Quarry Bank Mill facts for kids
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| Owner | Samuel Greg |
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| Further ownership |
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| Coordinates | 53°20′38″N 2°14′58″W / 53.34390°N 2.24950°W |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1784 |
| Renovated |
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| Floor count | 5 |
| Power | |
| Date | 1796, 1810 |
| Engine maker | Boulton & Watt |
| Water Power | |
| Diameter / width of water wheel | 32 feet (9.8 m) / 21 feet (6.4 m) |
| Equipment | |
| Mule Frames | |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name | Quarry Bank Mill |
| Designated | 30 March 1951 |
| Reference no. | 1237687 |
Quarry Bank Mill (also known as Styal Mill) is a historic cotton mill located in Styal, Cheshire, England. Built in 1784, it is one of the best-preserved textile factories from the Industrial Revolution. This amazing place is now a museum run by the National Trust, showing how people lived and worked during that time.
The mill was started by Samuel Greg. He and his wife, Hannah Lightbody, were known for trying new ideas, not just with machines but also with how they treated their workers. They provided some medical care and education for children. However, everyone worked very long hours, about 72 hours a week, until a new law in 1847 shortened the workday.
Samuel Greg also built homes for his workers, creating a whole community called Styal Estate. This included new cottages built in the 1820s when the mill was growing. Today, the National Trust calls Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate "one of Britain's greatest industrial heritage sites." It shows a complete industrial community from the past.
Contents
Where to Find Quarry Bank Mill
Quarry Bank Mill is located near the village of Styal in Cheshire. It is very close to Manchester Airport.
The mill sits right on the bank of the River Bollin. This river was super important because its water powered the mill's giant waterwheels. The mill was also connected by road to the Bridgewater Canal. This canal helped transport raw cotton from the port of Liverpool to the mill. Later, Styal railway station opened in 1909, making it even easier to reach.
History of the Mill
Samuel Greg rented the land for the mill in 1784. He chose this spot because the River Bollin provided a good amount of water to power machines. It was also close to the Bridgewater Canal, which connected to Liverpool. The factory was built to spin cotton into thread.
When Samuel Greg retired in 1832, Quarry Bank Mill was the biggest cotton business in the United Kingdom. The mill still produces cotton calico today, using its original water power. The Greg family were careful owners. They kept expanding and changing the mill over the years. When Samuel's son, Robert Hyde Greg, took over, he added weaving to the mill's operations.
In 1835, a report described the mill's power source. It said the mill was run by a "thirty-two feet in diameter, and twenty-four feet broad" water-wheel. This wheel was as powerful as 120 horses! The mill was even attacked during the Plug Plot riots in 1842.
Powering the Machines
The mill's first waterwheel was made of wood. Later, a huge iron water wheel was built between 1816 and 1820. This wheel was designed by Thomas Hewes. It used belts and shafts to power all the machines inside the mill.
Sometimes, the river's water level was low, which could stop production. So, the mill owners also bought steam engines to help. They bought one in 1810 and another a few years later. Steam engines could provide power all year round, no matter the river level.
The Hewes wheel broke in 1904. After that, the mill used two water turbines to get power from the River Bollin. Today, the mill has a very powerful working waterwheel. It was moved from another mill and was designed by Sir William Fairbairn.
Life at the Mill Community
When the Gregs first built the mill, there weren't many places for workers to live. So, Samuel Greg built simple cottages for them, like the Oak Cottages. These homes had a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, an outdoor toilet, and a small garden. Rent was taken directly from the workers' pay. This area of worker homes became known as Styal Estate.
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The Greg family also built a home for themselves near the mill in 1797, called "Quarry Bank House." This house has been restored and is now open to the public.
Samuel Greg wanted to create an organized village feel for his industrial community. He built Oak School to educate the children. He also built the Norcliffe Chapel, where villagers went to church and had Sunday school.
As the mill grew, more housing was built. In the 1820s, new terraced cottages were added. These small homes were often very crowded. Sometimes, as many as 14 people lived in one house! Workers would even rent out rooms to other mill workers. The Gregs also owned the village shop for about 50 years.
The mill even had its own doctors and surgeons. This was one of the first times a factory provided health care for its workers.
Child Workers at the Mill
Quarry Bank Mill used to employ child apprentices. This system continued until 1847. Most of these children came from poor families or workhouses. They were sent to the mill because it needed cheap labor. Many people at the time believed that working in the mill was better for these children than staying in poverty.
At first, children came from far away, like Hackney and Chelsea. But by 1834, most came from nearby towns or Liverpool poorhouses. The last child to start work as an apprentice at the mill was in 1841. In the early years, child workers made up more than half of the mill's workforce. However, by 1833, they were only 20% of the workers. By 1847, the apprentice system was completely stopped.
The first child apprentices lived in local lodgings. Then, in 1790, Samuel Greg built the Apprentice House right next to the factory. Greg believed in treating his workers fairly. He hired a superintendent to look after the children and teach them good morals. Members of the Greg family and other teachers also gave them lessons.
Some of the work was dangerous. Fingers could sometimes be injured by the machines. Samuel Greg hired Peter Holland, a doctor, to look after the health of the children and other workers. He was the first doctor to be employed by a factory in this way.
