Ingersley Vale or Clough mill

England's largest water wheel


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History | Letter

 

Owner early 20thC - A J King
Manager 1900-1911 - Edward Seynor Stone

History

Ingersley Clough mill Ingersley Vale and its mills have a long and illustrious history. There were once three mills in the vale, a waulk mill (wool processing), Ingersley Vale, often known as Clough mill, and Rainow mill, lost to a fire in 1907 and with J. McNulty's glass works on the site today.

Date stoneIngersley Vale mill has been altered many times over the centuries. The present structure carries a date stone of 1809 (right). When originally built in 1792/93 as a cotton spinning mill there was a row of cottages and the mill manager's house located along the valley floor upstream of the mill. George Longden, the well informed local historian, established that there was an apprentice house on the site, as there still is at Styal, though he could not identify its location within the complex. Edward Collier developed the mill and his date stone shows 1809 indicating a re-building. The mill was again rebuilt after a fire in 1819. Also in the 19th century the cottages and house were removed and additional mill buildings erected over the river upstream of the main mill. In the 20th century these were altered and extended. The mill is located at the narrowest point in the valley. All these mills were located in the river Dean valley because of the availability of water to drive their waterwheels and mill machinery.

Waterfall in 1890Ingersley mill was water powered until the 1950s. In 1803 the power of the river was increased by the construction of Clough pool and the waterfall (left) which stored up enough water to drive the wheel at maximum power throughout the day. Overnight the reserves in the pool were restored while the mill was idle. The water wheel (below) directly powered the machinery until 1895 after which the wheel drove a dynamo and the machinery was powered by electric motors, providing much greater flexibility in the layout and types of machinery that could be used.

Water wheelOriginally there was a smaller wheel house containing two water wheels, one above the other, designed to use the water twice. When more power was required the wheel house was enlarged to what we see today and a single 56 foot diameter by 9 foot wide wheel (right) was installed. The wheel at Ingersley mill is famous for the fact that it was, at 56 feet in diameter, the largest in England, and only beaten in Britain by the wheel at Laxey in the Isle of Man. This was undoubtedly one of the most powerful water wheels installed anywhere. The power of the water was taken through the rim of the wheel enabling the light weight bicycle wheel type structure visible in the picture. Regrettably, some decades after it became redundant, the wheel was removed and scrapped.

The leat supplying water from the pool to the wheel is still in place and contains a 2ft 6inch diameter cast iron pipe to carry the water along the hillside. The aqueduct which took the water across the road to the wheel house is still in place. This is a rare and important feature of this historic site.

Graham Plant, who lives in Kerridge, remembers that his uncle worked at the mill in the early 20th century. The wheel was driving what were known as 'beetles'[1]. These were tilt hammers that pounded the cloth in a row of containers which also contained a liquid and the process was designed to put a sheen on the cloth. Graham recalls that in his young days the building used today by J. McNulty for the glass works was a cloth store and this was connected to Ingersley mill by a continuous overhead wire on pulleys and used to convey the rolls of cloth from the store to the mill.

The mill began life as a cotton spinning mill, and was one of the earliest to be established. It was later used as a print mill. The original mill building is the earliest surviving mill in Bollington and Rainow. During the 20thC the mill was used mainly for bleaching.

The present development plans include the use of water to generate electricity. However, there are a couple of changes that will have reduced the power of the river since the 19th century - firstly the construction of Lamaload reservoir which is used to store water from the river and use it for our public water supply, and, secondly, the silting up of Clough pool so that it is in effect just a river running through to the waterfall. The re-development project will open out the pond to about 50% of its original size.

Occupants[2]

1792-1821

First record of a cotton spinning mill on the site is for 1792 when there was a water powered mill with a small reservoir. The reservoir was enlarged, creating Clough Pool and a new leat constructed by 1803 by Edward Collier and this powered two waterwheels, one placed above the other. There was also reference to an 18hp steam engine although it is uncertain as to whether this powered the mill machinery directly or was used to replenish the reservoir at times of low water supply. The spinning mill block was probably built at this time. The mill changed ownership in 1811 and was damaged by fire in 1819. The buildings on the site at this time included the owner's house, a warehouse, a smithy and a pauper apprentices house.

