Apart from the unsuccessful project in the 1760s to widen the towns trading horizons by building a canal intended to link Thirsk to the commerce of the east coast ports, the early industrial revolution had little effect on the life of the community and it was not until 1834, with the introduction of gas lighting and the building of the gasworks in Long Street, that the town showed an awareness of the new industrial age.

The arrival of the railway in 1841 accelerated the process. One result was to open the district’s access to building materials in greater quantity and variety - timber, bricks and more especially Welsh slate which replaced traditional pantiles for roofing. Maltings were built by the railway, importing barley by the truckload and despatching the malted grain to new steam-driven breweries.

In 1860 a 25 year old Adam Bamlett came to Thirsk and acquired a timber yard adjacent to the railway terminus at Town End, establishing there workshops to build agricultural machines to his own design. Within the space of 10 years or so Bamlett’s engineering works were the most important source of employment in the town and were exporting farming machines to Europe and the world.

This photograph taken about 1895 shows a group of Bamlett’s workmen against a background of logs in the timber section of the factory. Here steam-driven saws cut the timber faster and more efficiently than could be done in the traditional two-man saw pits.

The picture offers a good illustration of the working dress of late 19th century factory hands.

The men wear both waistcoat and high buttoned jackets, with a neckerchief rather than a tie.

Heavy moustaches were nearly universal and the small peaked cap was popular, a century ago the hard hat was no safety requirement on site.

For 100 years or so Thirsk meant Bamletts in the world of agricultural engineering, but from the 1960s the firm suffered a sad decline.

The business closed, the site was sold off and a modern supermarket stands where once these men fed timber to the sawmill.