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English Church Architecture.

THE REACH OF THE PROVINCIAL, NINETEENTH CENTURY BUILDING CONTRACTOR.

In his comprehensive and copiously illustrated architectural biography of George Frederick Bodley (1827 - 1907), published in 2014, Michael Hall declared that concerning nineteenth century building contractors...

[a]rchitects' natural tendency to rely on a small circle of trusted builders and craftsmen was reinforced by the railways, which gave even small firms a national reach customarily exercised only by those in London. A.W.N. Pugin’s reliance on a favoured builder, George Myers, and a group of firms... for painted decoration...[,] stained glass and metalwork, was paralleled by almost every one of his Gothic revival successors with surprisingly little overlap.... They wholly eschewed major metropolitan contractors, and if possible avoided local builders who were unknown to them. [Michael Hall, George Frederick Bodley and the Later Gothic Revival in Britain and America, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2014, p. 261.]

Sweeping statements such as this are commonplace in architectural history and soon assume the status of factoids for the want of the effort to challenge them. Yet there had previously been some counter-argument to this particular assertion as when Anthony Quiney wrote in 1979 that until the 1880s, John Loughborough Pearson’s buildings 'were usually built by local contractors, and although some often recur in one area it is evidence only of their ability to put in the lowest tender' (Anthony Quiney, John Loughborough Pearson, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 1979, p. 176), or, eight years earlier, when Paul Thompson noted that despite William Butterfield’s preference 'to use a builder he knew whenever he could, ... the two hundred and fifty buildings for which the names of the builders can be found' were executed by some twenty different firms altogether and showed Butterfield 'more prepared to experiment' when working outside the metropolis (Paul Thompson, William Butterfield, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971, p. 71).

Of course, all three of these architects exercised a national reach, and it was hardly reasonable to expect Firby & Company of Swanland or Malone of Hull, one or both of whom built Pearson's All Saints’ church, North Ferriby, in the East Riding, for £3,039, to travel to Devon to erect the same architect's equally modest St. Matthew’s, Landscove (which was actually built by John Mason of Exeter) (Quiney, op. cit., pp. 266 & 261 respectively). Indeed, even George Myers, who would generally go anywhere, had declined to build Pugin's parsonage at Lanteglos-by-Camelford in Cornwall because 'it was too far to go for so small a work' (Patricia Spencer-Silver, Pugin's Builder - the Life and Work of George Myers, Kingston-upon-Hull, The University of Hull Press, 1993, pp. 38-39). But what was the true situation for Michael Hall's 'small firms', many of whom, besides, were not general builders anyway but rather, very specifically masons, joiners, plumbers or plasterers? Here, the example of the Bradford & Halifax partnership of Mallinson and Healey (fl. 1845-62), whose forty plus churches are examined in detail in part one of this web-site, is particularly instructive, for their four surviving day-books covering the years 1854-57 (West Yorkshire Archives, Calderdale Record Office, MOO:1-4) show that in that time alone, the partners had recourse to ninety-three different firms or individuals, who, after allowance is made for the fact that six were engaged in more than one capacity, embrace nineteen stonemasons, fifteen joiners and carpenters, five slaters, fourteen plumbers and glaziers, nine plasterers, nine painters and decorators, eleven general builders, eight labourers, and nine of miscellaneous occupations including five who acted as clerks-of-the-works and two whose trades cannot be identified. This undermines at a stroke Michael Hall's assertion above, and the information is available to explain this prodigality.

In fact, a search through the West Riding trade directories for the mid-1840s to the mid-1860s enables sixty-six of these ninety-three contractors to be traced to their home or trade addresses (viz., James Ibbetson's General & Classified Directory of Bradford for 1845, J. & C. Lund's Bradford Directory for 1856, and William White's directories of Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, etc., for 1842, 1851, 1854, 1858, 1861 & 1866). These comprise fourteen masons, fourteen joiners and carpenters, four slaters, thirteen plumbers and glaziers, eight plasterers, eight painters and decorators, and eleven general builders, again with six men counted twice - and since it is also possible to deduce the places of work for each, on each of their respective contracts, this allows their approximate home-to-work distances to be calculated, albeit with the proviso that since there is no way of knowing the route the men would have taken, these must necessarily be recorded either 'as the crow flies' or by using the common rule of thumb for calculating travelling distance from direct distance, by multiplying the latter by one and a third. Estimates thus calculated and stated in miles, rounded up to the nearest half, can probably be considered reliable to within a 20% error margin, always accepting that there may be exceptions in some places due to the Pennine edge topography.

Travelling Distances to Work by Contractors working for Mallinson and Healey, 1854-57 (66 men listed).

(Note: where contractors advertised themselves as offering to do the work of more than one trade, they are listed below in the priority order:

[1] masons; [2] carpenters and joiners; [3] slaters; [4] plumbers and glaziers; [5] plasterers; [6] painters and decorators;

and [7] general builders.)

