There are many historical industrial areas in Nottingham for everything from lace to breweries - and some that may surprise you. The River Trent area, or Sneinton Island as it was once known, has historically been linked to leather making and tanneries.
Although a lot of buildings around London Road have been converted into accommodation in recent years, the Turney Leather factory is more than 160 years old. The five-storey former factory is Grade II listed and only became flats,
which overlook the river, in 1982,
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Given its age, the restoration of the building and transformation was a difficult job, in particular, soundproofing, as the construction had been predominately timber and cast iron frame. Nevertheless, the builders managed it and the front of the building was retained so you can still read Turney Brothers LTD as you pass by.
The leather businesses in Nottingham almost became extinct and the Turney brothers are credited with reviving the dying industry. There are references to leather tanneries as far back as 1395 across the city, including reports that tanners had polluted the River Leen. Tanneries would have been focused on producing accessories for horses and shoes at that time.
By 1838, the industry was in serious decline despite Nottingham being a leader in leather goods at one time. Many of the tanneries were sold off or closed around this time. The Turney brothers decided to open their leather factory in the area known as Sneinton Island in 1861.
Although the site was quite small when it started, it rapidly expanded into a much larger site by the 1920s and became a Nottingham landmark. It imported specialist machinery from around the world to become a cutting-edge producer of leather goods, including pocketbooks and gloves.
The tannery became known in particular for its Trent Bridge Willow Calf, which was the UK's first full chrome calf leather and it was used predominantly for ladies' shoes. The business also spread out into other cities with offices in Leicester, Manchester and London. Export accounted for a lot of its business as it sent skins to America and London.
John Turney eventually took over the business when his brother Edward left, going on to take the role of Chairman and Managing Director. He eventually went on to become Sherriff and an Alderman in later years and then major in 1886 until 1888, before being knighted.
He was also involved in the placement of a window in Gedling church to commemorate those who had died in the First World War. He also had a brass plate made which was engraved with the names of those who had worked in the company but fought in the Boer War.
Tanneries were not easy places to work and conditions were the same at the Turney's, where long hours were expected. There were also health concerns such as breathing difficulties and potential exposure to chemicals, along with the risk of developing skin rashes or diseases over time.
There were also accidental deaths recorded, with one leather dresser recorded as having died at the tannery in 1892. The inquest details which were published by the Evening Post recorded the fatal incident, which saw the worker fall from the upper storey of the building.
The Turneys made many improvements to the leather industry which helped to distinguish them from other similar businesses. This included changing many of the more unpleasant processes for the better such as one such technique that involved using faeces mixed with water to drench the skins which were referred to as pure, puer or pewer.
The company switched to using pancreatic enzymes which were a lot easier to do but also, less disgusting and dangerous to workers' health. When the Second World War hit, production increased to help create large amounts of army clothing quickly for troops. This increase in army clothing may have meant they were not converted into munitions production like other factories were at the time.
The business had to open more warehouses during this time to deal with the demand, especially from the shoe trade. America was now increasing its leather production which created a significant amount of competition, especially as Turney's had been exporting there regularly.
Post war, the company celebrated its centenary as a major manufacturing company in Nottingham in 1961. Despite this, the company went on to record financial losses in the late 1970s as it began to decline and multiple redundancies from a staff force that had been in the hundreds didn't help matters.
It sadly made the decision to close in 1981 as the only remaining tannery in the city citing increased prices for raw materials and also the economic slump at that time.
The building was then converted into flats with early adverts for the new homes being placed in the Evening Post advertising a three-bedroom home for £45,950 in 1985. The development was described as 'most impressive' and 'a little piece of Amsterdam' as it overlooked the river.
Chair of Nottingham Civic Society, Hilary Silvester, said: "It's good as we like to see buildings being reused when possible and this is a very impressive building. It's a strong reminder of one aspect of Nottingham's industrial past and its now been converted into lovely waterside apartments."
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