Leyland Historical Society

However we can now go back further as the factory was built around 1874 – 1875 as the Brookfield Rubber Company (Mark 2), part of James Quin & Co. According to the planning records James Quin applied to build an additional shed 144” x 46” on 2nd February 1878, which we think are the buildings in the foreground. It then become a limited company in 1883 until the company was liquidated in 1886 on the death of its Managing Director, James Quin.

The building then became the John Lord & Son, Wire Works in 1889 until that too was liquidated in 1893.

Quinland 

James Quin and his attempt to make a factory village for his employees off Hough Lane in Leyland

18 – 31 Herbert Street

Lease 13th September 1878
To Richard Berry
Married to Mary Ann Smith, daughter of Sarah Quin and William Smith, living at Vernons Place, Sandy Lane. Son of Richard Berry.

The land was parcelled off by Quin who kept the freehold to the various lessees with the remaining land being leased to his stepson John Berry Smith.

Remember the name, Herbert Newsome Quin, see it again in the street names.

Though we have a grey area, literally, as the 1893 Map shows, the remainder of the houses in Newsome Street and the disused Wire Works were sold to the BTR in 1934 to extend their factory so the deed details for those have not yet been discovered.

1873 – to the left with the original plans rescinded.

1874 – to the right more detailed plans now accepted.

But who would design and build these houses.

Lily Bank & Spring Bank 

Lease 31st July 1874
To Joseph Slater Anderson
Cabinet maker & Upholster of 9 Fishergate Hill.
Share holder of James Quin & Co from 31th March 1873.
These semi-detached houses were built by David Grant who later had his office at the side entrance of Lily Bank, acting also for the Leyland & Farington Building Society.

Congregational Church & School
Lease 16th November 1875
To William Irving (Doctor of Medicine of Blackburn), James Fisher Armistead (Magistrate & Land Owner of Blackburn)
& John Gordon McMinnies (Manager – Farington Mill).

In 1874, when the Ebenezer Chapel in Towngate became too small for the worshippers, it was decided to build a new church and school.

Mr J.G. McMinnies, of Farington Lodge, secured the land in Hough Lane on a 999-year lease, the ground rent being paid by him for the rest of his life.

The plans for the new church and school were prepared by David Grant, architect, of Lily Bank, Hough Lane. The new church was opened on October 12th, 1877, and is built of stone with a lofty roof and a tower 80 feet high.

There is accommodation for 480 people, the cost of construction being approximately £6,000.

51 – 55 Hough Lane, 1 – 19 Newsome Street
Lease 11th October 1875
To John Berry Smith – Rubber Works Manager
Son of Sarah Quin by William Smith 

57 – 69 Hough Lane, 1 – 9 Herbert Street, 2 – 10 Newsome Street  Lease 20th November 1874
To George Haworth
Thought to be either relation of Quin’s mother or friend of Quin.

2 – 16 Herbert Street

Lease 22nd December 1876
To Richard Berry
Married to Mary Ann Smith, daughter of Sarah Quin and William Smith, living at Vernons Place, Sandy Lane. Son of Richard Berry.

David Grant was born in Scotland in l846. His father was one Matthew Grant a merchant. He came to Leyland at the request of James Quin. He went on to design the houses on Hough Lane where the “top executives” from the rubber works lived.

By 1873 David Grant was actually living in Leyland and had an office in Preston initially at 1 Winckley Street, later at 7 Guild Hall Street. In 1874 he married, at Leyland Parish Church, a Preston girl, Elizabeth Hannah Anderson, the eldest of four children whose father, Joseph, owned a prosperous cabinet and upholstery business in Fishergate employing as many as thirty people.

71 – 77 Hough Lane
Lease 30th December 1874
To William Sephton - Inn Keeper & Bricklayer of Tardy Gate Inn.

11 – 19 Herbert Street, 12 – 18 Newsome  Street
Lease 19th February 1876
To George Haworth
Thought to be either relation of Quin’s mother or friend of Quin.

By making the factory into a Limited Company Quin could extract some of his money and place into other ventures. One of his first priorities as we will see was to keep his workforce, many of which were travelling into Leyland each day by foot, cart or train (hence the adverts for workers always mentioned the closeness to the station) and it did help now being on the Leyland Board.

This photograph may be familiar as we have previously shown it to be the Leyland Motors site from leaving the Smithy until the purpose built factory was ready in 1902. 

In front of the windows was where the famous photograph of the Leyland Motors workforce was taken.