Map of the Colne Valley Cloth District
Price range: £35.55 through £59.95
The Colne Valley Cloth District by MacDonald Gill, 1946
Smoking mill chimneys, blue waterways and green Pennine hills bring the textile towns around Huddersfield to life. MacDonald Gill’s colourful map includes Marsden, Slaithwaite, Meltham and Holmfirth, with local buildings pictured around its border. Full of recognisable places and carefully drawn industrial detail, this fine-art reproduction celebrates a landscape shaped by woollen cloth and the communities that made it.
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UK delivery just £4.95 per order · International delivery available.
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Unlike most online offerings, our maps are produced entirely in-house, not outsourced to print-on-demand or drop-shipping services. This allows complete control over quality while offering better value. Each map begins with a high-resolution original, carefully enhanced and printed to order using archival papers and pigment inks for exceptional clarity, depth, and longevity. Every piece is personally overseen — no map leaves our workshop unless it is of a quality we would be proud to display ourselves.
Authentic Old Map Paper & Accurate Colour Reproduction
Paper choice is essential to the authenticity of our maps. We use specially sourced 190gsm paper made in the UK from pure materials and traditionally pressed with natural woollen felts. This process creates a subtle, randomly textured surface that closely resembles an original antique document. Likewise the use of premium quality ink fully saturates the paper, producing remarkable clarity, depth, and historical character. Colour fastness and sharpness will remain good for in excess of 100 years!
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Verified ownerGot there in time and loves it! Cheers David [Gift from US to UK]
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The print arrived safely and we're delighted with it - a lovely reminder of our honeymoon 15 years ago.
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Historical Background
MacDonald Gill completed this map in 1946 for the Huddersfield and District Woollen Export Group. It was issued with Phyllis Bentley’s Colne Valley Cloth, promoting the district’s textile industry to overseas customers after the Second World War. The map presents the area as a thriving manufacturing landscape, with busy mills extending along its rivers and canals.
Map Details
- Original title: A Map of the Colne Valley Cloth District
- Artist: Leslie MacDonald “Max” Gill
- Design date: 1946
- Commissioned by: Huddersfield and District Woollen Export Group
- Associated publication: Colne Valley Cloth by Phyllis Bentley
- Notable features: Illustrated mills, reservoirs, waterways and border medallions of local landmarks
Gill brings together the industrial valleys and their surrounding moors. Reservoirs occupy the uplands, while closely packed buildings follow the waterways through the towns. The coverage extends beyond the Colne Valley itself to include the Holme Valley and neighbouring textile communities.
A sunburst illuminates the upper corner, reinforcing the map’s optimistic presentation. Completed near the end of Gill’s life, it combines commercial promotion with a detailed portrait of local identity, preserving the district’s mills and landscape at an important moment in its post-war history.
The artwork is signed 1946. Cornell University Library dates its accompanying book issue to 1947, while the David Rumsey collection catalogues an example under 1946.