*Name*	Place	Direct	≈ Travelling
and Address	of Work	Distance (miles)	Distance

	(a) Masons = 14
BENTLEY, JOSHUA	(1) Perseverance Mill, Brighouse	< 1	1
Church Street, Rastrick, Brighouse	(2) Victoria Mill, Hudd'sf'ld Rd., Brighouse	< 1	1
	(3) Providence Ind. Chapel, Elland	1½	2
DRAKE, JONAS	(1) New Dumb Mill Inn, Hipperholme	2½	3½
Shay Lane, Ovenden	(2) Bradshaw Mill	2	2½
	(3) Bradshaw parsonage	2	2½
ELLIS, DAVID?	House of John Fairburn,	< 1	1
Mirfield	machine maker of Mirfield
EMPSALL, JONAS	Brighouse	< 1	1
New Close, Thornhill Bridge, Brighouse	Gas Works
GREAVES, JAMES (marble mason)	Haley Hill cemetery chapel,	1	1½
9, Horton Street, Halifax	Northowram
MOULSON, MILES (& owner of Legram Quarry)	Premises of Robinson & S. Thwaites at	< ½	½
Great Horton Road, Bradford	Thornton Road, Bradford
PRATT, HENRY	(1) Haley Hill cem. chapel, Northowram	1	1½
Oxford Street, Halifax	(2) House, Harrison Rd., Halifax	< 1	1
	(3) Halifax parish church	< 1	1
	(4) St. Paul's, Stockton-on-Tees	55	74
RIDEHAUGH, SIDNEY	Hullen Edge Hall,	1	1½
Greetland, Elland	Elland
ROBINSON, JAMES or JOHN	Low House Brewery,	1	1½
School Green, Thornton	Clayton Heights
SIMPSON, GEORGE	(1) Thornhill Lees church, Dewsbury	1	1½
Manor Place, Dewsbury	(2) Thornhill Lees parsonage & school	1	1½
THORNTON, THOMAS	Christ Church,	3½	4½
Elland	Barkisland
WALSH, JOHN	Two houses in Wool Pack Yard,	< 1	1
Gibbet Lane, Halifax	Halifax
WALTON, BENJAMIN	Christ Church, Mount Pellon,	1	1½
Warley Town, Halifax	Halifax
WRIGHT & PEEL	St. Andrew's National School,	1	1½
Joseph Street, Bradford	North Horton

	(b) Carpenters & Joiners = 14
GOMERSHALL, JOHN & TOM	Holy Innocents',	< 1	1
Kiln Croft, Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury	Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury
GREENWOOD, RICHARD	(1) Shelf parsonage house	2	3
Bramley Lane, Brighouse	(2) Buttershaw Mills	3	4
	(3) Woodhouse, Rastrick	2½	3½
	(4) St. Mark's parsonage, Low Moor	3½	4½
	(5) Farmhouse in Brighouse	1	1½
HALL, THOMAS (& general builder)	(1) St. Peter's, Thorner	7	9½
19, Harper Street, Leeds	(2) St. Mary Magdalene's, East Keswick	8	11
HAWKYARD, HENRY	Hullen Edge Hall,	< 1	1
11, Timber Street, Elland	Elland
HEPWORTH, JOSEPH	House on	< 1	1
Rastrick, Brighouse	Rastrick Common
	(1) Trinity Road Baptist Chapel, Halifax	<½	½
LAMBERT, JOHN (& timber dealer)	(2) Zion Independent Chapel, Halifax	<½	½
35, James Road, Halifax	(3) Bradshaw parsonage	3	4
(bankrupt March 1855)	(4) Lightcliffe parsonage	3½	4½
	(5) Haley Hill mill engine shed	1	1 ½
KETTLEWELL, Peter	St. Mary's,	2	3
Great Ouseburn	Lower Dunsforth
NAYLOR, JAMES	(1) Birks Hall, Ovenden	1	1½
Mount Pellon, Halifax	(2) Mount Pellon schools	< 1	1
NEAL, CHARLES	Dr. MacTurk's house,	< 1	1
4, Johngate, Bradford	Manningham, Bradford
PICKARD & OGDEN (& builders)	Hydropathic Establishment,	6	8
Silsbridge Lane, Bradford	Otley
POGSON & TAYLOR	Christ Church,	3	4
Bond Street, Halifax	Barkisland
SMITH, S.	Weston Hall,	2	3
North Parade, Otley	Weston, near Otley
SYKES, BENJAMIN	Bonegate Hall,	1	1 ½
Norwood Green, Brighouse	Brighouse
WALKER, THOMAS	Bridge End Chapel,	3½	4½
Albion Street, Huddersfield	Rastrick, Brighouse

	(c) Slaters = 4
BANCROFT, J. & A. (& plasterers)	(1) Wyke National School	4	5½
14, Lister Street, Halifax	(2) Shelf parsonage	3	4
	(3) Haley Hill cemetery chapel	1	1½
	(4) The Shay, Skircoat, Halifax	1	1½
	(5) Birks Hall, Ovenden	1½	2
	(6) Wellington Mills, Lwr Wade St., Halifax	< 1	1
HILL (THOMAS) & SUTCLIFFE	(1) Manchester Road Schools, Bradford	< ½	½
23, Cheapside, Bradford	(2) Bankfoot parsonage, Bradford	3	4
	(3) Bonegate Hall, Brighouse	4½	6
SMITHIES, JAMES (& plasterer)	(1) Holy Trinity, Low Moor, Bradford	2	3
29, Sellar's Fold, Bradford	(2) Low Moor parsonage house	2	3
TAYLOR, SAMUEL	Bridge End Chapel	4	5½
Waterhouse Street, Halifax	Rastrick, Brighouse

