Chatsworth Street Cutting,Part of the Original Terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway

Abstract

Recent surveys of textile mills in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and East Cheshire have laid the groundwork for future study in their respective areas. All three have necessarily referred back to precedents set in eighteenth century Derbyshire, where water power was first successfully applied to the manufacture of both silk and cotton. Derbyshire retains an important group of early cotton mills, most of them distributed along the River Derwent and its tributaries. Recent measured surveys of five of the most significant early mills and of a number of related sites by RCHME's Threatened Buildings Sections, supplemented by photographic coverage of further sites over many years, have provided a core of information on which the present article is largely based. The article concentrates on the surviving physical remains of the cotton industry, but draws also on documentary and other evidence for vanished structures.     

Albion Mill,Manchester

Abstract

Albion Mill, demolished in 1983, was a good example of a 'fireproof' Manchester cotton textile mill of the second decade of the nineteenth century. Its demolition enabled a detailed record to be made of its features and the account which follows is based upon that survey. The full documentation is deposited with RCHME at Fortress House, London W1X 2BT.     

Pear Mill,Stockport: An Edwardian Cotton Spinning Mill

Abstract

Pear Mill, Stockport, was one of the last cotton spinning mills to be built, commencing production in July 1913. It therefore represents the end of a line of development which commenced with Arkwright's mill of 1771, and is an example of a type of building which is fast disappearing. The architects were A.H. Stott & Sons and the building is typical of their work of that period both in terms of construction, with concrete floors, and detailing. The power plant was a Manhattan type steam engine by George Saxon, driving the machinery via a rope drive. The mill had 137,312 mule spindles which remained until the 1950s when they were replaced by 33,636 ring spindles, the mill being electrified at the same time. It ceased operation as a textile mill in March 1978.     

Brush-Piling: Eighteenth Century Engineering in an American Wilderness

Abstract

Old Mill was one of a small group of early silk mills established in East Cheshire during the mid-18th century. It was notable for its size, and for the involvement of James Brindley in its construction. The mill was extended and a beam engine added c. 1830, but it was partially demolished in 1939. In 2003 the remaining structures were demolished, which provided the opportunity for a programme of building recording and excavation. James Brindley's role is examined in terms of the application of water power, and the context of the classical architecture and likely geological provenance of Old Mill is discussed.     

Transferring the Spinning Jenny to Barcelona: An Apprenticeship in the Technology of the Industrial Revolution

Abstract

The exceptional documentation which exists on the introduction of the spinning jenny in Barcelona between 1784 and 1788 has been used in this article to reconstruct the early history of Spain's first cotton spinning mill. The extent of the data available serves to provide information on the technical characteristics of the machine. Of particular interest is the information about the character of the pre-spinning processes before the adoption of the carding engine. Light is also thrown on the issue of technological transfer, shown to be a 'wide' process requiring the learning of manufacturing as well as machine-making skills.     

Housing the Loom, 1790-1850: A study of industrial building and mechanisation in a transitional period

Abstract

The architecture of the textile mill changed radically during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Influences affecting mill design included the way in which production was organised and the degree to which processes were mechanised. This article examines how the industry developed new building types to accommodate looms. In the early period, handlooms were frequently concentrated in distinctive loomshops. The powerloom, introduced in the early 19th century, presented new problems, and in an experimental period different branches of the industry developed different means of housing the new machines. The single-storeyed shed was the dominant building type adopted for powered weaving, but there were in the silk and tape branches prominent examples of factories in which powerlooms were housed in purpose-built multi-storeyed mills.     

The Linen Industry of Shropshire

Abstract

The discovery in 1975 of part of Charles Bage's iron framed Castlefields flax mill led the author to study Shropshire's other linen factories and the domestic manufacture of linen and ropes during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The manufacture of linen by cottagers and farmers from home grown hemp survived, alongside the factories, into the nineteenth century. The hempen cloth produced in Shropshire was rarely sold at markets or fairs, and was made mainly by country families for their own use. The survival of such a cottage industry into the nineteenth century was rare in England, and the existence of a workforce skilled in the preparation and manufacture of hemp and flax was probably one of the factors which influenced Shropshire entrepreneurs to manufacture linen in their factories, rather than cotton.     

