History: The Delph clock factory

The “Clock Factory” by Peter Fox

TO YOUNGER people or those who have moved into the area they may find it difficult to imagine but Saddleworth’s villages up to the mid 1960s were very much ‘working’ villages.

This article focuses on Saddleworth’s purpose built clock factory that originated in Delph.

In August 1884, Alfred Hirst, who started his trade as a watch repairer and was described as ’watchmaker extraordinaire’, established Hirst Bros on Union Street in Oldham. He took his two step-brothers into the business.

The business was set up to produce timepieces and jewellery as well as importing Limit Swiss watches and precision machine tools for the watch and clock trade.

By 1902 Hirst Bros had become a limited company and was still growing, adding other businesses in Manchester in 1904 and at Birmingham in 1907.

The quality of the clocks and watches was such that Alfred Hirst realised his greatest ambition in 1912 with a range of watches which carried the ‘Limit’ trademark.

These watch movements had originally been made in Switzerland and shipped to Hirst Bros to be put into British-made ‘Dennison’ cases. This trade brought even more growth, with additional sales offices opening in London and Glasgow.

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 found them manufacturing aircraft parts, including revolution counters and optical instruments.

The firm had been tasked by the Ministry of Munitions to solve the problem of pilots dropping bombs by hand and they effectively created the first bomb rack.

After the war, the company once again began to prosper and with the demand increasing they looked to build a purpose-built factory to manufacture their products.

In 1917 they purchased a seven-acre green field site at Tameside, Dobcross. The designing of the new factory was passed onto local architect A. J. Howcroft.

His brief for the design of the “clock works” would have been prompted by Alfred Hirst who having visited modern factories in the United States was inspired by the modern design providing as much daylight as possible during working hours.

The original plans were very ambitious and were six times bigger than the mill that was eventually completed in 1920. The site included tennis courts and a cricket field, with the staff competing in many Lancashire and Yorkshire cricket leagues.

While the mill was being built prices had soared and they took a loan from the District Bank. The production at the new mill was initially clocks.

By the mid 1920s however there were cheap clock imports from Germany and production turned to radio sets and components as well as counters and gas meters for ‘Parkinson Cowan’ who were later to take over the mill.

In 1926 came the cotton crash and with the District Bank having a liquidity problem they foreclosed on the Hirst loan, though the company did survive.

Throughout the second world war they did munitions work at the mill as well as making instruments for various aircraft.

In the 1950s they were producing meters and the Saddleworth Guide for 1950 reports: ‘The production of high grade measuring equipment involves the utmost cleanliness and the situation of the Measurements Tameside meter factory in the country near the Pennines results in a freedom from dust and dirt impossible of attainment in towns.’

By the 1970s the business at the mill had closed and it was demolished in the mid 1980s.

If anybody can offer us anymore information, photographs or products made at the mill we would love to hear from you. Please email: curator@saddleworthmuseum.co.uk