Kingston Mill, Stockport
Encyclopedia
Kingston Mill, Stockport is a mid nineteenth century cotton spinning mill
in Edgeley
, Stockport
, Greater Manchester
. It was taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation
in the 1930s and passed to Courtaulds
in 1964. Production finished, it was made over to multiple uses.
, England
. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey
at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Tame
, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) southeast of the city of Manchester
. Stockport is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
, and has a population of 136,082, the wider borough having 281,000.
Historically
a part of Cheshire
, Stockport in the 16th century was a small town entirely on the southbank of the Mersey, and known for the cultivation of hemp
and rope
manufacture and in the 18th century the town had one of the first mechanised silk factories in the United Kingdom. However, Stockport's predominant industries of the 19th century were the cotton
and allied industries. Chestergate was the main east west road following the south bank of the Mersey, leading not surprisingly to Chester
. Kingston Mill was about 500m east of Mersey Square.
. From 1780 it was a centre of the water powered industry
. From 1790 Stockport mills pioneered the use of steam
. By 1800, Stockport exceeded Chester in size. The firm of Peter Marsland had became the largest cotton spinner in the region having 87,172 spindles- more than McConnel and Kennedy, Ancoats and Murrays' Mills
in Ancoats. It was Stockport that pioneered the steam driven power loom
. Then in 1830, the growth stalled, there were a series of strikes in 1802, 1829, and 1844. Significant mills, at this time were the Oldknow Mills, Hillgate, Orrells Mill in Heaton Norris and Houldsworth Mill, Reddish
. Kingston mill was built at this time on Chestergate. In the final revival, after the cotton famine when private owners refinanced themselves buy the means of joint-stock company flotations, Stockport built two of the industries largest mills Broadstone No.2 Mill
with 138,000 mule spindles, and the Stockport Ring Mill No. 2with 72,000 ring spindles.
In 1901 there was a fire at Kingston Mill. As a result there was a universal adoption of sprinkler systems. These were fed by water from the water tower, and a supplementary tank on the roof.
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. Kingston Mill, Stockport was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived through to 1950. In 2010, Kingston Mill still stands and it is in multiple industrial use.
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 Edgeley
Edgeley
Edgeley is a residential area within the town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The suburb is characterised largely by Victorian close-packed terraced housing and council estates with some larger properties around Alexandra Park. Edgeley includes Edgeley Park, home of Stockport County F.C...
, Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, 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 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, it was made over to multiple uses.
Location
Stockport is a large town in Greater ManchesterGreater 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Tame
River Tame, Greater Manchester
The River Tame flows through Greater Manchester, England.-Source:The Tame rises on Denshaw Moor in Greater Manchester, close to the border with West Yorkshire but within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire.-Course:...
, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) southeast of the city 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...
. Stockport is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...
, and has a population of 136,082, the wider borough having 281,000.
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 Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, Stockport in the 16th century was a small town entirely on the southbank of the Mersey, and known for the cultivation of hemp
Hemp
Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
and rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
manufacture and in the 18th century the town had one of the first mechanised silk factories in the United Kingdom. However, Stockport's predominant industries of the 19th century were the 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....
and allied industries. Chestergate was the main east west road following the south bank of the Mersey, leading not surprisingly to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. Kingston Mill was about 500m east of Mersey Square.
History
Stockport was influential in the early stages of the industrial revolutionIndustrial 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...
. From 1780 it was a centre of the water powered industry
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
. From 1790 Stockport mills pioneered the use of steam
Stationary steam engine
Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam cars , agricultural engines used for ploughing or...
. By 1800, Stockport exceeded Chester in size. The firm of Peter Marsland had became the largest cotton spinner in the region having 87,172 spindles- more than McConnel and Kennedy, Ancoats and Murrays' Mills
Murrays' Mills
Murrays' Mills is a complex of former cotton mills on land between Jersey Street and the Rochdale Canal in the district of Ancoats, Manchester, England . The mills were built for brothers Adam and George Murray. A & G Murray was consistently one of the largest cotton-spinning firms in Manchester...
in Ancoats. It was Stockport that pioneered the steam driven power loom
Power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom powered by a line shaft. The first power loom was designed in 1784 by Edmund Cartwright and first built in 1785. It was refined over the next 47 years until a design by Kenworthy and Bullough, made the operation completely automatic. This was known as the...
. Then in 1830, the growth stalled, there were a series of strikes in 1802, 1829, and 1844. Significant mills, at this time were the Oldknow Mills, Hillgate, Orrells Mill in Heaton Norris and Houldsworth Mill, Reddish
Houldsworth Mill, Reddish
Houldsworth Mill, also known as Reddish Mill, is a former mill in built in 1865 in Reddish, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England . Designed by Abraham Stott, it was constructed for Henry Houldsworth, a prominent mill owner at the time...
. Kingston mill was built at this time on Chestergate. In the final revival, after the cotton famine when private owners refinanced themselves buy the means of joint-stock company flotations, Stockport built two of the industries largest mills Broadstone No.2 Mill
Broadstone Mill, Reddish
Broadstone Mill was a double cotton spinning mill on the northern bank of the Stockport Branch Canal in Reddish, Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. The mills were started in 1903 and completed in 1907. They closed in 1957, and the southern mill was demolished and engine houses were...
with 138,000 mule spindles, and the Stockport Ring Mill No. 2with 72,000 ring spindles.
In 1901 there was a fire at Kingston Mill. As a result there was a universal adoption of sprinkler systems. These were fed by water from the water tower, and a supplementary tank on the roof.
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
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. Kingston Mill, Stockport was one of 104 mills bought by the LCC, and one of the 53 mills that survived through to 1950. In 2010, Kingston Mill still stands and it is in multiple industrial use.
Usage
In 1891,Kingston Mill,had 33,460 spindles, 38/458. In 1951 it was producing coarser ring spun yarns from 10's to 24'sOwners
- Lucas Micholls, and Co,(1891)
- Lancashire Cotton Corporation (1930's-1964)
- Courtaulds (1964-
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....