Ulbricht's Wassail Cup Factory
The wassail cup factory was owned by the Ulbricht family and employed many ladies in the village as outworkers who hand painted the brightly coloured wassail cups. Older Ackworth residents will remember the distinctive smell that was like pear drops boiled sweets. The entrance to the factory was on Bell Lane ('The Stables' where the hair, beauty and health studios are in the newly renovated building) and the glass furnace metal chimney can just be seen above the 'a' in Wassail in the aerial photo above.
Some of these wassail cups were made at the Ulbricht's factory...
Upstairs in the building was also the venue for dances in the 50s / 60s and if I'm not mistaken I think the writing above the window says 'academy' in this photo...
In more recent years and up until the 2020 renovation work, the upstairs of the building was used by Ponte Slot Car Racing Club.
The building was likely to have been built in the late 1700s as stable block to Cleveland Lodge which was a hunting retreat with doorways to properties on both sides, suggesting that those cottages also belonged to Cleveland Lodge with the one to the East on Bell Lane, having a large carriage arched doorway still visible in the stonework.
This 1900 map shows the stable block and the photo shows the horses hay racks on the inside walls during 2020 renovation work to the building.
'The more modern extension to the building at Wakefield Road end was built for the Ulbrichts to house a large furnace for the glassworks, they manufactured reflectors for cycle rear mudguards as well as Wassail cups. I reduced the height of this section and turned it into a garage just after the rebuild of the main building. I built our house in 1986 on the land adjacent to the building and Wakefield Road where there was previously a collection of small buildings. Mr Gough of Ackworth Rustics timber products rented this area before moving to Lemonroyd on Long Lane, later turning it into the Ackworth Rustics pub'.
Stephen Booth 2023 (Owner of the building which he used for many years as his Joinery workshop after Mr Gough)