Bradford’s heritage lives on at Christeyns

A Bradford-based hygiene specialist is reflecting on its deep-rooted industrial past as part of a project exploring the city’s lost mills.

Christeyns, headquartered in Victoria Mills on Rutland Street, has partnered with 509 Arts to uncover the history of its site, which once housed wool combers W & M Thompson Black before becoming home to Oil & Soaps Ltd in 1981. 

Christeyns acquired the business in 1998, continuing the mill’s long association with textiles.

As part of the Lost Mills of Bradford initiative, the firm has discovered historical documents dating back to the 19th century. 

Justin Kerslake, operations director at Christeyns UK, said:  “We are absolutely delighted to work with 509 Arts on this project and very proud to play a part in maintaining Bradford’s rich heritage. 

“The mill is very much a part of our daily operations, and we have maintained many original features that remind us of its past and the role it played in the success of the city.”

While many of Bradford’s mills have long since vanished or have been repurposed, back in 1900 there were more than 350 of them dominating the city's landscape, as Bradford earned the title ‘wool capital of the world’.

509 Arts’ new website celebrates this by showcasing stories and never-before-seen photographs through its Lost Mills and Ghost Mansions Learning Zone, which includes an archive page with interviews and radio programmes, a media wall of photographs and documentaries, as well as a Lost Mills Map, in which Christeyns’ Victoria Mills is included.

The project was put together in partnership with Bradford Community Broadcasting and funded by Bradford Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Arts Council.

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