Quarry Bank Mill, Authentic Victorian Cotton

Quarry Bank Mill

Quarry Bank Mill is an historic factory in Cheshire, England, one of the best preserved of the Industrial Revolution and now a museum of the cotton industry.

In 1783 Samuel Greg made several forays into the countryside around Manchester searching for a suitable fast-flowing river where he might build a new mill. The site at Styal, just north of Wilmslow, on the River Bollin, proved ideal. A weir and headrace channel were constructed and a water wheel installed. The mill itself was founded in 1784 and began production soon after. It was not long before Greg turned the Mill into a profitable concern.

The estate surrounding the mill, also developed by Greg, is the most complete and least altered factory colony of the Industrial Revolution. Originally Samuel Greg converted farm buildings in the nearby village of Styal to house the workers for the mill. As the mill increased in size, purpose-built housing in Styal was constructed for the workers. The village is still a thriving community today with generations of the early workers still living in Styal Estate and working at Quarry Bank Mill.

The Village at Styal Estates - The cottages that Greg built for his workers were of a high standard. Each family (average of eight people per family) had a parlour, a kitchen, two bedrooms, a cistern and a backyard. Each cottage had a good-sized garden where they were encouraged to grow their own vegetables.

In 1939, The Mill and its estates were donated to the National Trust by Alexander Carlton Greg and were opened to the public.

In 1978 the site was opened as a museum and in 1984, 200 years after its founding, it won the coveted Museum of the Year award. Today the Mill is home to the most powerful working waterwheel in Europe. It offers a unique opportunity to see a major source of power, available in the Industrial Revolution, working in its original context. It is also recognized as being one of the most complete Georgian mills in England, with many original features still in use today.

The essence of a visit to Quarry Bank Mill is the warm, friendly atmosphere. Situated in over 384 acres of the beautiful countryside of Styal Country Estate, this remarkable Georgian museum is a valuable resource for learning more about our industrial and social heritage. Visitors can see, hear and smell 19th Century textile machines working and meet skilled Mill workers with years of experience of working in the cotton industry.

Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate is still a working Cotton Mill producing fabric for the National Trust, and for a company developed in 2007 called Woven by Water.

The company and it’s accompanying website www.WovenbyWater.com is devoted to the continuation of the production of goods at Quarry Bank Mill and it to making them available to the general public.

We look forward to keeping the Mill alive and well for generations to come.

BUY A SHIRT....SAVE A MILL was started to help keep the weaving looms in production at Quarry Bank Mill.

Quarry Bank Mill

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