Hopkinsons Limited Archive

Records of Hopkinsons Limited, Huddersfield-based isolation and control valve manufacturer.

The archive comprises

Production records, including photographs, drawings, patents, factory production information and analysis records, and samples and equipment.

Corporate planning and administration records, including minutes of directors' and Board meetings.

Estates and facilities records, including site plans and photographs of premises.

Financial records.

Personnel records, including staff photographs, company magazines and newsletters, and staff social activities.

Marketing records, including product catalogues, photographs, exhibition awards and medallions, and company history.

See HOP/MK/2/1 for "The Hopkinson Story"

Plus HOP/CP/1 minutes

See HOP/MK/7 for correspondence system/numbering (applies to photographs etc)

Original available for consultation by appointment

In box 355 on shelf R3 there are 14x35mm short filmstrips in one of the file boxes. Following information is contained on the filmstrip canisters:

B.I.S.F FILMSTRIP, Distributed by the Filmstrip Department, G.B. FILM LIBRARY, proprietors, RANK PRECISION INDUSTRIES (B.A.F.) LTD. Aintree Road. Perivale. Greenford. Middx, Perivale 7481

S.50 FROM ORE TO IRON: THE BLAST FURNACE

S.51 IRON INTO STEEL: The Open Hearth Furnace

TECHNISCH FILMCENTRUM FILMSTRIP, Distributed by the Filmstrip Department, G.B. FILM LIBRARY, proprietors, RANK PRECISION INDUSTRIES (B.A.F.) LTD. Aintree Road. Perivale. Greenford. Middx, Perivale 7481

S.469 THE LATHE AND ITS ACCESSORIES

S.480 THREAD CUTTING Part II: Mechanical

S.484 LATHE TURNING Part I

S.485 LATHE TURNING Part II

CENTRAL FILM LIBRARY, Government Building, Bromyard Avenue, London, W.3.

H.49 BORING TO CLOSE TOLERANCES

H.72 PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS

H.162 DRILLING. BORING. REAMING

G.B. INSTRUCTIONAL FILMSTRIP, Distributed by the Filmstrip Department, G.B. FILM LIBRARY, proprietors, RANK PRECISION INDUSTRIES (B.A.F.) LTD. Aintree Road. Perivale. Greenford. Middx, Perivale 7481

S.34 IRON AND STEEL

MACHINERY'S VISUAL AID SERIES, New England House, Brighton I, Sussex

NO.2 THE CENTRE LATHE - BASIC APPLICATIONS

NO.5 PLANNING AND SLOTTING MACHINES

NOTE REGARDING NITRATE FILM: In Feb 2016 Rob Clegg checked the dates of these films to determine the potential for the filmstrips to be made out of nitrate. Although there are no dates on the films or canisters, RANK PRECISION INDUSTRIES was not formed until 1956. Nitrate film was in use up to 1951 so it is safe to assume that these strips are not nitrate based. Furthermore, some of the strips do contain the words 'safety' printed along the edge (a further sign that they are not nitrate).

Plus two unlabelled

Box 447 on shelf R38 contains a cassette box containing an audio cassette and slides inside. Slides range from 1-49. The following information is included on the cassette box:

Hopkinsons Limited Actuator Division, produced by Public Relations Council Limited London

In Box 505 assortment of film reels and strips. These comprise:

4 x Kodak super 8 reel filmstrips, 3 unnamed, one titled: Sootblower Nozzle Tests 17-3-71?

1 x Film Canister - Open in Darkroom, ILFORD, refill

1 x 16mm Kodak film reel (in canister), BRITISH PAT. 324528, KODASCOPE REEL, RD 705401, Made in Great Britain

1 x 16mm Kodak film reel, DO NOT PROJECT - (TAPE SPLICED)

2 x Standard 8 Photax film, one empty reel no film, one titled: FILM TAKES IN MACHINE SHOPS, JANUARY 1971

1 x 16mm film reel with following information: Turners Film & Productions, Title: VALVES BY HOPKINSONS, Produced by: HOPKINSONS LTD, Duration: 20 mins, Copy Number: 16mm, Language: English, Length: 730ft.

1 x Gevaert 16mm untitled film reel

1 x Kodak 16mm untitled film reel, made in Great Britain, by Kodak ltd

1 x 16mm film reel with following information: VALVES BY HOPKINSONS, Recule 12 Dec 1972, Pour Production Film, (Title in mixture of French and English, possibly in French)

1 x 16 mm film reel with following information: OLD FILM 1969, Turners Film Productions, Title: "Valves by Hopkinsons", Hopkinsons Ltd, Revised Edition, Copy no. 4, Length. 972ft, Runs. 27 mins

1 x Filmstrip, short, no reel

The following records were removed from the collection due to a lack of long-term value:

- Guides produced by the Royal Mail and Marketing companies concerning Direct Mail marketing by post, 1 bundle, late 20th century.

- 6 boxes of valuations, 1900s; 1921 inventory & valuation; 1 box various valuation records. Valuations found in HOP/FN.

- duplicate "Firm Friends" HOP/HR/5/1

- Competitors' catalogues, mainly dating to the 1950s.

- 2 series of journals: 'Engineering' volumes 1-77 and 'The Engineer', volumes 1-99.

- A set of preliminary art work from the merchandise and marketing series

- Share certificates were sampled and a small percentage kept

These records were created and acquired in the course of the history of Hopkinson's, and later Weir, conducting business. In 2005 the Weir Valves & Controls deposited the archives with the University of Huddersfield Archives. This deposit was triggered by the firm's move from the Wheathouse Road Works at Birkby to the Britannia House facility at Elland. John Kergon, then Field Sales Support Manager at Weir, felt strongly that the company archive should be saved in a local archive and started to pursue this with local archives/museums. This resulted in the deposit of the archive with the University in the summer of 2005. Some additional items were originally gifted to the West Yorkshire Archive Service (WYAS) in 1995 by the family of a former Hopkinsons Publicity Manager. They were transferred by the WYAS to the University of Huddersfield to be re-united with the rest of the Hopkinsons archive in 2005.

Included in online exhibition “Pressure Power and Patterns” exhibition at https://wakelet.com/wake/fc607dec-fa8f-4024-b364-033b379702a7