	(d) Plumbers & Glaziers = 13
COCKHILL, EDWARD (& plasterer)	(1) Bridge End Chapel, Brighouse	< 1	1
Bridge End, Rastrick, Brighouse	(2) Bonegate Hall, Brighouse	1	1½
EASTWOOD, WILLIAM	Thornhill Lees parsonage and school,	1	1½
Long Causeway, Dewsbury	Dewsbury
	(1) Copley parsonage	1½	2
	(2) Christ Church, Mount Pellon	1	1½
FIRTH, SAMUEL & JOHN	(3) Shelf parsonage	3	4
10, Broad Street, Halifax	(4) Hullen Edge Hall, Elland	3½	4½
	(5) Haley Hill cemetery chapel	½	< 1
	(6) Wellington Mills, Lwr. Wade St., Halif'x	½	< 1
	(7) Halifax parish church	½	< 1
HOLROYD (JOHN) & SON	Christ Church,	4½	6
5, Cross Hills, Halifax	Barkisland
HORSFALL, JOHN	Mount Pellon	½	< 1
10, Mount Street, Halifax	schools
JACKSON, JOHN (plumber only)	Boroughbridge	< 1	1
Borougbridge	schools
HORNER, Sarah (& Son?)	St. Alban's,	8	11
17, Witham, Hull	Withernwick
KEIGHLEY, JAMES	Cemetery buildings,	< ½	½
42, Kirkgate, Bradford	Bradford
LAWSON, WILLIAM CHILD	Bradshaw	3	4
25, Southgate, Northowram	parsonage
SCARTH, WILLIAM (plumber only)	Tong Street School,	3½	4½
Chapeltown, Pudsey	Bradford
SCHOFIELD, JOHN	(1) South Ossett schools	10	13½
54, Thornton Street, Bradford	(2) Low Moor parsonage, Bradford	3	4
	(3) St. John's, Clifton	7	9½
THWAITE, THOMAS & R.	(1) "Crow Trees", Manningham, Bradf'd	1	1½
37, Tyrell Street, Bradford	(2) Holy Trinity, Low Moor, Bradford	2½	3½
WALSH, GEORGE	(1) Lightcliffe parsonage	3½	5
4, Russell Street, Halifax	(2) All Saints', Salterhebble	1	1½

	(e) Plasterers = 8 (includes 2 listed with slaters & 1 listed with plumbers)
BARBER, WILLIAM	Bridge End Chapel,	7	9½
Thornhill Briggs, Brighouse	Rastrick, Brighouse
FIRTH, MATTHEW or WILLIAM	(1) St. Peter's vicarage, Bradford	3	4
6 or 7, Cobden Street, Bradford	(2) Dr. MacTurk's house, Manningham	3	4
GARLICK, EDWARD or WILLIAM	St. Peter's,	7	9½
9, Dewsbury Rd. or 3, Bridge St., Leeds	Thorner
LAYCOCK, JAMES (& painter)	Dr. Spence's house,	2	3
23, Burrows Lane, Otley	Weston, nr. Otley
WOOD, JOSEPH	Woodhouse,	6½	9
72, Vicar Lane, Bradford	Rastrick

	(f) Painters & Decorators = 8 (includes 1 listed with plasterers)
BRIGG (HENRY) & MENSFORTH	Dr. MacTurk's house,	< 1	1
13, North Parade, Bradford	Manningham, Bradford
CROSSLEY, JOSEPH	Bridge End Chapel,	4	5½
Joseph Street, Halifax	Rastrick, Brighouse
HALEY, EDWARD	Holy Trinity	2½	3½
50, Market Street, Bradford	Low Moor, Bradford
HEALD, GEORGE F. (decorative painter)	(1) St. Andrew's, North Horton	13	17½
Newmarket, Mount Pleasant, Wakefield	(2) Holy Innocents', Thornhill Lees	6	8
RHODES, CHARLES	Wellington Mills,	7	9½
2, Cheapside, Bradford	Lower Wade Street, Halifax
WADSWORTH, GEORGE	Christ Church,	1	1½
6, Lister Street, Halifax	Mount Pellon, Halifax
WARDLE, WILLIAM	All Saints'	11	15
90, English Street, Hull	Mappleton

