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Elsie Whiteley Building (Halifax)

Elsie Whiteley Building

One of Halifax's oldest mills built around 1868 and disused now for many many years is currently in the process of being regenerated/refurbished. The plan is to have a futuristic business centre in this magnificent building and this should mark a new era of innovation for Halifax.

The Elsie Whiteley Mill, or as the foundation stones at the gable end read .. West Grove Mill 1867, once home to Halifax’s pioneering fashion designer and textile entrepreneur Elsie Whiteley; the ?4m investment in The Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre – commemorates Halifax’s thriving creative past as a leading industrial textile huband also makrs the region’s future as a unique base for digital and new media companies to develop their business.

Rear of Elsie Whiteley Building (aka West Grove Mill)

Rear of Elsie Whiteley Mill

The mill’s focus on creativity and productivity, will provide over 30,000 sq ft of contemporary, quality serviced, flexible office space specifically targeted at knowledge transfer businesses. The plans look very interesting and can only be a good thing for this shabby area of the town.

Elsie Whiteley was born in 1903 began work at a local mill at the age of 12 whilst still at school. Elsie Whiteley’s hands-on training as a machinist equipped her with the core skills that would form the foundation of her fashion empire. A combination of passion for clothes design, an eye for making her own money and sheer determination lead her to start dressmaking from her sitting room at home in 1929, which soon grew into a busy factory and saw the opening of her first shop on Athol Mount (1930) – and ten year’s later on Keighley Road, Ovenden.

Elsie Whiteley Building

Tapping into Halifax’s position at the forefront of machine engineering and the clothing industry the ‘Elsie Whiteley’ label – specialising in stylish ladies blouses - was launched and at its peak took over six mills across Calderdale including the Elsie Whitely Mill in 1973. Selling to 1000 retailers across the UK including major department stores such as John Lewis, Fenwick and Selfridges the Elsie Whitely label also had its own premises on London’s Regent Street.

In 1959 she brought her two sons on board to join her in managing the business and continued to adapt to the changing labour market, industry climate and fashion trends. Only in 1994 was the mill finally closed due to the number of textile manufacturing bases moving abroad. Elsie Whitely never retired – always taking garment alterations home until the day she died in 1972.

Elsie Whiteley Building

The Elsie Whitely Innovation Centre is scheduled for completion in April 2006 and will open its doors for business in June after the 56 week refurbishment programme.

Barbara Harbinson, Chief Executive of Halifax Opportunities Trust, has been quoted as saying:

“This ambitious project is a major step forward in showing what Halifax has to offer in terms of providing a thriving, creative base for enabling new, hi-tech companies to develop. The advanced facilities and support available at The Elsie Whitely Innovation Centre has been carefully designed to cater for futuristic businesses within the digital industry as we too look to build on Calderdale’s economic future – attracting companies from both inside and outside of the region.”

Elsie Whiteley Building (aka West Grove Mill)

The Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr Olwen Jennings said: “Elsie was clearly a determined woman, who took her dressmaking firm from humble beginnings and turned it into an enterprise which supplied clothing to household names such as Marks and Spencer and C&A. Hopefully, the refurbished mill will provide a base for small businesses, some of which may grow in the same way as Elsie’s business.”

source: http://www.digitalyorkshire.org.uk/news_1495.htm

Last Updated ( Saturday, 27 August 2005 )