Century Mill, Farnworth

Coordinates: 53°32′43″N 2°24′40″W / 53.5454°N -2.4112°E / 53.5454; -2.4112

Century

Shown within Greater Manchester
Cotton
Spinning (ring mill)
Location	George St, Dixon Green.
Further ownership	Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930s)
Courtaulds (1964)
Coordinates	53°32′43″N 2°24′40″W / 53.5454°N -2.4112°E / 53.5454; -2.4112
Power
Date	1902
Construction Firm	Hick Hargraves
Engine Type	cross compound
Valve Gear	Corliss
rpm	59
Diameter of Flywheel	27ft
No, of Ropes.	45
Boiler configuration
Pressure	190
References
[1] [2]

Century Mill, Farnworth is a cotton spinning mill in Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester. It was built in the early 20th century, for ring spinning. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds in 1964. It was still standing with its chimney in 2004.

Location

Farnworth is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England.^[3] It is located 3.3 miles (5.3 km) southeast of Bolton and 9 miles (14.5 km) northwest of Manchester. It has no canal but the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal passed close by. It is served by a station on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River Irwell and the River Croal, and according to the United Kingdom Census 2001 it has a population of 25,264 people.^[4]

History

Century mill was built early in the 20th century, spinning 40's counts on ring frames for general-purpose work.

The industry peaked in 1912 when it produced 8 billion yards of cloth. The Great War of 1914–1918 halted the supply of raw cotton, and the British government encouraged its colonys 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.^[5] Century Mill, Farnworth was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived through to 1950. In 2004 it was standing and still had its chimney.

Architecture

Power

It had a 1500 hp cross compound engine by Hick, Hargreaves & Co built in 1902 steamed at 190psi. The cylinders were 26"HP , 54"LP on a 5 ft stroke. The 27 ft flywheel drove 45 ropes at 59rpm.^[6]

Equipment

Rings

Owners

• Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930s–1964)
• Courtaulds (1964–

See also

Greater Manchester portal

• Textile manufacturing
• Cotton Mill

References

Notes

1. ^ LCC 1951
2. ^ "List of mills in Farnworth". Bolton Council. http://www.bolton.gov.uk/portal/page?_pageid=207,407315&_dad=portal92&_schema=PORTAL92. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
3. ^ "Greater Manchester Gazetteer". Greater Manchester County Record Office. Places names - D to F. http://www.gmcro.co.uk/Guides/Gazeteer/gazzd.htm. Retrieved 20 June 2007. 
4. ^ Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas England and Wales. URL accessed 18 June 2007.
5. ^ Dunkerley
6. ^ Roberts 1921

Bibliography

• Dunkerley, Philip (2009). "Dunkerley-Tuson Family Website, The Regent Cotton Mill, Failsworth". http://dunkerley-tuson.co.uk/regentmill.aspx. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 

• LCC (1951). The mills and organisation of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation Limited. Blackfriars House, Manchester: Lancashire Cotton Corporation Limited. 

• Roberts, A S (1921), "Arthur Robert's Engine List", Arthur Roberts Black Book. (One guy from Barlick-Book Transcription), http://oneguyfrombarlick.co.uk/forum_topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7926&FORUM_ID=99&CAT_ID=3&Forum_Title=Rare+Text+(Book+Transcriptions)&Topic_Title=ARTHUR+ROBERTS+ENGINE+LIST&whichpage=1&tmp=1#pid81483, retrieved 2009-01-11 

External links

• www.cottontown.org
• www.spinningtheweb.org.uk
• Story of a half-timer Catherine Walton who started at Century mill aged 12 in 1917