Empress Mill, Ince

Last updated

Empress Mill
Empress Mill, Ince Wigan 0002.png
The mill before 1951
Greater Manchester UK location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Greater Manchester
Cotton
Spinning
Architectural styleSingle-storey shed mill
Location Ince, Wigan, Greater Manchester, Englane
OwnerEmpress Spinning Co (1920)
Further ownership
Coordinates 53°32′35″N2°36′34″W / 53.5431°N 2.6094°W / 53.5431; -2.6094 Coordinates: 53°32′35″N2°36′34″W / 53.5431°N 2.6094°W / 53.5431; -2.6094
Construction
Completed1907
References
[1]

Empress Mill, Ince was a single storey shed mill alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, spinning cotton in Ince, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was acquired by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1930, [2] and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production ceased in 1975. It was the last mill in Ince to close, despite the intervention of Member of Parliament Michael McGuire, and a debate in the House of Commons on 20 March 1975. [3]

Contents

Location

Ince or Ince-in Makerfield is a former township, and an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester. [4] It lies on the southeastern bank of the River Douglas, [5] south east and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of Wigan's town centre. It is 15 miles (24.1 km) south of Preston, 16.5 miles (26.6 km) west-northwest of Manchester, and 17.4 miles (28 km) east-northeast of Liverpool. Ince was a mining town. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through. Empress mill was built adjacent to the canal, by the seventh lock in the 21-lock Wigan flight completed in 1816. [6] Ince and Wigan lie in a synclinal basin, where the middle coal measures of the Lancashire Coalfield outcrop allowing open cast workings. There was a ready fuel for the mill's steam engines. In the 1830s Wigan became one of the first towns to be served by a railway with connections to Preston and the Manchester and Liverpool Railway. [7]

History

The Empress Mill was a single-storey spinning mill.

The industry peaked in 1912 when it produced 8 billion yards of cloth. the Great War of 1914–18 halted the supply of raw cotton, and the government encouraged its colonies to build mills to spin and weave cotton. The war over, Lancashire never regained its markets. The independent mills struggled. The Bank of England set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1929 to attempt to rationalise and save the industry. [8] Empress Mill was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived to 1950. It continued to spin until 1975. Its problems were explained in the House of Commons on 20 March 1975 by the constituency's MP Michael McGuire, that other producing countries were applying tariffs against British cotton, and dumping their surplus in the UK. He complained that Civil Servants had a "Bonga Wonga" attitude, and were doing nothing to support the Lancashire industry. [3]

Its engine house and chimney have been demolished and replaced by a square tower. The land is now an industrial estate. The name Empress Mill was given by Jamsetji Tata on the day Queen Victoria was proclaimed Queen of India.

Owners

See also

Related Research Articles

Trencherfield Mill Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Trencherfield Mill is a cotton spinning mill standing next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1907. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The mill was driven by a 2,500 hp triple-expansion four-cylinder engine built by J & E Wood of Bolton in 1907. The two halves of the engine were called Rina and Helen. They drove a 26-foot flywheel with 54 ropes at 68 rpm. The engine was stopped in 1968. The mill is now part of the Wigan Pier redevelopment area and is used for other purposes.

Magnet Mill, Chadderton Cotton Mill in Greater Manchester, England

Magnet Mill, Chadderton is a cotton spinning mill in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built by the Magnet Mill Ltd. in 1902, but purchased by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935. It was later taken over by the Courtaulds Group. Ceasing textile production in December 1966, it was demolished soon after. A suburban residential estate now occupies this site. It was driven by a 2200 hp twin tandem compound engine by George Saxon & Co, Openshaw, 1903. It had a 27–foot flywheel with 35 ropes, operating at 64½ rpm.

Ace Mill, Hollinwood

Ace Mill is a cotton spinning mill in Chadderton in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built as Gorse No. 2 Mill, in 1914 and cotton was first spun in 1919 by the Ace Mill Ltd, who renamed the mill. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production ended in 1967.

Arkwright Mill, Rochdale Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Arkwright Mill, Rochdale is a cotton spinning mill in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It was built in 1885 by the Arkwright Cotton Spinning Co. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. It was located next to Dale Mill on Roch Street. The ring and doubling frames were made by Howard & Bullough, Accrington. The mill closed in 1980, was demolished in 2007 and the land redeveloped for housing.

Blackridings Mill, Oldham Cotton waste mill in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England

Blackridings Mill, Oldham was a cotton waste mill lying off Block Lane in the Werneth area of Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built before 1861 and ceased spinning between 1875 and 1880. It was then used for flock manufacture and processing cotton waste. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production ended in 1973 and the building was demolished in 1975.

