Machinery which helps tell the story of the Industrial Revolution in Calderdale can now be transferred from Bradford to Halifax, thanks to a recent award.

Calderdale Industrial Museum (CIM) was awarded the Annual Special Award from The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers (TWCTPWAWW) at a ceremony at Mansion House in London on July 21.

The award will pay for the transfer of several pieces of industrial machinery from Bradford Industrial Museum (BIM) to Halifax, helping the museum tell the full story of the Industrial Revolution and worsted manufacturing in Calderdale.

The machines, which originally came from the Percival Whitely College in Halifax and will be on loan from BIM, include a drawing set of the old French system, which CIM said are “completely different” from the Bradford system currently being curated at the museum.

Volunteers at Calderdale Industrial Museum in Halifax with a double spindle self acting worsted loom in 2025. The museum is set to expand its collection with several machines planned to be transferred from Bradford in September, thanks to the Annual Special Award from The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers (TWCTPWAWW). Picture: Tony Johnson

placeholder image — Volunteers at Calderdale Industrial Museum in Halifax with a double spindle self acting worsted loom in 2025. The museum is set to expand its collection with several machines planned to be transferred from Bradford in September, thanks to the Annual Special Award from The Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers (TWCTPWAWW). Picture: Tony Johnson

CIM said the machines will serve as a practical comparison between the two different systems.

The transfer will prove a “major logistical operation”, according to CIM, and is expected to be carried out over a week in September.

It will involve a 50-foot crane lifting the machinery up to the fourth floor of CIM.

During the ceremony in London, Halifax’s Elizabeth Bonfield — who is the new master of TWCTPWAWW — presented the award to Tim Kirker of CIM.

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