Bancroft Shed facts for kids
Bancroft engine house and chimney
|
|
 Location in the Borough of Pendle
|
|
| Cotton | |
|---|---|
| Weaving shed | |
| Architectural style | Single storey |
| Owner | James Nutter & Sons Ltd |
| Current owners | Bancroft Mill Engine Trust |
| Coordinates | 53°54′40″N 2°11′31″W / 53.9111°N 2.1919°W |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1914 |
| Completed | 1920 |
| Demolished | 1979 |
| Floor count | 2 storey warehouse, 1 storey shed |
| Floor area | 200 feet (61 m) x 250 feet (76 m) |
| Design team | |
| Architecture Firm | W M Atkinson of Colne |
| Power | |
| Date | 1920 |
| Engine maker | William Roberts of Nelson |
| Engine type | Cross compound |
| Valve Gear | Corliss valves operated by Dobson trip gear |
| rpm | 69 |
| Transmission type | Rope drive to second motion, then line shaft |
| Boiler configuration | |
| Boilers |
|
| Pressure | 160 |
| Equipment | |
| Date | 1920 |
| Manufacturer | Various |
| No. of looms | 1200 |
Bancroft Shed was a special factory in Barnoldswick, England, where cotton cloth was made. It was one of the last weaving sheds ever built. What made it truly unique was that it was the very last one to use a steam engine to power its machines.
Construction started in 1914 for James Nutter & Sons Limited. The factory officially opened in 1920. It closed its doors on December 22, 1978, and was later taken down. Luckily, the engine house, tall chimneys, and boilers were saved. Today, they are kept as a working steam museum. You can visit and see the powerful William Roberts 600-horsepower steam engine running. It uses steam made from donated wood.
Contents
Where Was Bancroft Shed Located?
Bancroft Shed was the last weaving shed built in Barnoldswick. This town already had twelve other weaving factories. Barnoldswick is located between Burnley and Skipton. It is about 30 miles (48 km) north of Manchester. The town sits high up in the Pennine hills, about 600 ft (180 m) above sea level.
In 1920, Barnoldswick was a busy industrial town with 10,000 people. There were 24,000 looms making cloth! The town is on the edge of two important textile areas: the Yorkshire wool district and the Lancashire cotton weaving district.
A Look Back: History of the Mill
The Bancroft Shed was designed in 1914. However, building stopped because of the Great War. The factory was finally finished in 1920. It officially opened in March 1920.
About 50 Lancashire Looms were installed first. Workers from another factory, Calf Hall Shed, came to help set up the new looms. At first, workers were paid a standard wage. This was because setting up a new factory was tricky. Once everything was running smoothly, the company went back to paying workers based on how much cloth they made.
How the Mill Changed Over Time
Bancroft Shed opened in 1920, missing the very profitable years for textile factories. During World War I, Britain lost many of its overseas customers. Only the most specialized weaving sheds managed to survive.
The "More Looms System"
Factories always looked for ways to make more cloth faster. One idea was the "more looms system." This meant that one weaver would operate six or more looms instead of the usual four. This system reduced the number of weavers needed. The looms were even slowed down a bit to help weavers manage more machines.
This system sometimes caused problems with workers in other places. But at Bancroft, the four-loom system stayed in most of the factory. In the 1940s, the factory needed more power. So, an extra Cornish boiler was added. By 1935, about 450 people worked at the mill. They ran 1,152 looms for 50 hours a week. They made about 200,000 yards (180,000 m) of plain cotton cloth.
During World War II
During World War II (1939–1945), many empty weaving sheds were taken over by the government. Companies like Rover and Rolls-Royce moved into Barnoldswick. The government also created the Cotton Control Board to manage the industry. Resources and workers were limited.
James Nutter, the owner, decided to close his other factories and move his looms to Bancroft. This meant he had about 500 working looms. Even though he had to reduce his output, Nutters kept weaving throughout the war. While many other companies struggled, Bancroft Shed kept going.
After the war, workers expected better conditions. The "more looms system" became very common. At Bancroft, weavers started working eight looms, then even ten looms. The "tacklers," who fixed the looms, had their number of looms to look after reduced. This helped them handle the extra work.
The Mill's Final Years
In the 1950s, conditions improved. The factory's lighting was updated. New automatic machines were added to feed coal to the Lancashire boiler. The looms were rearranged to make it easier for weavers to work with ten looms.
