1913 King George V and Queen Mary visit the Yard Works in Preston

Entrance to the Yard Works, 8 July 1913.

By 1913 Horrockses, Crewdson and Company operated three large textile complexes in Preston. These were the Yard Works, Fishwick and New Hall Lane. The company also operated Moses Gate near Bolton and two warehouses in Manchester and London. They employed over 6,500 people, ran 7,500 looms and 330,000 spindles. Annual output from their factories was 1,500,000 pieces of cloth, which was enough to stretch around the world.

King and Queen outside Yellow factory

When the King and Queen arrived at the Yard Works they were given a guided tour which included a visit to the Yellow Factory. Inside the Yellow Factory were a number of models of each of the sites owned by Horrockses. These included the models of the Yard Works and the Manchester Warehouse, which are now in the Harris Museum and Art Gallery.

Model of the Yard Works

The models where made by five men who worked for Horrockses, including John William Neville. Thanks go to Dorothy Purvis, granddaughter of John Neville for permission to reproduce the above photograph on this website.

Further information about the visit is included in the events timeline and the database.

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