Hirst Farm

As I said in yesterday's post, there was at one time a lock keeper's cottage and a farm at Hirst Lock, just outside Saltaire. The buildings have disappeared but I have this old photo (courtesy of Dorothy Burrows) which shows the farm as it used to be. Apparently in the early part of the 20th century Hirst Farm was a popular weekend destination for families, offering horse rides, home-made ice cream and a café.

The River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at this spot run alongside each other and there has been a mill here since the 1700s, using the river to turn its water wheel to power the machinery. The mill was originally a corn mill but later made paper. It was rebuilt in the 19th century and has now been converted into flats (see this link for a photo). There are other cottages and houses in the hamlet, built in the 1860s, which still stand, though they too have had various conversions and additions.