By 1976, the demand for cloth was decreasing. Experienced weavers and tacklers began to leave. In September 1978, the mill announced it would close. Bancroft Shed struggled until December 22, 1978, when it finally shut down. The demolition of the factory began the next year.
What Was the Mill Like?
The mill building had a two-story warehouse, a boiler room, and an engine shed. It also had a very large single-story weaving shed. When the mill closed in 1979, the warehouse and weaving shed were taken down.
There was a tall, 120-foot (37 m) chimney on one side. To the south, there was a lodge (a large pond) that was 200-foot (60 m) by 82-foot (25 m). After the weaving shed was demolished, the pond was filled in.
The weaving shed was about 250 feet (76 m) by 200 feet (61 m). It was built into a hillside. It had special north-facing roof lights to let in natural light. This shed held 1200 looms! The warehouse was where materials were stored and prepared.
Powering the Mill
Steam was made by a large Lancashire boiler. In 1947, a Cornish boiler was added to help with steam for sizing (a process to stiffen threads). A special machine called a Green's economiser preheated the water for the boiler.
The boiler was first fed coal by hand. Later, an automatic machine was installed to do this job. The steam was heated to 160 pounds per square inch (psi). When the mill closed, the Lancashire boiler needed repairs. The Cornish boiler, which hadn't been used for 30 years, was fixed up. Today, it is steamed to 50 psi using donated scrap wood. This powers the engine on special "Heritage Steam Days."
Because this mill only had one main boiler, it needed a very tall, 130 feet (40 m) chimney. This chimney created the right air pressure to draw air into the boiler. The Bancroft chimney was repaired by a famous steeplejack, Fred Dibnah, in 1997.
The Bancroft Mill Engine
The Bancroft mill engine is a huge steam engine built in 1914. It was installed by William Roberts of Nelson in 1920. It's a "horizontal cross compound Corliss valve condensing steam engine."
Like many old engines, its cylinders were given names: the high-pressure cylinder was called "James," and the low-pressure one was "Mary Jane." Together, they could produce 600 horsepower. This was enough power for 1200 looms! The engine runs at 68 rotations per minute (rpm). It has special parts that control its speed and power.
Gallery
-
The Cornish boiler
-
The telltale chains and wheels of an economiser
-
Bancroft Mill Engine running without load on 50 psi
-
The low pressure "Mary Jane" engine
-
The 120-foot (37 m) tall chimney, brick with oversailing caps
How Weaving Worked
Before weaving, yarn (thread) had to be prepared. Yarn arrived on different-sized bobbins. It was then wound onto smaller bobbins called "pirns" to fit into the shuttles used by the looms. At Bancroft Shed, they bought some yarn already wound onto pirns. Later, they started winding their own.
Preparing the Warp Threads
The "warp" threads are the long threads that run the length of the fabric. These threads were taken from 300 bobbins and wound onto a large roller called a "beam." Several beams were then combined to create a very large beam with about 2000 threads.
These threads then went through a "sizing machine." Here, they were dipped in a special mixture (like flour, soap, and tallow) to make them stiffer and reduce friction. This made them stronger for weaving. The threads were then dried over steam-heated cylinders and wound onto the "weavers beam."
Setting Up the Loom
The weavers beam was then taken to a "drawing-in frame." Here, each individual thread was carefully passed through small loops called "healds" and then through a comb-like device called a "reed." This job was done by two people: a "reacher-in" (often a young boy) and a "loomer." The reacher-in would hand each thread to the loomer, who would thread it through the healds and reed.
If the loom had already made that type of cloth, a faster method could be used. A "twister" would tie the new threads to the old ones. A special machine called a Barber-Colman knotter could do this even faster, in about 20 minutes!
Once the loom was set up, a weaver would operate four Lancashire Looms. Each loom could make 220 "picks" (weft threads woven across the warp) per minute. The "tackler" was responsible for keeping about 130 looms working. With the "More Looms system" after World War II, weavers operated ten looms, and tacklers looked after about 70.
Gallery
-
Bobbins for beaming frame (at Queen Street Mill, Burnley)
-
Cylinder sizer (at Queen Street Mill, Burnley)
-
Drawing-in frame (at Queen Street Mill, Burnley)
See also
- Cotton mill
- Helmshore Mills Textile Museum
- Queen Street Mill
- Textile manufacturing
- List of mills in Lancashire
