A CAUTIONARY TALE. THE WHITELEES ENGINE
Posted: 13 Feb 2026, 03:20
A CAUTIONARY TALE. THE WHITELEES ENGINE
Written 11 August 2001
(I was triggered into writing this piece when I was challenged after making an assertion that many museums had artefacts in their collections which had no legal status. It is quite surprising how few people understand the precise definition of ownership in law.)
In the 1950’s The Cooperative Wholesale Society owned Whitelees Mill in Littleborough which was a blanket weaving mill. From 1842 to 1942 it was powered by the Whitelees Engine made originally by John Petrie in Rochdale. The CWS were making alterations at the mill and the engine had to go. There was much discussion between the CWS and various bodies but nobody, not even the Museum of Science and Industry at Birmingham, could get their act together and come to a decision. The best solution Birmingham could make was that they could find a home for the end of the beam and the parallel motion if it was sawn off!
Some enthusiasts in Rochdale got together with Holroyd Foundry who were on Petrie’s original site and the upshot was that Holroyd built an engine house to display the engine and it was moved in there and re-erected to be run by a geared electric motor. Holroyd Foundry was bought by Holcroft who were in turn taken over by Reynolds’. In the fullness of time, Trevor Grice the CEO of Reynolds decided to demolish the foundry and erect a DIY barn and lease it to Texas. At this point they were deciding what was to be done with the Whitelees Engine and an idea was floated to move it into the new Wheatsheaf Centre then being built in Rochdale by the CWS. I was brought in as consultant by the architects and soon proved to them that it was far too big for their purposes. I provided them with other artefacts and Wheatsheaf dropped out of the picture.
The Council were interested in keeping the engine and were discussing plans to put it in a glass box outside the Town Hall. I said it could come to Ellenroad and be steamed. While all this was going on, David Sekers stepped in, had a word with Trevor Grice and got him to give them the engine for Quarry Bank. He got the agreement and made the mistake of sending me a letter crowing because he had got it.
I went to the CEO of Rochdale, John Pierce and informed him that a burglary was taking place. He asked me how we could stop it and I told him that I didn’t believe that Reynolds had the right to dispose of the engine because it wasn’t theirs. I pointed out that in order to have full ownership, Reynolds needed three things; possession, title and provenance.
There was no doubt they had possession, it was in the factory they bought. It was doubtful if they had any document proving title beyond the sale documents for the foundry. They almost certainly didn’t have provenance because CWS had simply loaned the engine on an ad hoc basis to Holcroft on the grounds that it was better for it to be back in its original birthplace than being scrapped. My advice was that Rochdale MBC should get a letter from CWS stating that they granted Ellenroad Trust any residual rights vested in the engine. Armed with this, John Pierce went to Trevor Grice and told him that unless he could prove complete ownership of the engine it could not be given to Quarry Bank and had to be kept in Rochdale. History shows that Ellenroad Trust got the engine, erected it at Ellenroad in steam and received over £35,000 from Reynolds’ as a donation. The Trust has possession, title from Reynolds and provenance bestowed by CWS. Their ownership of the artefact is, in legal terms, cast iron.
The point to note is that I went back to the last people who could be proved to have had full ownership of the engine, the CWS. They bought it as an integral part of Whitelees Mill, it was the motive power and this was documented. There was no other evidence of ownership anywhere else that was indisputable. There was no audit trail to follow. Museums should be aware of this legal concept and set their houses in order.
11 August 2001
Written 11 August 2001
(I was triggered into writing this piece when I was challenged after making an assertion that many museums had artefacts in their collections which had no legal status. It is quite surprising how few people understand the precise definition of ownership in law.)
In the 1950’s The Cooperative Wholesale Society owned Whitelees Mill in Littleborough which was a blanket weaving mill. From 1842 to 1942 it was powered by the Whitelees Engine made originally by John Petrie in Rochdale. The CWS were making alterations at the mill and the engine had to go. There was much discussion between the CWS and various bodies but nobody, not even the Museum of Science and Industry at Birmingham, could get their act together and come to a decision. The best solution Birmingham could make was that they could find a home for the end of the beam and the parallel motion if it was sawn off!
Some enthusiasts in Rochdale got together with Holroyd Foundry who were on Petrie’s original site and the upshot was that Holroyd built an engine house to display the engine and it was moved in there and re-erected to be run by a geared electric motor. Holroyd Foundry was bought by Holcroft who were in turn taken over by Reynolds’. In the fullness of time, Trevor Grice the CEO of Reynolds decided to demolish the foundry and erect a DIY barn and lease it to Texas. At this point they were deciding what was to be done with the Whitelees Engine and an idea was floated to move it into the new Wheatsheaf Centre then being built in Rochdale by the CWS. I was brought in as consultant by the architects and soon proved to them that it was far too big for their purposes. I provided them with other artefacts and Wheatsheaf dropped out of the picture.
The Council were interested in keeping the engine and were discussing plans to put it in a glass box outside the Town Hall. I said it could come to Ellenroad and be steamed. While all this was going on, David Sekers stepped in, had a word with Trevor Grice and got him to give them the engine for Quarry Bank. He got the agreement and made the mistake of sending me a letter crowing because he had got it.
I went to the CEO of Rochdale, John Pierce and informed him that a burglary was taking place. He asked me how we could stop it and I told him that I didn’t believe that Reynolds had the right to dispose of the engine because it wasn’t theirs. I pointed out that in order to have full ownership, Reynolds needed three things; possession, title and provenance.
There was no doubt they had possession, it was in the factory they bought. It was doubtful if they had any document proving title beyond the sale documents for the foundry. They almost certainly didn’t have provenance because CWS had simply loaned the engine on an ad hoc basis to Holcroft on the grounds that it was better for it to be back in its original birthplace than being scrapped. My advice was that Rochdale MBC should get a letter from CWS stating that they granted Ellenroad Trust any residual rights vested in the engine. Armed with this, John Pierce went to Trevor Grice and told him that unless he could prove complete ownership of the engine it could not be given to Quarry Bank and had to be kept in Rochdale. History shows that Ellenroad Trust got the engine, erected it at Ellenroad in steam and received over £35,000 from Reynolds’ as a donation. The Trust has possession, title from Reynolds and provenance bestowed by CWS. Their ownership of the artefact is, in legal terms, cast iron.
The point to note is that I went back to the last people who could be proved to have had full ownership of the engine, the CWS. They bought it as an integral part of Whitelees Mill, it was the motive power and this was documented. There was no other evidence of ownership anywhere else that was indisputable. There was no audit trail to follow. Museums should be aware of this legal concept and set their houses in order.
11 August 2001