	(g) General Builders = 11 (includes 2 listed under carpenters and joiners)
BEDFORTH, JOSEPH	(1) Copley parsonage	2	3
26, Horton Street, Halifax	(2) Halifax parish church	< 1	1
	(3) Haley Hill cemetery chapel	1	1½
	(4) Wellington Mills, Lwr. Wade St., Halif'x	< 1	1
DUCKWORTH, WILLIAM	(1) Haley Hill cemetery chapel	6	8
222, Bolling Street, Bradford	(2) Dr. MacTurk's House., Manningham	1½	2½
FREEMAN & GATENBY (W.)	(1) St. Mary & All Angels', Cundall	4	5½
Boroughbridge	(2) Boroughbridge schools	< 1	1
	(3) Boroughbridge parsonage	< 1	1
	(4) St. Mary's, Lower Dunsforth	3	4
HEPWORTH (GEORGE) & SON	Britannia Mills, Baines Square,	< 1	1
Church Lane, Brighouse	Brighouse
NETTLETON, WILLIAM	St. Peter's,	< 1	1
Thorner	Thorner
	(1) John Foster's house, Queen's Head	< 1	1
	(2) St. Andrew's, North Horton	3½	4½
PATCHETT (ISAAC) & COMPANY	(3) Bradshaw parsonage	1½	3
Queen' Head	(4) St. Mark's, Low Moor, Bradford	3½	4½
	(5) St. Mark's parsonage, Low Moor	3½	4½
	(6) Mount Pellon schools, Halifax	3½	4½
	(7) Clayton schools and teacher's house	1½	2½
STEWART, CH'LES (& timber merchant)	(1) St. Alban's, Withernwick	8	11
14, Kingston Square, Jarratt Street, Hull	(2) All Saints', Mappleton	11	15
THAKWRAY & HOLLIDAY	(1) Manchester Road Schools, Bradford	1½	2½
49, Crompton Street, Bradford	(2) Bankfoot parsonage, Bradford	1½	2½
	(3) St. Mark's, Low Moor, Bradford	2	3
	(4) Holy Trinity, Low Moor, Bradford	2	3
	(5) S. Ossett school and teacher's house	10	13½
THORNTON, ISRAEL	(1) Bradford cemetery buildings	1	1½
85, East Parade, Bradford	(2) St. Andrew's schools, North Horton	2	3
	(3) All Saints', Horton	1	1½

It emerges that of the one hundred and twenty-five separate contracts listed in the table, seventy-four (59.2%) only required a journey of three miles or less, which an average person can walk in an hour, and a further thirty-three (26.4%, shown in Cambridge blue) fell between three and a half miles and six, which a horse and cart might be expected to travel in an hour and a half. That leaves just eighteen (14.4%, shown in black) involving longer journeys, including two cases (both at St. Paul's, Stockton-on-Tees) where the contractors obviously had to lodge away from home.

In fact, this is all remarkably unsurprising and shows the inadvisability of making broad statements in art-historical literature without regard for whether the commonplace practicalities on which they inevitably depend, are really commensurate. Of course it might be argued that Michael Hall's assertion with which this paper began, was only intended to refer to contractors who could be described as general builders, but when the information in the table is broken down by trade, such an assumption finds no support either.

Indeed it is all too easy to draw wrong conclusions like this. For example, in considering whether there were likely to be any discernible differences in the travelling distances undertaken by men employed in the different building trades in the mid-nineteenth century, one might suppose that those with the most valuable contracts (masons in the first instance, joiners and carpenters second) might have found it worthwhile to travel furthest from home. Of course, any conclusions extrapolated from the above data must be accompanied by the reservation that the sample numbers are relatively small, but it is notable that such evidence as exists is entirely to the contrary. Indeed, only three (and perhaps only two) of twenty-two masons' contracts (14%) involved a journey greater than three miles, including one where the mason lodged away from home, whereas three out of six plasterers' contracts, three out of twenty-four plumbers' contracts, and four out of eight painters' contracts involved journeys of eight miles or more, for which a possible and better explanation might be that since masons generally took a considerable labour force with them and probably heavier tools, it was more important for them to work closer to home, while the fact that they were usually engaged on each project for longer, simultaneously reduced the need, felt more acutely by plasterers, plumbers and painters, to scout for work over a wider area. Even so, in all departments the figures suggest the opportunities for an architect 'to rely on a small circle of trusted builders' were severely limited by the inability of contractors to submit tenders for 'bread and butter' projects without first giving careful consideration to the number of working and/or (in winter) daylight hours they could expect to lose in travel. If these considerations exerted a controlling influence on the submissions contractors felt able to make if they were to emerge from their contracts with a profit, it is unsurprising they were reflected in Mallinson and Healey's need to rely on local men.

● ● ● ● ● ●

Of course one possible challenge to the above argument might question the typicality of Mallinson and Healey's example. How well did their professional practice compare with that of other provincial architectural firms, whether precisely contemporary or in their heyday a couple of decades before or afterwards? During these years, local newspapers in Yorkshire and the northeast especially, regularly published lengthy reports on the consecration of new churches within their purview, among the details of which might be the names of the contractors who had worked at the site, and although much less notice seems to have been taken of these ceremonies in other parts of the country, such limited evidence as exists elsewhere also, likewise points in the same general direction. Consider, for example, the following eight practices, each of which conduced during the years of its existence, three or more such newspaper articles:

