Leather.

The former Boyer’s cloth mill was sold to Walter Case, a tanner from Frome, in 1890 and became the leather works at Westbury Leigh. Before the First World War it had approximately 100 workers. 

In the early 1920’s sales dropped and there were lay-offs, but new capital investment led to the production of fashionable suede kid. 

The leather works had to close for a few years during the First World War and re-opened in 1922. In 1931, it employed 269 people and it took more than eighteen different procedures to get to the end product.

During the Second World War production was reduced because of the difficulty of obtaining imported raw materials. However, in the post-war years, production increased again and it was noted in 1947 that it required 1 ¼ million gallons of water every day from the River Biss to produce the leather.

By the 1980s increased foreign competition meant the firm was unable to invest the money to modify its treatment of effluent as required by the local authority. Tanning ceased and the works became a dressing yard. The business was wound up 1984.