Owner early 20thC - A J King
Manager 1900-1911 - Edward Seynor Stone
History
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.
Ingersley
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.
Ingersley
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.
Originally
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.
The 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.
Redevelopment
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.
|
 Letter 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
Acknowledgements | Your
historic documents