Life for the children was tough. They worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, according to records from 1794. They only had time to play on Sunday afternoons. However, their food was generally good, and they did receive some education. The Gregs believed in educating their workers, including Sunday School for both boys and girls. Initially, only boys got schooling a few evenings a week. By 1833, girls also received some education on Sunday afternoons. Compared to other mills, children at Quarry Bank were treated better than average, but the Gregs were not the very best employers.
A former director of Quarry Bank Mill, who wrote a book about Hannah Greg, explained more about child labor there. She said that over half of the workers were poor, orphaned children. They received good medical care and education in writing and math three nights a week. While they weren't physically punished, bad behavior could lead to extra work, threats of having their heads shaved (for girls), or being locked in a room for days with only porridge to eat.
The Mill in Recent Times
The mill and estate were eventually given to the National Trust in 1939. The mill continued to produce cotton until 1959. The original large waterwheel was replaced by two turbines in 1904. Some restoration work was done in 1969.
In 2006, the National Trust bought Quarry Bank House and its gardens. In 2010, they acquired the gardener's house and upper gardens. In 2013, the mill had 130,000 visitors. That year, the Trust started a fundraising campaign to restore a worker's cottage, a shop, and the Gregs' glasshouses. They also wanted to put records about the Gregs and mill workers online.
From 2015 to 2020, the Quarry Bank Project spent £9.4 million to improve the site for visitors. New areas were restored, and visitors can now explore the entire historic industrial site.
How the Mill was Built
Quarry Bank is a great example of an early cotton-spinning mill. It was built in the countryside and relied on water power. The first mill was built by Samuel Greg and John Massey in 1784. Its design was simple and practical. It was a four-story building, about 8.5 metres (28 ft) wide and 27.5 metres (90 ft) long. It had an attached staircase, office, and warehouse. It was designed to use new spinning machines called water frames. The first waterwheel was at the north end of the mill.
The mill was made bigger in 1796, becoming twice as long, and a fifth floor was added. A second waterwheel was built at the southern end. More expansions happened between 1817 and 1820. The mill kept its original simple look with its lines and windows. The 1784 mill had 2425 spindles (parts that spin cotton). After 1805, with the new wheel, it had 3452 spindles.
Weaving Sheds
Weaving sheds were added in 1836 and 1838. These buildings had two stories and held 305 looms (machines that weave thread into cloth). Before the 1830s, spinning mills made cotton thread, which was then given to hand-loom weavers. These weavers worked in their own homes or small shops.
Around 1830, power looms became much better. This meant that large mill owners could add weaving sheds to their spinning mills. A weaving shed needed good light and humidity. Its floor also had to be very strong to handle the shaking from many looms working at once. Quarry Bank Mill is special because it used two-story buildings with windows on the sides for weaving. Most other mills used single-story sheds with saw-tooth roofs.
Water Power at the Mill
The first waterwheel was a wooden overshot wheel. It got water from a long channel (called a leat) that came from upstream on the River Bollin. The second wooden wheel was built in 1801. To get more power, the river was dammed, and water flowed directly into the mill.
The fourth and most famous wheel was called the Great Wheel. It was designed to get even more power from the same amount of water. This was done by digging the wheel pit deeper than the river. The water then flowed through a tunnel for a kilometer downstream before rejoining the river. This created a drop of 32 feet (9.8 m) for the 32 feet (9.8 m) diameter wheel, which was 21 feet (6.4 m) wide. The Great Wheel worked from 1818 until 1904.
In 1905, two water turbines were installed to replace the Great Wheel. They used the same water flow and worked until 1959. When the mill was restored in 1983, a 25 feet (7.6 m) diameter waterwheel was moved from another mill and installed. This wheel now powers the machinery for visitors to see.
Steam Power at the Mill
The flow of water from the River Bollin was not always reliable. So, in 1810, an extra steam engine was bought. It was a 10 horsepower engine. In 1836, when power looms were added, a second, more powerful 20 horsepower steam engine was bought.
Later, in 1871, a new type of steam engine was added, and a new engine house was built. In 1906, this engine was replaced by a second-hand 60 horsepower engine. The original steam engines are no longer there, but the museum has bought a similar one to show visitors.
Links to the Slave Trade
The Greg family, who owned Quarry Bank Mill, had connections to the triangular trade. This was a trade route that involved enslaved people. Samuel Greg's brother-in-law owned a slave ship. Samuel's father and brother partly owned sugar plantations on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Samuel Greg and his brother inherited one of these plantations, Hillsborough Estate, in 1795. In 1818, this plantation had 71 male and 68 female enslaved people.
While Samuel Greg didn't use money from these plantations to start the mill, his family was involved in businesses that used enslaved labor. His brothers owned estates in the West Indies where enslaved people were forced to work.
In 2020, the National Trust started to provide information at its properties, including Quarry Bank Mill, about their owners' connections to colonialism and slavery. Visitors can now learn about these important parts of history at the site.
Images for kids
- The village of Styal
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Workers cottages
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Workers cottages
- Working machines
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A working Mule spinning machine at Quarry Bank Mill.
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A view inside the largest water wheel in the United Kingdom. It is still working today, powering the looms.
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The new wheel
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See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Cheshire East
- Listed buildings in Wilmslow
- Factory Acts
- List of textile mills in Cheshire
- List of watermills in the United Kingdom
