William Henry Alexander (Alex) Cocksedge is standing ankledeep in woodshavings in the Halstead business founded, in 1860, by his uncle Henry. The firm of woodturners, with it's own siding, stood beside the Colne Valley Railway in Factory Lane West on the site occupied by part of Nokes foundry. Cocksedges prospered at the time when wood was much in demand but trade declined as man made materials were more widely used forcing the doors to be closed in 1959. Some of the products made were handles, mangle rollers, mallets, pastry rollers, table and chair legs, skittles, bungs for beer barrels, to mention but a few.