1. J.B. & W. Atkinson of York (fl. c. 1835-74). Church of St. Paul, York; The Yorkshire Gazette, 05-01-56: mason - Mr. Shaftoe; joiner - Mr. Bacon; slater - Mr. Kellett; plumber - Mr. Shouksmith; plasterers - Mr. Knowlson; painter - Mr. Beal. Church of St. Paul, Heslington (2 miles from York); The Yorkshire Gazette, 04-09-58: mason - Mr. R. Weatherley; carpenter & joiner - Mr. William Bellerby of York; slater - Mr. B. Baynes; plumbers - Messrs. Hodgson; plasterer - Mr. George Jennings; painter - Mr. Henry Perfect. Church of All Saints, Ripley (restoration) (23 miles from York); The Yorkshire Gazette, 13-12-62: mason - Mr. George Bailey of York; carpenter & joiner - Mr. William Bellerby of York; slater - Mr. John Baynes of Ripon; plumber - Mr. M. Yarvill of York; plasterer - Mr. George Bailey of York; painter -Mr. Thomas Poulter of York. SUMMARY: 3 contracts. 3 masons; 2 carpenters & joiners; 3 slaters; 3 plumbers; 3 plasterers, including 1 employed in another capacity; 3 painters. = 16 different contractors altogether.	2. Perkin, Backhouse & Perkin of Leeds (fl. c. 1839-65). Leeds Gaol; The Leeds Times, 11-05-44: masons - Messrs. John Cliff & John Hustler; carpenter & joiner - Mr. Benjamin Russell; slaters - Messrs. Samuel Croft & Edward Heavyside; plumber - Mr. Thomas Ellis; plasterer - Mr. James Wilson; painter - Mr. Joseph Wood. Church of St. Mary, Leeds (Hunslet) (demolished); The Leeds Intelligencer, 23-07-64: mason - Mr. J. Hardwick of Hunslet; joiner - Mr. William Britton; slater - Mr. J. Lawson; plumber - Mr. Thomas Bedford; plasterer - Mr. J.P. Mountain; painter - Mr. William Nelson. Church of St. Peter, Leeds (Hunslet Moor) (demolished); The Leeds Intelligencer, 16-06-66: masons - Messrs. Longley; joiner - Messrs. Longley; slater - Mr. Stears; plumber - Mr. Dawson; plasterer - Mr. Miller; painter - Mr. Galloway. SUMMARY: 3 contracts, all in Leeds. 3 masons; 3 joiners, including 1 employed in another capacity; 3 slaters; 3 plumbers; 3 plasterers; 3 painters: = 17 different contractors altogether.
3. G.F. Jones of York (fl. c. 1843-80). Church of St. Mary, Foxholes (36 miles from York); The Yorkshire Gazette, 29-12-66: masons - Messrs. Grange & Son of Portland Street, York; carpenter & joiner - Mr. Brown; slater - Mr. Ellis; plumbers - Messrs. Hodgson of Stonegate, York; plasterer - Mr. Croft; painter & stainer - Mr. Worthington of Blake Street, York. Church of St. Philip & St. James, York (Clifton); The Yorkshire Gazette, 11-05-67: masons and bricklayers - Messrs. Biscombe & Hebden; carpenter & joiner - Mr. Bellerby; slater - Mr. Ellis; plumber - Mr. Hartley; plasterer - Mr. Croft; painters -Messrs. Fryer & Son. Church of St. John the Baptist, Stamford Bridge (7 miles from York); The York Herald, 01-02-68: masons - Messrs. Grange & Son of Portland Street, York; joiners - Messrs. Weatherley & Rymer of Clarence Street, York; slater - Mr. Wood of Skeldergate, York; plumbers - Messrs. Hodgson of Stonegate, York; plasterer - Mr. Young of Gillygate, York; painter & stainer- Mr. Worthington of Blake Street, York. SUMMARY: 3 contracts. 2 mason; 3 carpenters & joiners; 2 slaters; 2 plumbers; 2 plasterer; 2 painters: = 13 different contractors altogether.	4. Pope and Bindon of Bristol (fl. c. 1861-72). Church of St. Bartholomew, Bristol (demolished); The Western Daily Press, 23-01-61: mason - Mr. John Davis of Montpellier, Bristol; carpenter & joiner - Mr. James Palmer of Limekiln Dock, Bristol; tiler - Mr. John Davis of Montpellier, Bristol; plumber - Mr. John Davis of Montpellier, Bristol; plasterer - Mr. Charles Hill of Maudlin Street, Bristol; painter - Mr. John Davis of Montpellier, Bristol. Emmanuel Church, Bristol; The Western Daily Press, 10-12-62: masons - Messrs. Palmer & Green of Clevedon; carpenter - Mr. Edward Lewis of Horfield Road, Bristol; tiler - Mr. John Bussell; plumber - Mr. Gay; plasterer - Mr. John Bussell; painter - unnamed. St. Silas, Bristol (St. Philip's Marsh); The Daily Bristol Times and Mirror, 03-10-67: mason - Mr. Thorne of Clifton; carpenter - Mr. G. Humphries of Stapleton Road, Bristol; tiler - unnamed; plumber - Mr. W. Tuckey of Milk Street, Bristol;; plasterer - Mr Bevin of Bedminster; painter - unnamed. SUMMARY: 3 contracts; all in Bristol. 3 masons; 3 carpenters & joiners; 2 tilers + 1 unnamed, including 1 employed in another capacity; 3 plumbers, including 1 employed in another capacity; 3 plasterers, including 1 employed in another capacity; 1 painters + 2 unnamed, including 1 employed in another capacity; = 11 different contractors altogether.
