Mellor Mill
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Mellor Mill, also known as Bottom's Mill, was a six-storey cotton mill in Marple (historically part of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
, now in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
) built by
Samuel Oldknow Samuel Oldknow (1756–1828) was an English cotton manufacturer. Early life and family Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margery Foster, was born on 5 October 1756 in Anderton, near Chorley in Lancashire. He had a yo ...
in 1793. This was a six-storey, wide and long mill with additional three-storey wings making it in all. The mill was built for
Samuel Oldknow Samuel Oldknow (1756–1828) was an English cotton manufacturer. Early life and family Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margery Foster, was born on 5 October 1756 in Anderton, near Chorley in Lancashire. He had a yo ...
and used to spin coarse counts. It was originally driven by the Wellington water wheel. The
River Goyt The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England. Etymology The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has be ...
, and with it the then county boundary between Derbyshire and Cheshire was diverted and a weir built, the leat fed a millpond that in later times was named the Roman Lakes. This in turn fed a second mill pond along with water from reservoir in Linnet Clough. Supplementary power was provided by a second exterior wheel known as the Waterloo wheel. The mill reached its peak production in 1804, when 10,080 spindles were operating and around 550 people were employed. It was destroyed by fire in 1892.


Location

The mill was built beside the
River Goyt The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England. Etymology The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has be ...
in the parishes of
Mellor Mellor is a surname. Notable people with this surname * Alan Mellor (born 1959), English cricketer * Anne K. Mellor (born 1942), feminist scholar of Romantic literature * Bernard Mellor (1917–1998), British academic * Chip Mellor (born 1950), Pre ...
and Marple in what was historically part of
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
and is now within
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
. The River Goyt was the boundary between
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
and Cheshire. To provide water for the two wheels the Goyt was diverted and canals and reservoirs built. The water reservoirs for the mill, are now called the ''Roman Lakes''. The foundations of the mill remain though nothing can be seen above ground.


History

Samuel Oldknow Samuel Oldknow (1756–1828) was an English cotton manufacturer. Early life and family Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margery Foster, was born on 5 October 1756 in Anderton, near Chorley in Lancashire. He had a yo ...
was a significant businessman and mill owner in Mellor during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. He had business interests in Stockport, Heaton Mersey and Anderton. In 1787 started to amass land in Mellor and Marple, buying in three adjoining estates. He commenced building the mill, financing it on credit secured on his reputation and the other mills. He was underwritten by loans from Arkwright, and attempted to form a partnership with
Peter Drinkwater Peter Drinkwater (1750 – 15 November 1801) was an English cotton manufacturer and merchant. Born in Whalley, Lancashire, he had a successful career as a fustian manufacturer using the domestic putting-out system, and as a merchant based in Bolt ...
being engaged to his daughter. The financial crisis of 1792-1793 hit him badly and he sold off his other interests concentrating on completing this mill. The engagement was broken off, and he remained in debt to Arkwright. He finished the mill in 1795, but was about to declare bankruptcy in 1797. Arkwright intervened and formed a partnership with him, absorbing the debt leaving Oldknow to manage the mill and the estate. When the partnership dissolved in 1805, the estate was worth £160,584 but the debts remained at £156,333. On Oldknow's death, in 1828 the estate and mill passed to Arkwright. Since 1824, the mill had been managed by John Clayton, Oldknow's half-brother, and in 1828 Arkright (jun) allowed him to remain in the mill managers house, and take over the manufacturing. In those time 'mill' referred to the company that worked in the building not just the building itself. So John Clayton and Co took over the mill. In 1860 two steam engines and boilers were installed in a separate building to the north. The main mill-building was destroyed by fire in 1892, but many outbuildings survived. Excavation of one of these in 1921, a coach-house, revealed a cache of Oldknow's papers; and from these Unwin researched and published the book referred to below.


