Tone Works Book
Claire Fear & Vanessa Ruhlig
A record as found. For the purpose of conscience for those that follow, so they are mindful of what life and character there is to lose.
Recent write up in the Wellington Weekly
Claire Fear on 10Radio (4:34-33:30)
The whole Tone Works book is a most interesting and unusual project.
A cross between a simple unadulterated photo album and a delicate, reflective and informative narrative which has the effect of gently parting curtains of cobwebs and then letting them fall back into place as one moves on through the images.
A possible criticism that there is no introductory explanatory paragraph to explain the reason and purpose behind the book is dismissed by the extraordinarily succinct and appropriate dedication at the front and coupled with the most helpful biographies of the two authors at the back of the book.
One has to work at the overall interpretation and why not? it has been a journey of discovery so we all have to strive to get results.
All in all a wonderful piece of work with exquisite photography capturing the essence, spirit of place and moment in time of a set of buildings in benign neglect and increasing decay.
Finally the magical touch of the use of an early typeface matching the development of the complex and displayed in the off red tone just emphasises the amount of thought and care that has been put into this little gem of a time capsule of documentation.
Patrick J Stow BSc(Hons) MICE CEng - Author & Chartered Engineer.
‘I love everything about it. Welly is lucky to have talented people who care about these places’
Abi Weeks - Chief People Officer. Harrods
The book is incredible… It’s beautiful, what a fantastic achievement.
Amy Kemmish | Project Manager, Heritage at Risk | Somerset West and Taunton Council
On the northern edge of Wellington, Somerset, the River Tone flows past tall brick walls layered with creeping vegetation. These walls conceal Tone Works, lost in a moment in time and hidden from today. Once a busy textile Finishing and Dye Works, Tone Works formed part of the Fox Brothers' woollen enterprise that grew in the town.
The site had been used by the Were family as a fulling mill since at least 1754.
By 2000 the Fox Brothers had stopped work at Tone Works and the premises were left vacant. Many of the machines' rollers still contain cloth pieces just as they were left, bearing witness to the abruptness of this departure.
The remaining infrastructure at Tone Works and Tonedale serves as a reminder of Fox Brothers & Co Ltd’s role in the woollen textile industry in supporting and developing the local economy and defining much of Wellington's social history.
The book came out of a desire to tell the story of this moment in time. Through images and research. Thread strives to leave a legacy with each project completed. Here, the book bears witness to all that has gone and that which remains, with an eye to how this might serve the future of this beautiful space.