5. W.H. Crossland of Huddersfield & Halifax (fl. 1863-70). Church of St. Thomas, Huddersfield (Bradley) (converted to other use); The Huddersfield Chronicle, 08-08-63: mason - Mr. George Brook of Bradley; joiner - Mr. James Moseley of Huddersfield; slater - Mr. J. Bancroft of Halifax; plumber - Mr. W. Walsh of Halifax; plasterer - Mr. W. North of Huddersfield; painter - unnamed. Christ Church, Batley (10 miles from Huddersfield); The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 13-11-67: mason - Mr. Thomas Clegg of Dewsbury Moor; joiner - Mr. John Tomlinson of Leeds; slater - Mr. Godwin & Sons of Huddersfield; plumber - Mr. Snowden of Ossett; plasterer - Mr. Arthur Kitchingman; painters - Messrs. Knight, Hardy & Jackson of Huddersfield. Church of St. John, Ripon (55 miles from Halifax); The Richmond & Ripon Chronicle, 14-08-60: masons - Messrs. John Chambers & Son of Bishop Monkton; joiner - Mr. George Grange of Pateley Bridge; slaters - Messrs. John Chambers & Son of Bishop Monkton; plumber - Mr. Christopher Daniel of Ripon; plasterers - Messrs. John Chambers & Son of Bishop Monkton; painters - Messrs. John Burton & Son of Ripon. St. Andrew, Huddersfield; The Huddersfield Chronicle, 13-08-70: masons - Messrs. Thomas & George Rhodes; joiner - Mr. William Roberts; slater - Mr. Godwin & Sons of Huddersfield; plumber - Mr. H. Garton; plasterer - Mr. William Kitching; painter - Mr. George Brighouse. SUMMARY: 4 contracts. 4 masons; 4 joiners; 3 slaters, including 1 employed in another capacity; 4 plumbers; 4 plasterers, including 1employed in another capacity; 4 = painters: = 21 different contractors altogether.	6. Holtom and Connon of Dewsbury (fl. c. 1873-80). Mill Lane Schools, Dewsbury. The Dewsbury Chronicle, 20-09-73: mason - Mr. John Schofield of Dewsbury; joiner - Mr. I. G. Turver; slater - Mr. Robert Wright; plumber - Mr. James Wright of Batley Carr; plasterer - Mr. William Parker; painter - Mr. James Wright, as above. Dewsbury Moor New Connexion Chapel, The Dewsbury Reporter, 15-04-76: mason - Mr. John Schofield of Dewsbury; joiner - Mr. Edward Chadcliffe of Staincliffe; slater - Mr. George Hargreaves of Dewsbury; plumber - Mr. James Wright of Batley Carr; plasterers - Messrs. Grange & Cookson of Heckmondwike; painter & decorator - Mr. Thomas Bray of Dewsbury. Church of St. Philip, Dewsbury (demolished); The Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer, 02-05-78: mason - Mr. William Scott of Dewsbury; joiners - Messrs. Garthwaite & Blackburn of Dewsbury; slater - Mr. George Hargreaves of Dewsbury; plumber & glazier - Mr. James Wright of Batley Carr; plasterers - Messrs. Richardson & Binns of Dewsbury; painter & decorator - Mr. James Taylor of Leeds. Dewsbury Co-operative Hall, The Dewsbury Reporter, 11-12-80: masons - Messrs. Hart & Brier of Dewsbury; joiners - Messrs. Fothergill & Schofield of Batley Carr; slater - unnamed; plumber & glazier - Mr. Samuel Hoyle of Batley Carr; plasterers - Messrs. Richardson & Binns of Dewsbury; painter & decorator - Mr. Samuel Hoyle, as above. SUMMARY: 4 contracts. 3 masons; 4 joiners; 2 slaters + 1 unnamed; 2 plumbers; 3 plasterers; 4 painters & decorators, including 2 employed in another capacity: = 16 different contractors altogether.