Coppull Mill Cotton mill in Chorley, Lancashire, England

Coppull Mill is a former cotton spinning mill in Coppull, Chorley, Lancashire. It was opened in 1906, and its sister mill, Mavis Mill in 1908. Together they employed 700 workers. The mill was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The building is a Grade II listed building and is now used as an enterprise centre. This was a ring mill. It was driven by a 1600 hp triple-expansion four-cylinder engine by J & E Wood built in 1906. Its 26-foot (7.9 m) flywheel operated at 68 rpm and ran 36 ropes.

Fox Mill, Hollinwood

Fox Mill, Hollinwood is a cotton spinning mill in Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964.

Royton Ring Mill, Royton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Royton Ring Mill was a cotton mill in Royton, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1908 and extended in 1912. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935 and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production finished in 1966. It was extended again in 1969 and used for other purposes. It has now been demolished, the street has been renamed and houses replace it.

May Mill, Pemberton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

May Mill, Pemberton is a cotton spinning mill in Pemberton, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was built in 1889. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1962–63 to produce carpet fibre, which it continued to do until its closure on 17 October 1980.

Pilot Mill, Bury Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Pilot Mill, Bury is a four-storey cotton spinning mill in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1905. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1939 and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production finished, it survived and as of 2010 it was in use by Antler Luggage. The Mill is currently occupied by Baum Trading Ltd and Metzuyan Ltd they have opened a retail outlet with an on site cafe.

Kent Mill, Chadderton

Kent Mill, Chadderton was a cotton spinning mill in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built in 1908 It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production finished in 1991 and it was demolished in 1994.

Manor Mill, Chadderton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Manor Mill, Chadderton is an early twentieth century, five storey cotton spinning mill in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was built in 1906. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production finished in 1990.

Monton Mill, Eccles Cotton spinning mill in Eccles, Greater Manchester, UK

Monton Mill was a cotton spinning mill in Eccles, Greater Manchester, England, built in 1906. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. After production ended, it was demolished and replaced with housing; its name is preserved in the street name.

Heron Mill, Hollinwood Cotton spinning mill in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England

Heron Mill is a cotton spinning mill in Hollinwood, Oldham, Greater Manchester. It was designed by architect P. S. Stott and was constructed in 1905 by the Heron Mill Company Ltd next to Durban Mill. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. Production ended in 1960, and it was used by Courtaulds for offices, warehousing, and some experimental fabric manufacture. Courtaulds occupation ended in 1994.

Textile Mill, Chadderton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Textile Mill, Chadderton was a cotton spinning mill in Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It was built in 1882 by Potts, Pickup & Dixon for the Textile Mill Co. Ltd, and closed in 1927. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the late 1940s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964 and used for cotton waste sorting. Half of the building was destroyed by fire on 11 July 1950, but the remaining section continued to be used for cotton waste sorting by W. H. Holt and Son until 1988.

Malta Mill, Middleton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Malta Mill, Middleton is a former cotton spinning mill in the Mills Hill area of Chadderton, Greater Manchester. It lies alongside the Rochdale Canal. It was built in 1904 as a new mule mill, by F. W. Dixon The engine stopped in 1963. The building still stands.

Laurel Mill, Middleton Junction Former cotton mill in Manchester, England

Laurel Mill was a cotton spinning mill in the Mills Hill/Middleton Junction area of Chadderton, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.

Junction Mill, Middleton Junction Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Junction Mill, Middleton Junction is a cotton spinning mill at Middleton junction, Chadderton in Greater Manchester alongside the Rochdale Canal.

Harp Mill, Castleton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Harp Mill was a former cotton spinning mill in the Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Queensway, Castleton was a hub of cotton mills including the three 't', Th'Arrow, Th'Harp, and Th'Ensor. The 1908 Castleton map includes: Marland Cotton Mill, Castleton Cotton Mill, Globe Works, Arrow Cotton Mill, Harp Cotton Mill, Globe Leather Works, Castleton Size Works and Castleton Iron Works. Th'Harp was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. The site now houses industrial units.

Mars Mill, Castleton Cotton mill in Greater Manchester, England

Mars Mill was a former cotton spinning mill in Castleton, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Castleton joined the Borough of Rochdale in 1899. Queensway, Castleton was a hub of cotton mills; Mars, Marland, and Castleton Mill were a group of three. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1935 and passed to Courtaulds in 1964 and demolished in the 1990s; Marland survived until 2004.

References

  1. ↑ LCC 1951
  2. ↑ The Times, 26 March 1931 p. 19
  3. 1 2 http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1975/mar/20/textile-industry-1 Last mill in Ince
  4. ↑ "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Places names - O to R. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
  5. ↑ Farrer & Brownbill 1911 , pp. 78–83.
  6. ↑ McNeil & Nevell 2000 , p. 70.
  7. ↑ McNeil & Nevell 2000 , p. 66
  8. ↑ Dunkerley 2009

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.