The Swindells Era, 1821-42

The mill had been rebuilt by August 1821 and was owned by Thomas Gaskell of Ingersley Hall who formed a partnership with Martin Swindells. By 1826, 330 power looms had been installed. The Swindells took full control of the site in 1830 until 1842 when James Leigh took occupation.

The printworks, 1842-78

During this period, cotton spinning ceased on the site and the buildings were converted to printing calico. It was at this time that the wheelhouse was rebuilt and a single 56 foot diameter wheel was installed, reputed to be the second largest in Britain. By 1874, the mill had changed over to a dyeworks.

A J KingThe bleachworks, 1878-1929

The mill was taken over by A. J. King (right) in 1878 and the buildings converted to a bleachworks. The first floor of the spinning mill was removed to create sufficient headroom for the bleaching processes and a range of new buildings replaced the older structures on the site. There was considerable expansion of the facilities and in 1895, the water wheel was converted to drive a dynamo and all the processes were powered by electric motors.

Later 20th Century

The site was sold to Slater, Harrison & Co. and used initially as a printworks for litho and letterpress printing. In 1937, the site was taken over by a number of companies with varied but textile related manufacturing processes. More recent history has been chequered with a succession of companies in the cloth industry including dyers and bleachers renting Ingersley mill. A fire in November 1999 destroyed the roof and floors of the original mill building. The last occupants of the site moved out a few years later and the whole site had descended into dereliction.


RedevelopmentRedevelopment

Planning permission was obtained to redevelop the entire site with new structures on either side of the original mill and the latter developed into 24 appartments. There will be 66 units in total.

Site A, the open ground immediately behind Rainow mill (the glass works), was once a mill pond providing water to Rainow mill's water wheel. The pond was filled in decades ago, the only relic being the waterfall behind the mill. This site will have two blocks of town houses built on it.

Redevelopment of the site began at the end of September 2010 and all the modern buildings have been cleared. The only part left standing are the walls of the original 1809 mill and the big wheel house.


Martin Swindells[3]

Clough mill was the first to be taken in Bollington by the Swindells family. Martin [I] was in partnership with Thomas Fernley of Stockport. "The two partners would appear to have heard something of a cotton mill in a village called Bollington. They drove into the village by way of 'Long Lane', 'Cat-ladder' & 'Beeston' to see the Clough mill. They took the mill and Martin and his wife Hannah came and lived at the Clough in a pleasant house, the garden of which was hedged off from the road by a broad stream of swiftly flowing water, and a low stone wall."1 More on the Swindells family can be seen on their own page.


A J King letterLetter from A. J. King & Co. Ltd. dated 26:IX:1912  probably to Miss Mellor's solicitor or land agent concerning King's possible purchase of land and buildings from the Mellor estate at Rainow.

The full text reads (with a few unreadable words) ...

Dear Sir

Hough Hole Estate

I am obliged by yours of 23rd Inst. with particulars of rentals &c.

I have this morning had an interview with the managing directors of Bleachers x---------x Ld.

I am sorry to say that I find that the insistance for an immediate p-----e g--e operates - thus it may be x----x at any time -

They propose therefore that in sh---x x x the lease on the terms suggested by Miss Mellor to carry out the wishes of the sons as to x----x of p---x xx. x---x that you should ask for the insertion of a clause giving us the option to purchase at any time during the continuance of the lease - at the price of £5000 for the property including the 2 extra fields (15 1/2 acres)

In view of the Rentals & the inaccessible position of the property by road they think this is a liberal offer.

x----x of x--x & you will x-----x your clients in this matter & let me know.

Yours faithfully
Alfred J. King.

A. x. Bullock

A J King MP


References

Clicking the reference description takes you back to the text

1  Annie Williams and the Wellbrook Beetling Mill, Cookstown, Co Tyrone NI.

2  Ingersley Vale LLP, document describing planned development, 2007.

3  Emma F. Brooke, from notes taken in 1885. Document

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