Knaresborough, Mason's Sheep Skin Works

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Price:  £6.99 –+ Add to Basket Format:   Select:A4 print:  £6.99A3 print:  £8.50Digital copy:  £5.00 Reference:  BU04901AA4 Free postage and packing on all photograph orders Photographs can be supplied as A4 or A3 prints or as digital copies, which will be sent by email. The online watermark does not appear in photographs purchased. All photographs are subject to copyright restrictions and may not be published without permission.

James Mason, Sheep Skin Rug Manufacturer, Bridge Mills, Waterside, Knaresborough. Lewis Outing emails [2006/7]:This was my grandfather's sheep-skin works, located on the Waterside, Knaresborough. His name was James Mason. After his death in 1956, the business was run by my mother until its closure in 1965.
Pictured in the photograph are Edwin Mitchell and Jack Mason.
The skins were brought from a fellmonger at York. They were soaked in river water overnight to remove the salt. This water was pumped directly from the R Nidd at the rear of the premises. The skins were soaked in the tub pictured, which was filled 3-4 ft deep. Blocks of household soap were used to wash the skins. The River Warden would come at intervals to test the water for pollution, since the water from the washing would go straight into the river with no treatment. Walter Malthouse of Knaresborough writes [2006]:Following the process described above, the skins were stretched on frames to dry outside the Mill along Waterside. Note that Waterside was not a through road as at present, but there were steps from the bridge to the start of the road.