ONE of Huddersfield’s few remaining textile chimneys is destined for demolition.
The 1883-built chimney at textile firm Taylor and Lodge’s Lockwood site will be taken down next month.
Workmen have begun erecting scaffolding in preparation at the company’s Rashcliffe Mills premises on Albert Street.
Darrell McNulty, group services manager for Taylor & Lodge parent Bulmer and Lumb Group, based in Bradford, said the decision had not been easy as the chimney was a highly visible part of Huddersfield’s textile heritage.
But he said it was redundant and served no purpose – while presenting the company with a £4,500 repair bill and £1,000 a year in insurance.
The 25-metre (82ft) chimney was once part of a forest of stacks stretching from Chapel Hill along Lockwood Road and on towards the Holme Valley.
Mr McNulty said the chimney at Lockwood was in use until two years ago when wool scourging operations were transferred to another site.
