Although the precise date the company started trading isn’t known, We do know that the 1881 census shows that Ebenezer Hargreaves was working as an iron founder, along with 6 labourers, on this very site at the time.

So, that’s a history of casting iron for 140 years, spanning three centuries, on the same site. And in some ways Hargreaves reflects the history of Halifax over the same period. Out of the hugely important textile industry there followed a burgeoning engineering industry which was dependent on cast iron. Having started by manufacturing architectural castings and street furniture, production then moved to meet the needs of the machine tool industry created by the First World War. Hargreaves continued supplying castings to the many local engineering companies throughout the 20th century.

When our current Chairman, Michael, took over in 1984, he realised that the market for these products was shrinking, as engineering and machine tool manufacturing was gradually moving abroad. The effects of this were felt by both Hargreaves & British Manufacturing as a whole.

Michael saw the opportunity to expand into the Cast Iron Rainwater Soil & Drain market, a decision that lead to the launch of our sister company, Hargreaves Foundry Drainage Ltd, which is now the UK’s leading cast iron rainwater manufacturer.

At about the same time Michael was approached by an artist to cast a sculpture on his behalf. It was quite a daunting task from a casting point of view and not something that the foundry had ever contemplated before, but Michael, who’s always been up for a challenge, decided to go for it. After a lot of problem solving and a couple of all-nighters, the team successfully cast it. The artist was Sir Antony Gormley, and since then Hargreaves has cast many, many sculptures on his behalf which have been seen all over the world. Having successfully adapted the foundry’s skill set to accommodate the challenge of art casting Hargreaves has established a reputation for manufacturing fine art castings and is now the choice of many other artists.

As we moved into the 21st century, the business turned full circle by going back into the production of architectural & engineering castings, the point at which Ebenezer had started back in the 19th century. This has provided opportunities to be involved on projects for some of the country’s most prestigious buildings.

In the last few years we have been involved in restoration work on the Elizabeth Tower and the Palace of Westminster, designed by Charles Barry who, coincidentally, also designed Halifax’s town hall.