W. G. Collingwood's Lake District

Abstract

The Macclesfield Society for Acquiring Useful Knowledge was founded in 1835 and became one of the East Cheshire silk town's most successful educational institutions by the mid nineteenth century. The Macclesfield version was part of the second wave of mechanics' institutes and lasted for fifty-seven years. The Society originated from two mutual improvement groups who enlisted the help of a leading silk manufacturer. As a result, the Society was founded to provide useful knowledge to the town's inhabitants without any political or religious bias. The Society's supporters tended to be businessmen, professionals and representatives from prominent families in the area, in common with those of many other mechanics' institutes. The extant reports contain information on the institution, together with speeches given by its prominent patrons which cover a broad range of topics, from local and regional issues to national legislation. This source material gives an insight into the beliefs of the Society's supporters and how they changed in response to different influences, such as the introduction of the 1870 Education Act, the effects of trade depression on Macclesfield and the loss of protective tariffs for the English silk industry.     

Artists' Impressions of Aberdulais Mill

Abstract

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries Aberdulais Falls was occupied by a corn and grist mill, and became a popular subject for topographical artists and painters. Since almost no archaeological evidence for the mill complex can be discovered, these illustrations are an invaluable source for reconstructing that period of the site's history. This article discusses the approaches to, and the problems inherent in, interpreting this kind of material for strictly archaeological purposes, and concludes by suggesting that expertise should be sought from other disciplines before any proper interpretation is attempted.     

CONCRETE FILLER-JOIST FLOORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANCASHIRE COTTON SPINNING MILLS

Abstract

The concrete filler-joist floor was a form of fireproof flooring developed in the second half of the 19th century that came to be used quite extensively in industrial and commercial buildings. Iron, later steel, joists embedded in concrete provided a crude form of reinforcing. This form of flooring came to be adopted in Lancashire cotton spinning mills from the late 1870s, but there has been some confusion over the issue, which this paper seeks to clarify. The Bolton architect J.J. Bradshaw was the first known user. Some mill architects followed this lead, but others preferred forms of brick-arch flooring. Filler-joist floors ceased to be used, both generally and in Lancashire cotton mills, after around 1909 as other forms of reinforced flooring became available. Spinning mill construction moved towards the freestanding steel frame, although reinforced concrete framing was not adopted in Lancashire. Lancashire architects have been seen as conservative. However, it is argued that this was not necessarily a bad thing, and that they were willing to use new methods where these were seen as advantageous.     

Fireproof Mills — The Widening Perspectives

Abstract

The author discusses how fieldwork by RCHME and others has refined the typology for the development of the fireproof textile mill first put forward by H.R. Johnson and A.W. Skempton in 1956. Details of cast-iron roof framing, the different styles of supporting columns and the problems created by power transmission are all considered. It is suggested that early examples of fireproofing are generally associated with mechanised flax or cotton spinning, the branch of the industry most at risk.     

Shorter Notices

Abstract

Patterson's Spade Mill was the last commercially operated traditional spade mill in Ireland. It is a very rare and special place. The National Trust purchased it in 1992, rescuing it from an uncertain future. The Trust has restored it to its former glory, made it more 'visitor friendly', and fostered the return of the craft of spade making at the site. With paying visitor support, its future is assured; a warm welcome and excellent displays await you on your visit.     

Enterprise in Some Working-Class Communities: Cotton Manufacturing in North-east Lancashire and West Craven,c. 1880 to 1914

Abstract

This article studies the social origins and careers of 60 cotton manufacturers in two of the towns in which the room and power system was well established in England before the First World War. It demonstrates that most were from working-class and lower-middle-class families and, as new entrants, they benefited greatly from access to room and power. Even so, money was needed for machinery and working capital, and technical, managerial and commercial experience were essential. It was unlikely that an operative would succeed as a manufacturer unless these prerequisites could be met. The room and power system was the operating context for mature businesses as well as for new entrants, and many successful manufacturers became directors of mill companies of which they were also tenants.     

Nash Mills—The Endless Web Revisited

Abstract

A watermill is known to have existed on the river Gade since the 11th century on the site of Nash Mills, Hertfordshire, where a purpose-built paper mill was constructed in the late 18th century. In 1810 the mill was purchased by John Dickinson, one of the great innovators of the paper industry. The mill evolved significantly during the 19th and early 20th centuries as part of Dickinson's expanding business, which at one stage comprised five mills in the locality. Nash Mills remained in the ownership of John Dickinson and his successors until 1990, ceasing production in 2006, the last of Dickinson's mills to do so. Using documentary and building evidence, this article examines the development of the mill, emphasising the relationships between personalities, events, structures, processes, and changing business and technological influences.     