Parish apprentices

Oldknow was experienced at running spinning mills, and offered work to the few women living in the area, but many of his first workers were parish apprentices. Economically it made sense, on average an apprentice cost 4/0d a week to maintain while a mill hand cost 4/8d. In May 1791 he was boarding two boys at 4/6d a week. In November 1795 he made enquiries through a friend to the Parish of
Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...
for a supply of children. He was informed in December that 40 to 50 of mixed sexes were available, and in January 1796 he is told that 35 boys and 35 girls had been selected. The parish beadle would accompany them north. When news spread, he was offered other children by other parishes. The maximum number of apprentices was reached in 1797 to 1801. Material in the records suggest that apprentices coming out of time remained in Oldknow's service.
Robert Blincoe Robert Blincoe (''c.'' 1792–1860) was an English author and former child labourer. He became famous during the 1830s for his popular autobiography, ''A Memoir of Robert Blincoe'', an account of his childhood spent in a workhouse. However, there ...
confirmed that Oldknow was a humane employer and his apprentices were contented and healthy.


Architecture

The mill had six storeys, and was wide and long, with additional three-storey wings giving a total length of . The mill was built for
Samuel Oldknow Samuel Oldknow (1756–1828) was an English cotton manufacturer. Early life and family Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margery Foster, was born on 5 October 1756 in Anderton, near Chorley in Lancashire. He had a yo ...
and used to spin coarse counts. It was originally driven by the Wellington waterwheel. The
River Goyt The River Goyt is a tributary of the River Mersey in North West England. Etymology The name ''Goyt'' may be derived from the Middle English ''gote'', meaning "a watercourse, a stream". Derivation from the Welsh ''gwyth'' meaning "vein" has be ...
, and the Derbyshire–Cheshire county boundary that then followed it, was diverted and a weir built. The leat fed a millpond that in later times was named the Roman Lakes. This in turn fed a second millpond along with water from a reservoir in Linnet Clough. Supplementary power was provided by a second exterior wheel known as the Waterloo Wheel. The mill reached its peak production in 1804, when 10,080 spindles were operating and around 550 people were employed. In an 1867 plan, Mellor Mill was described as brick built and slated, consisting of a main building seven storeys high which included the attic with four rooms of 25 bays each, and three rooms of 49 bays. Each bay was 7 ft. 10in. There were separate waste and cotton rooms, warehousing, storerooms and a counting house.


Power


The Wellington Wheel

The Wellington Wheel was located in a wheelpit in a basement below the central entrance to the mill. It was a breastshot wheel, in diameter and in width. Water from the mill lodge on the southern elevation of the mill fed the wheel via a leat that entered the mill at ground level.Wellington wheel pit
BBC News, 9 March 2012


The Waterloo Wheel

The Waterloo Wheel was built at a later date, probably in 1815. Water exited the Wellington Wheel pit to the exterior breastshot Waterloo Wheel, which was in diameter but narrower. Power was transmitted to the mill and outbuildings through a tunnel. As the tail race was lower than the River Goyt, water went via a tunnel further downstream at which point the river had dropped sufficiently in height. A further waterwheel is known to have supplied power to a stone-built corn mill off the southwestern gable of the mill. Together the three wheels raised 120 H.P.


Supplementary steam engines

Two steam engines were added later, each of 20 (nominal) H.P., by Goodfellow, of Hyde.


Equipment

Originally
water frame The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel. History Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1769, designed a model for the production of cotton thread, which was first used in 1765. The Arkwright water f ...
s, then throstles. The machinery comprised 23,000 throstle spindles by Wren & Hopkinson, with a full complement of preparation machines by Parr, Curtis & Madely, of Manchester and a hoist by Hughes & Wren.


See also

*
List of mills in Stockport This list of mills in Stockport, lists textile factories that have existed in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. From the Industrial Revolution until the 20th century, Stockport was a major centre of textile manufacture, particularly ...


References

;Footnotes ;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * *


External links

{{Lancashire Cotton Industrial buildings completed in 1793 Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Textile mills in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Cotton mills in Greater Manchester Marple, Greater Manchester 1793 establishments in England