7. Austin and Johnson of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (fl. 1864-75). Church of St. Mary, Blyth (14 miles from Newcastle). The Newcastle Guardian & Tyne Mercury, 18-06-64: general builder - Messrs. Burn & White of Blyth & Morpeth. Church of the Holy Trinity, Richmond (47 miles from Newcastle). The Richmond and Ripon Chronicle, 10-12-64: mason - Mr. Smith; joiner - Mr. Naylar; others - unnamed. Church of St. James, Gateshead (demolished) (3½ miles from Newcastle). The Newcastle Courant, 07-07-65: mason - Mr. James Hogg; carpenter & joiner - Mr. Ralph Sanderson; slater - Mr. Edward Beck; plumber - Mr. Henry Watson; plasterers - Messrs. W.B. Wilkinson & Co. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; painters - Messrs. Wilson & Romanis. Church of St. John, Haverton Hill (38 miles from Newcastle). The Yorkshire Gazette, 21-12-65: general builder - Mr. Thomas Bowron of Stockton-on-Tees. Church of All Saints, Slingsby (81 miles from Newcastle). The Yorkshire Gazette, 28-09-67: general builder - Mr. John Brown of York. Church of St. Stephen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (demolished). The Newcastle Guardian, 22-02-68: mason - Mr. Walter Scott; carpenters & joiners - Mr. Joseph White of Morpeth; slater - Mr. Sanderson; plumber - Mr. Henry Watson; plasterers - Messrs. W.B. Wilkinson & Co., of Newcastle-on-Tyne; painters - Messrs. Wilson & Romanis. Christ Church, Jarrow (9 miles from Newcastle); The Newcastle Guardian, 09-10-69: mason - Mr. Henry Hudspeth; carpenters & joiners - Messrs. Lowrie; slater - Mr. Preston of Sunderland; plumber - Mr. Bailey; plasterers - Mr. Henry Hudspeth; painters - Messrs. Cooper & Co.. Church of St. Cuthbert, Amble (31 miles). The Alnwick Mercury, 22-10-70: mason - Mr. Carse of Amble; carpenter - Mr. Giby of Warkworth; slater - Mr. Fortune of North Sunderland; plumber - Mr. J.T. King of Morpeth; plasterer - unnamed; painter - unnamed. Church of St. Peter, Bishop Aukland (30 miles from Newcastle). The York Herald, 21-04-75: mason - unnamed; joiner - Mr. Carrick of Bishop Aukland; slater - Mr. Pollard; plumber - Mr. Would have; plasterers - Messrs. W.B. Wilkinson & Co., of Newcastle-on-Tyne; painter - unnamed. SUMMARY: 9 contracts. 3 general builders; 5 masons + 1 unnamed; 6 carpenters & joiners; 5 slaters + 1 unnamed; 4 plumbers + 1 unnamed; 3 plasterers + 1 unnamed, including 1 employed in another capacity; 3 painters & decorators + 2 unnamed = 28 different contractors altogether.	8. T.H. & F Healey of Bradford (fl. 1863 - 1910). Church of St Michael & All Angels, Bradford (demolished). The Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer, 05-12-67: masons - Messrs. Foulds & Brothers of Bingley; carpenters & joiners - Messrs. Sagar &Co. of Manningham; slater - Messrs, Hill & Nelson; plumber - Mr. Charles Wilson; plasterer - Messrs. J.B. & J. Akroyd; painter - Messrs. Brown & Pullen. Parish Church of St Peter, Bradford (restoration). The Bradford Observer, 23-01-69: masons - Messrs. Burnley & Barker; carpenter & joiner - unnamed; slater - unnamed; plumber - Messrs. Hodgson & Son; plasterer - unnamed; painter - unnamed. Church of St. James, Thornton (3 miles from Bradford). The Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer, 22-08-72: masons - Messrs. Rouse & Sons; joiner - Mr. J. Tomlinson of Leeds; slater - unnamed; plumber - Mr. E. Barstow of Thornton; plasterer - unnamed; painter - Mr. Thomas of Thornton. Church of St. John the Evangelist, Bradford (Great Horton). The Bradford Observer, 11-03-74: masons - Messrs. Barraclough & Son of Thornton; joiner - Mr. Patchett of Thornton; slater - Mr. J. Smithies; plumber - Mr. George Wilson of Leeds; plasterer - unnamed; painter - Mr. Thomas of Thornton. Church of St. Luke, Worsbrough (30 miles from Bradford). The Barnsley Times & South Yorkshire Gazette, 29-05-75: masons - Messrs. J. Taylor & Sons; joiner - Mr. John Carr of Summer Lane, Barnsley; slater - Mr. E. Fleming of Barnsley; plumber - Mr. George Wilson of Leeds; plasterer - Mr. W. Whitehead; painter - unnamed. Church of St. Augustine, Bradford (Undercliffe) (since rebuilt). The Bradford Observer, 212-11-77: masons - Messrs. Kitchen & Rhodes; joiner - Mr. W. Brunton; slaters - Messrs. Hill & Nelson; plumber - Messrs. Hogson & Son; plasterer - unnamed; painter - Mr. J. Clapham. Church of St. Luke, Bradford (Manningham). The Bradford Observer, 24-11-80: mason - Mr. J. Robertshaw; carpenter & joiner - Mr. J. Briggs; slaters - Messrs. Hill & Nelson; plumber - Mr. Charles Howroyd; plasterer - Mr. Thomas Bolton; painter - Mr. S. Lupton. SUMMARY: 7 contracts; furthest, . 7 masons; 6 carpenters & joiners + 1 unnamed; 3 slaters + 2 unnamed; 5 plumbers; 3 plasterers + 4 unnamed; 4 painters + 2 unnamed. = 28 different contractors altogether.

