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One of the earliest factories anywhere in the world

Benjamin Gott’s Bean Ing Mill, started in 1792, was the first and largest of the Leeds woollen mills, famous throughout Europe in its day. Gott revolutionised the production of woollen cloth by bringing all the processes together on one site. He wasn't an inventor; he was a merchant who could see that the woollen textile sector was woefully inefficient. Over thirty different activities were involved in turning a sheep's fleece into a piece of finished cloth. Small businesses were scattered across the countryside and much time was wasted taking the outputs of one process to someone else along the chain. Co-location of all the different elements, which were gradually mechanised, made it possible to increase output and reduce costs. By the turn of the nineteenth century, Gott employed over 1,000 people. The mill was demolished in the 1960s and Yorkshire Post was here from 1970 until 2012. The site was cleared again in 2014 and Stirling Investments is developing flats.