BOOTH’S Mills played an important part in the lives of generations of workers in Horsforth and Rawdon.
L J Booth and Sons of York Place, in Leeds, was established in 1891 by Lewis James Booth.The family of woollen cloth manufacturers had mills at Woodbottom in Horsforth and in Rawdon.
The family owned Park Mills in Rawdon and Woodbottom Mill, in Horsforth. Woodbottom Mill was originally built by the Thompson family in 1797, when it was known as Low Mill.
Workers from Booths at Woodbottom can be seen in three photographs taken in 1914. While two of the 1914 shots show women and children, the third shot features just men - all of them members of the Booth Mills cricket team.
The mixed group shot in front of a bus was taken in the 1950s and shows an outing for the workforce of Booth’s Park mill. The photograph was donated to Aireborough Historical Society by Julie Martin
The shot of the mill at Woodbottom was taken in the 1960s by James Farrar, and was donated to Aireborough Historical Society by his son David Farrar.
All the photographs are from the society’s archives.
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