To consider these in turn:

1. John Bownas Atkinson (1807-74) and William Atkinson (1811-86) of York used sixteen different contractors on three church building projects over a seven year period, and although one might have expected different men to have been engaged at Ripley, twenty-three miles away, from the two in or near York, in fact only the slater at Ripley was (reasonably) local. The other craftsmen employed on this job seem most likely to have lodged away from home, although a railway connection to Ripley had opened the year before (on 1st May 1861). This suggests the choice of contractors arose from a lack of confidence in local tenders, yet Messrs. Atkinson showed no obvious adherence to any of the York craftsmen they knew.

2. Likewise William Belton Perkin (d. 1874), Elisha Backhouse (1809-94) & Henry Perkin (1847 - 1925) of Leeds used seventeen different contractors on three construction projects in the town, and while the example of the building of Leeds Gaol might be dismissed as spurious, not least on account of its twenty year separation from the two church building assignments, it is striking that not one of the contractors engaged to work St. Mary's, Hunslet, in 1864, was re-engaged half a mile away and barely two years later, on St. Peter's, Hunslet Moor, in 1866. Again, the precise nature and details of the tenders submitted on each occasion, appear to have been more important to the architects than personal loyalties.

3. In fact, George Fowler Jones of York (1818 - 1905), appears to be the one and only contrarian in this regard, among the eight architectural practices examined here, for at Foxholes, thirty-five miles from York, all the contractors with the possible exception of the joiner, seem likely to have been men Jones used regularly in York for they all also worked either on St. Phillip & St. James's church in the city, a year later, or else on St. John the Baptist's, Stamford Bridge, another year after that. To require craftsmen to travel so far to such a remote spot (i.e. to Foxholes) seems unlikely to have been either the cheapest or most timely way to build a church, but the implication would seem to be that Jones prioritised over these considerations, the greater confidence this practice gave him that the work would be well done.

4/5. Certainly there is no evidence that Richard Shackleton Pope (1792 - 1884) and James Bindon (1835-72) of Bristol worried particularly about this: in three church building projects in the city in less than seven years, they did not return to a single contractor, and similarly, William Henry Crossland of Huddersfield and Halifax (1835 - 1908), for whom information on four of his churches is available, again over a seven year period, only re-engaged one (a slater), albeit that in the construction of St. John's, Ripon, more than fifty miles from Halifax, he went partway towards using a general contractor, namely Messrs. John Chambers & Son of Bishop Monkton, who undertook the masonry work, slating and plastering, in an attempt, perhaps, to simplify the direction of building operations at such a distance from his office.

6. Henry Holtom (1837-96) and J.W. (?) Connon of Dewsbury had no such problems for all their known work was executed in the town. Yet of the four buildings for which newspaper reports record the contractors engaged, comprising a school, a chapel, a church and a co-operative hall, all of which were erected between 1873 and 1880, three different masons, four different joiners, three different plasterers and four different painters and decorators were used. It seems clear that search for the cheapest tender must have been the principal driver of this, although they, like everyone else, routinely declared in their newspaper advertisements that 'The lowest or any Tender will not necessarily be accepted'. (See, for example, The Dewsbury Chronicle & West Riding Advertiser, 17th July 1880, p. 4.)

7. That brings this discussion to the two partnerships for which the most information on these matters appears to be available. Thomas Austin (d. 1875) and Robert James Johnson (1832-92) of Newcastle clearly accepted commissions over a wider geographical area than most provincial architects at this time. The average distance from Newcastle of the nine contracts listed is 28 miles, and from Newcastle to Slingsby it is approximately eighty-one! It is unsurprising therefore, that among all the craftsmen they engaged, with the single exception of one plastering firm who travelled from Newcastle to Bishop Aukland, only the plumber, painters and same plastering firm, who worked at St. Stephen's church in the city, were prepared to travel even as far as Gateshead, to work on St. Peter's church there, and it is understandable, in view of the likely difficulties involved in supervising craftsmen with conflicting and competing schedules, at such a distance - at best, perhaps, under the eye of an equally unfamiliar clerk-of-the-works - that on three occasions Austin and Johnson should have chosen to simplify their task by employing a general contractor.

8. Finally, Thomas Henry Healey (1839 - 1910) and Francis Healey (1840 - 1910) of Bradford, who continued their father's ecclesiastical work in Bradford after their father's early death, also followed his example in looking out for the best tenders on each and every occasion, with the result that on the seven church building projects for which information is available, all but one of which was within three miles of the centre of Bradford, only two plumbers and one painter were used twice and one slater was used three times.

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These multiple examples show beyond peradventure that although nineteenth century provincial architectural practices obviously differed from each other in many respects, it was nevertheless usual practice to put work out to tender, to engage craftsmen for the individual trades separately, and for an architect to engage many different contractors during their careers, even within the same town, after considering who was likely to do a particular job best, complete it soonest, and/or provide a financially competitive edge. Of course, there were some exceptions: as seen above, George Fowler Jones of York seems to have preferred the assurance that came from engaging men he knew, even when the travelling distances involved must have brought additional inconvenience and expense; Austin and Johnson demonstrate that when undertaking a building project a long way from the office, it could make life easier to employ a general contractor to undertake the work across all departments, even if the work in one or more areas was less skilfully or economically done than it might have been by a specialist. However, such cases notwithstanding, it is evident that Michael Hall's assertion with which this paper began, is not borne out by this research. Submitting a competitive tender that would leave the craftsman with a profit became increasingly difficult to do the more he had to allow for time lost in travel and most architects found it possible, in most places, to obtain craftsmen who were proximate to the site and could therefore complete a job not only cheaper and quicker, while also being on hand to deal with any unexpected contingencies. None of this is surprising. Even as the railway system grew ever more extensive, most journeys were slow, at the mercy of the railway timetable, and involved long walks to and from inconveniently-placed stations. A mason in particular, also required the use of heavy tools, and if he was a local man, he probably had a better understanding of the properties of local building stones, which were always likely to be preferred in view of the cost of the bulk transport of heavy materials. Thus the question implicit in the title of this paper, namely what was the reach of operations of the provincial, nineteenth century building contractor, can be given with confidence. The answer, in the great majority of cases, was not very far at all.