Battersbys Collection

Ivy Cottage, near Coniston in the Lake District may well still exist but its exact location is uncertain. Ernest Battersbys friends Wilson and Nelstrop are outside the door

Edwardian couple in field
Identified by the photographer as being taken at Alport in the Peak District of Derbyshire, the woman is named as E. Bramwell, believed to be Ellen Bramwell

Group of Edwardian men in countryside on Eyam Moor
The purpose of this gathering is not known, only the man at extreme left is know and he is George Barnshaw, a manager at Battersbys Hat Factory in Stockport

Body pounding machine at Battersbys hatworks - the castnig on it identifies it as locally made, and the background is incredibly untidy! Date: 1902

Firemen at Battersbys hatworks were obviously employed in house, and despite the equipment being satisfactory, when a fire broke out in 1906 there was insufficient water pressure in the mains to be

Hatworks employee at Battersbys factory identified by the photographer as Christopher Tipping, smartly turned out but with a less imposing backdrop. Date: 1902

Blocking shop at Battersbys hatworks - the felt hat on the right awaits further forming. Note the massive chain drive on the machine on the left. Date: 1902

Machine plank shop at Battersbys hatworks - the top end where more exposed drive belts run next to a table with hundreds of felt cones await the next stage of the manufacturing process Date: 1902

Plank shop at Battersbys hatworks showing formed felt cones, te basis for a fur felt hat. Note the huge amount of pipework, and the exposed belt drives to the machinery. Date: 1902

Settling Machine at Battersbys hatworks with Walter Battersby on right. Obviously not a hurried process, whatever it involved. Date: 1902

Strimping Machine at Battersbys hatworks, another solid piece of machinery bearing the makers name Date: 1902

Tipstitcher machine at Battersbys hatworks - a fantastic piece of solid engineering, obviously built to last! Date: 1902

Belgian machine at Battersbys hatworks - designed to be beltdriven, and apparently recently assembled, judging by the spanner left on its base. Date: 1902

Hardening machine at Battersbys hatworks in Stockport. Note the exposed drive belts in use at the time Date: 1902

Hat factory sewing machine at Battersbys Stockport Hat works, destined for delivery to their other factory near Arras, France Date: circa 1908

Factory fire pump showing the latest in fre pump technology for 1906. After the fire, Battersbys factory installed much more comprehensive systems to ensure they never risked a repeat of such

Hat factory machinery after fire at Battersbys of Stockport in June 1906. The machinery shown is a crown finishing machine, and in the top left of the picture the drive system is visible

Fire pump for Battersbys hat factory in Stockport in June 1906. The factory had suffered a major fire earlier that year and great emphasis was put on ensuring equpment was in place to combat any

Hat factory trimming room at Battersbys works, Stockport, in January 1908. Date: 1908

Sewing machine at hatworks
Photographed at Battersbys hat factory in Turncroft Lane, Offerton Stockport, note the industrial sized cotton reel on top of the sewing maching. Date: circa 1906

Printing Machine at hatworks
Photographed at Battersbys hat factory in Turncroft Lane, Offerton Stockport, a printing machine possibly for hat labels or publications within the works. Date: circa 1906

Miss Nash in the garden of Battersbys house, Strathclyde, Offerton Lane, Stockport, where she was a frequent visitor as her father had business links with the Battersby hatmaking firm Date: 1913

Fire scene in hat factory middle rooms in June 1906 where the scale of damage at Battersbys Stockport premises can be seen. Oddly it appears some hats have survived the blaze, but very little else

Hat factory finishing room at Battersby s, Stockport, in1906. This photograph shows the workbench and toolboxes for the workers, as well as the final packaging materials for the finished products

Brim making machine at Battersbys hat factory in Stockport, 1906. This is believed to be new machinery bought to replace equipment destroyed in the fire a few weeks earlier Date: 1906

Four men in hat factory finishing room at Battersbys in Stockport, June 1906. Note the massive exposed machinery behind them and the driveshaft for it which comes through the wall. Date: 1906

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping