Brunswick Mill, Ancoats
Encyclopedia
Brunswick Mill, Ancoats is a cotton spinning mill
in Ancoats
, Manchester
, Greater Manchester
. It was built around 1840, part of a group of mills built along the Ashton Canal
, and at that time it was one of the countries largest mills. It was built round a quadrangle, a seven-storey block facing the canal. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation
in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds
in 1964. Production finished in 1967.
area of Manchester
, in North West England
, next to the Northern Quarter and the northern part of Manchester's commercial centre
. Historically
a part of Lancashire
, Ancoats became one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution
, and has been called "the world's first industrial suburb". For many years, from the late 18th century onwards, Ancoats was a thriving industrial district. From 1798 has been served by two canals, the Rochdale Canal
and the Ashton Canal
facilitating the movement of cotton
, coal
and finished goods. All of Manchester's major railway stations were on the boundaries of Ancoats, Ancoats station on the Midland Railway
, Ducie Street railway station and Manchester London Road railway station on the Great Central Railway
, Cheshire Lines Committee
, Oldham Road railway station
and Victoria Station
on the Manchester and Leeds Railway
, Exchange station on the London and North Western Railway
.
was carried out by James Brindley
in 1765. The knowledge that its construction would make the transport of raw materials and finished goods more convenient, gave industrialists the confidence to build their cotton mills. The first mills were built in Ancoats as early as 1790. In 1792 commissioners were established for the improvement of the township of Manchester which included Ancoats. Towards the end of the 18th century steam power was first used to power the cotton mill
s. Some of the earliest mills of this period were Murray's Mills, which were established next to the Rochdale canal on Union Street (now Redhill Street) off Great Ancoats Street, by Adam and George Murray in 1798. Later, they became known as Ancoats Mills when they were operated by McConnel & Company Ltd. The streets of Ancoats were also laid out during the latter part of the 18th century, with little development taking place other than small houses and shops along Great Ancoats Street and Oldham Road. The Ashton Canal
was linked to the Rochdale Canal at the Piccadilly Basin in 1798.
From the opening of these canal, development of mills continued on a much larger scale. Mills in Ancoats included, Victoria Mills, Wellington Mill, Brunswick Mill, India Mills, Dolton Mills, Lonsdale Mills, Phoenix Mill, Lloydsfield Mill and Sedgewick Mill, Decker Mill (owned by the Murray brothers), New Mill, Beehive Mill
, Little Mill, Paragon Mill, Royal Mill and Pin Mill.
Brunswick Mill was built in around 1840 in one phase. The main seven-storey block facing the Ashton Canal was used for spinning. The preparation was done on the second floor and the self-acting mules with 400 spindles were arranged transversely on the floors above. The wings contained some spinning and ancillary processes like winding. The mill is of fireproof construction and was built by David Bellhouse
, but it is suspected that William Fairbairn
was involved in the design. Is was powered by a large double beam engine.
Late in the century, Henry Bannermann of Stalybridge took over the mill. The beam engine was replaced by a horizontal engine, and rope drives were fitted. New mules were installed, this time longitudinally. In 1909, two new towers were constructed and electric motors installed, they were connected by a transformer to the Manchester Corporation Electricity mains. This was the first mill to be converted to electric in Manchester.
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 British Government encouraged its coloniess to build mills to spin and weave cotton. The war over, Lancashire never regained its markets. The independent mills were struggling. The Bank of England
set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation
in 1929 to attempt to rationalise and save the industry. Brunswick Mill, Ancoats was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived until 1950.
LCC replaced the mules with ring frames, which required the floors to be strengthened, these operated till the mid-1960s. In 2008 it was still in its original condition. It is owned by Maryland Securities. It houses two textile businesses, Dreamtex and Halpern, a furniture warehouse, Peak Pine Furniture, and rehearsal rooms used by musicians and bands in Greater Manchester. The rehearsal rooms were started by Mcrmusicrooms.com. In 2008, Extraordinary Rendition Manchester Musicians Collective aka EXR Music Services of moved in bringing the first pay-per-session rooms to the mill. The mill is also now home to Manchester Dub Group Black Star Dub Collective, who write heavy dubs inspired by their surroundings in Ancoats.
,was a seven-storey mill with 35 loading bays facing directly onto the canal, with a smaller three 3/4-story block of warehouses and offices backing onto Bradford Road.
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
in Ancoats
Ancoats
Ancoats is an inner city area of Manchester, in North West England, next to the Northern Quarter and the northern part of Manchester's commercial centre....
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
. It was built around 1840, part of a group of mills built along the Ashton Canal
Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...
, and at that time it was one of the countries largest mills. It was built round a quadrangle, a seven-storey block facing the canal. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation
Lancashire Cotton Corporation
The Lancashire Cotton Corporation was a company set up by the Bank of England in 1929, to rescue the Lancashire spinning industry by means of horizontal rationalisation. In merged 105 companies, ending up in 1950 with 53 operating mills. It was bought up by Courtaulds in August 1964.-Formation:By...
in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds
Courtaulds
Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals.-Foundation:The Company was founded by George Courtauld and his cousin Peter Taylor in 1794 as a silk, crepe and textile business at Pebmarsh in north Essex trading as George Courtauld & Co...
in 1964. Production finished in 1967.
Location
Ancoats is an inner cityInner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
area of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
, next to the Northern Quarter and the northern part of Manchester's commercial centre
Manchester City Centre
Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...
. Historically
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Ancoats became one of the cradles of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, and has been called "the world's first industrial suburb". For many years, from the late 18th century onwards, Ancoats was a thriving industrial district. From 1798 has been served by two canals, the Rochdale Canal
Rochdale Canal
The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....
and the Ashton Canal
Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...
facilitating the movement of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and finished goods. All of Manchester's major railway stations were on the boundaries of Ancoats, Ancoats station on the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
, Ducie Street railway station and Manchester London Road railway station on the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
, Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
, Oldham Road railway station
Manchester Oldham Road railway station
Manchester Oldham Road was a railway station built on the Manchester and Leeds Railway in Miles Platting, Greater Manchester. Built in 1839 and opened on 3 July, it was the Manchester terminus for the railway.-History:...
and Victoria Station
Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is the city's second largest mainline railway station. It is also a Metrolink station, one of eight within the City Zone...
on the Manchester and Leeds Railway
Manchester and Leeds Railway
The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
, Exchange station on the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
.
History
Survey work for the Rochdale CanalRochdale Canal
The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes....
was carried out by James Brindley
James Brindley
James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
in 1765. The knowledge that its construction would make the transport of raw materials and finished goods more convenient, gave industrialists the confidence to build their cotton mills. The first mills were built in Ancoats as early as 1790. In 1792 commissioners were established for the improvement of the township of Manchester which included Ancoats. Towards the end of the 18th century steam power was first used to power the cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
s. Some of the earliest mills of this period were Murray's Mills, which were established next to the Rochdale canal on Union Street (now Redhill Street) off Great Ancoats Street, by Adam and George Murray in 1798. Later, they became known as Ancoats Mills when they were operated by McConnel & Company Ltd. The streets of Ancoats were also laid out during the latter part of the 18th century, with little development taking place other than small houses and shops along Great Ancoats Street and Oldham Road. The Ashton Canal
Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...
was linked to the Rochdale Canal at the Piccadilly Basin in 1798.
From the opening of these canal, development of mills continued on a much larger scale. Mills in Ancoats included, Victoria Mills, Wellington Mill, Brunswick Mill, India Mills, Dolton Mills, Lonsdale Mills, Phoenix Mill, Lloydsfield Mill and Sedgewick Mill, Decker Mill (owned by the Murray brothers), New Mill, Beehive Mill
Beehive Mill
Beehive Mill is a Grade II* listed former cotton mill in the district of Ancoats, Manchester, England. It is located at on a site surrounded by Radium Street, Jersey Street, Bengal Street and Naval Street....
, Little Mill, Paragon Mill, Royal Mill and Pin Mill.
Brunswick Mill was built in around 1840 in one phase. The main seven-storey block facing the Ashton Canal was used for spinning. The preparation was done on the second floor and the self-acting mules with 400 spindles were arranged transversely on the floors above. The wings contained some spinning and ancillary processes like winding. The mill is of fireproof construction and was built by David Bellhouse
David Bellhouse
David Bellhouse was an English builder who did much to shape Victorian era Manchester, both physically and socially.Born in Leeds, Bellhouse received no formal education. An autodidact, he taught himself to read and write and the elements of arithmetic and technical drawing...
, but it is suspected that William Fairbairn
William Fairbairn
Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder.-Early career:...
was involved in the design. Is was powered by a large double beam engine.
Late in the century, Henry Bannermann of Stalybridge took over the mill. The beam engine was replaced by a horizontal engine, and rope drives were fitted. New mules were installed, this time longitudinally. In 1909, two new towers were constructed and electric motors installed, they were connected by a transformer to the Manchester Corporation Electricity mains. This was the first mill to be converted to electric in Manchester.
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 British Government encouraged its coloniess to build mills to spin and weave cotton. The war over, Lancashire never regained its markets. The independent mills were struggling. The Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
set up the Lancashire Cotton Corporation
Lancashire Cotton Corporation
The Lancashire Cotton Corporation was a company set up by the Bank of England in 1929, to rescue the Lancashire spinning industry by means of horizontal rationalisation. In merged 105 companies, ending up in 1950 with 53 operating mills. It was bought up by Courtaulds in August 1964.-Formation:By...
in 1929 to attempt to rationalise and save the industry. Brunswick Mill, Ancoats was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived until 1950.
LCC replaced the mules with ring frames, which required the floors to be strengthened, these operated till the mid-1960s. In 2008 it was still in its original condition. It is owned by Maryland Securities. It houses two textile businesses, Dreamtex and Halpern, a furniture warehouse, Peak Pine Furniture, and rehearsal rooms used by musicians and bands in Greater Manchester. The rehearsal rooms were started by Mcrmusicrooms.com. In 2008, Extraordinary Rendition Manchester Musicians Collective aka EXR Music Services of moved in bringing the first pay-per-session rooms to the mill. The mill is also now home to Manchester Dub Group Black Star Dub Collective, who write heavy dubs inspired by their surroundings in Ancoats.
Architecture
Brunswick Mill, Bradford Road alongside the Ashton CanalAshton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...
,was a seven-storey mill with 35 loading bays facing directly onto the canal, with a smaller three 3/4-story block of warehouses and offices backing onto Bradford Road.
Equipment
The Brunswick Mill was one of the largest in Britain at that time and by the 1850s held some 276 carding machines, and 77,000 mule spindles, 20 drawing frames, fifty slubbing frames and eighty one roving frames.Owners
- George Bannerman
- Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930s–1964)
- Courtaulds
- Maryland Securities
Notable events/media
See also
- Textile manufacturingTextile manufacturingTextile manufacturing is a major industry. It is based in the conversion of three types of fibre into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. These are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. Cotton remains the most important natural fibre, so is treated in depth...
- Cotton MillCotton millA cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....