greatly benefit our understanding of the development and use of these buildings, and contribute towards the study of the history of the linen weaving industry in the wider region.

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14 Jun 2023