Excavating the 18th- and 19th-Century Urban Flour Mill: the Example of the Archaeological Investigations at the Former J.A. Symes Factory Site,Highbridge Road,Barking

Abstract

The area occupied by the former J.A. Symes match factory, Highbridge Road, Barking, was once home to a large steam- and water-powered flourmill. The mill was originally driven by the tidal flow of the River Roding, prior to its expansion and gradual conversion to steam. A residential redevelopment, undertaken in spring 2006, provided an opportunity to conduct a developer-funded archaeological investigation, carried out by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd. The excavation exposed the partial, multi-phase remains of the mill's below-ground foundations, in particular the evidence for successive power systems. These remains were interpreted with the help of documentary research, demonstrating the complementary nature of these two forms of evidence on an urban industrial site.     

Ludwig Knoop, ‘The Arkwright of Russia’

Abstract

Piece-rate arrangements in the British cotton weaving industry were anomalous in that they prescribed a weekly wage based on output. Although, to some extent, output reflected the work done by the weaver, it was also governed by technical and other factors which were beyond the weaver's control. A wage system which emphasized the repair of broken threads and the replenishment of empty shuttles would have been preferable since these were the principal elements of the weaver's work. The absence of a clear relationship between effort and reward confounded attempts to increase productivity in cotton weaving between the wars, and was a particular obstacle to the adoption of the 'more-looms' systems. This article explores the anomalies and the issues to which they gave rise, both at industry level and in a local context characterized by the manufacture of diverse fabric types. It concludes that there was an uncritical acceptance of traditional wage arrangements, reinforced by a fear that fundamental change would destabilize an already fragile system of industry level (that is, across the cotton weaving industry as a whole) bargaining.     

David Evans & Co. The Last of the Old London Textile Printers

Abstract

The Glasgow 'Tobacco Lords' were the subject of a classic study, but there has been no overall survey of their successors, the Scottish cotton masters. This article draws on a rich and surprisingly underused source, the wills and probate inventories of Scottish cotton merchants and manufacturers, to give a fuller picture of a group, which played a key role in Scotland's early industrialisation. It also casts light on the early decline of the cotton industry in Scotland by demonstrating how, as profits declined, the cotton masters, who had always had diverse business interests, began to move into more lucrative areas of investment, such as coal mining, iron manufacturing, railways, shipping and overseas trade.     

Recent analyses of the excavated textile find from Grave 35 HTR73, Kerameikos cemetery,Athens, Greece

The following study presents the results of instrumental analyses performed on the excavated textile find HTR73 from the Kerameikos cemetery in Athens. In Greece, preservation of excavated textiles is rare, mainly due to the unfavourable environmental conditions prevailing. The Kerameikos textile find is from the 5th century BC, and has been preserved in association with copper, which is the most common type of preservation in Greece. Past analyses had indicated the presence of silk fibres, of the Bombyx mori silkworm, the use of which was not common in Classical Greece. In the present study, non-destructive instrumental analytical techniques were applied, namely ESEM and FTIR microspectroscopy, for the purpose of material identification. None of the techniques applied confirmed the presence of silk. However, cellulosic bast and possibly cotton fibres were identified. The presence of cotton is an equally rare phenomenon for the Classical period in Greece.     

The Macclesfield Silk Button Industry: The Probate Evidence

Abstract

Most histories of the silk industry in England begin with the arrival of French refugees to Spitalfields in London, yet silk was prepared for embroidery in Macclesfield by the Middle Ages and the silk button trade was well-established by the early modern period. Through the study of probate evidence, this article aims to redress the imbalance in the historiography of the silk industry in England away from the focus on the activities of the Huguenots in the early modern period, and away from the silk weaving in order to show that the silk button industry succeeded not through technical innovation, but through marketing a luxury item in sufficiently small packages to make it accessible to a wide portion of the population. The silk button industry can be viewed as having laid the foundations in east Cheshire for the transformation of the silk industry into weaving cloth in the mid-eighteenth century.     

Scottish Windpumps & Windmills: New Information

Abstract

The author has examined documentary sources concerning the pioneering Lombe's Silk Mill on the River Derwent in Derby. He has combined evidence from both Italian and British sources with the physical remains and provided a reconstruction of the mill and its machinery layout. Its importance as a precursor of factory production in Britain is discussed.