Samuel Oldknow
Encyclopedia
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....
manufacturer.
Samuel Oldknow Jnr, the eldest son of Samuel Oldknow Sr and Margaret Foster, was born 5 October 1756 in Anderton
Anderton, Lancashire
Anderton is civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is now a suburb of Adlington. 5 miles northwest of Bolton, Its east boundary is in the Rivington Reservoir. Grimeford Village is in the parish...
, near Chorley
Chorley
Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and died 18 September 1828 at Mellor
Mellor, Greater Manchester
Mellor is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. Mellor, situated between Marple Bridge and New Mills, runs along a tributary of the River Goyt. It extends from the start of the old turnpike road at the boundary of Marple Bridge to the current county...
Lodge, Derbyshire. He had an elder sister named Elizabeth and a younger brother, Thomas (1757-1791). Oldknow was educated at the local Grammar School and later served as an apprenticeship in his uncle’s draper’s shop in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. His family were members of the Rivington Unitarian Chapel
Rivington Unitarian Chapel
Rivington Unitarian Chapel is a place of Unitarian worship in Rivington, Lancashire, England. It was founded in 1703 and its motto is "Here let no man a stranger be". The chapel is a Grade II* listed building, and its restoration in 1990 was aided by English Heritage...
, where his father was interred in 1759 at the age of 25. Following the death of his father, Oldknow's mother Margaret married John Clayton, a farmer, with whom she had three children: Margery, Samuel and John. Oldknow never married; he was at one point in his life engaged to marry the daughter (and heiress) of Peter Drinkwater
Drinkwater Park
Drinkwater Park is situated in the Irwell Valley on the western border of Prestwich, near Manchester bounded by the River Irwell to the west, Agecroft Road and Rainsough Brow to the south, Butterstile Lane and Carr Clough estate to the east and Bunkers Hill to the north...
a textile manufacturer of Manchester, who in 1794 had bought the Manor of Prestwich. The engagement was called off as his business declined and Oldknow died a bachelor.
Oldknow continued to have close connections to Rivington. In 1779 he purchased a number of spinning mules (also known as Hall i' th' Wood
Hall i' th' Wood
Hall i' th' Wood is an early 16th century manor house in Bolton, Greater Manchester . It is a Grade I listed building and is currently used as a museum by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. The original building is timber framed and has a stone flagged roof; there were later additions to the...
wheels, invented by Samuel Crompton
Samuel Crompton
Samuel Crompton was an English inventor and pioneer of the spinning industry.- Early life :Samuel Crompton was born at 10 Firwood Fold, Bolton, Lancashire to George and Betty Crompton . Samuel had two younger sisters...
of Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
)suitable for use in the manufacture of muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
. By 1781 Oldknow had entered into partnership with his brother, Thomas, and he returned to live at Anderton in 1782, expanding into the manufacture of cotton goods. The Oldknow brothers' fabrics became favoured in London, where they formed a business agreement with the merchant Samuel Salte, this was the start of his rise to great success.
Oldknow used the Putting-out system
Putting-Out system
The putting-out system was a means of subcontracting work. It was also known as the workshop system. In putting-out, work was contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who completed the work in their own facilities, usually their own homes....
of production in Anderton near Rivington, whereby raw cotton was distributed to spinners and yarn to weavers who worked in their homes and workshops. The finished cloth was then returned to Oldknow's warehouse for checking and payment. This system was not suited to muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
manufacturing due to production levels and he was forced to purchase yarn from spinners who had taken advantage of mechanised production, such as Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright
Sir Richard Arkwright , was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame — later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn...
In 1784, financed by a loan of £3,000 from Arkright, Oldknow joined the great cotton boom in 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...
. There he purchased a house, warehouse and land on Upper Hillgate from Giles Walmsley; allowing him to increase production at lower costs. Oldknow established his own steam powered spinning factory at Stockport mills at Hillgate
Kingston Mill, Stockport
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.-Location:Stockport is a...
; a smaller factory at Carrs in Stockport; a bleaching plant at Heaton Mersey
Heaton Mersey
Heaton Mersey is a suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The area is situated on the north-western border of Stockport, and is adjacent to Didsbury and Burnage which are both in Manchester....
and finishing factories at Bullock Smithy and Waterside in Disley
Disley
Disley is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located on the very edge of the Peak District, in the Goyt Valley, very close to the county boundary with Derbyshire at New Mills, and south of Stockport, Greater...
. He continued to keep warehouses at Anderton and Manchester. His Stockport enterprise soon became a huge success, with 100 weavers working for him in 1784. By 1786 he had become the foremost muslin manufacturer in Britain, with 300 skilled weavers using 500 looms at Stockport and 159 weavers at Anderton. Oldknow,s profits were £17,000 for each year in 1786 and 1787.
In 1787 Oldknow began the purchase large areas of land at Mellor where the first mill, completed in 1790, created work for 2000 people. This new mill used the first Boulton and Watt steam engine
Watt steam engine
The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum...
for turning the winding machine. The Mellor Mill was a huge brick structure six storeys high and 400 feet long. As part of its construction the River Goyt was diverted, three millponds were created and a system of tunnels, channels and wheelpits built. The millponds still remain and are now known as the "Roman Lakes".
In 1793 Oldknow opened another mill at Mellor and began actively promoting construction of the Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
and the Peak Forest Tramway
Peak Forest Tramway
The Peak Forest Tramway was an early horse- and gravity-powered industrial railway system in Derbyshire, England. Opened for trade on 31 August 1796, it remained in operation until the 1920s. Much of the route and the structures associated with the line remain...
.
Oldknow's business greatly depended on his ability to raise credit (much of which was with the Arkwright family) and it was affected when the muslin market fell, partly as a result of the outbreak of hostilities with France. This downturn resulted in Oldknow mortgaging his estates in Mellor and Marple
Marple, Greater Manchester
Marple is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt southeast of Stockport.Historically part of Cheshire, Marple has a population of 23,480 .-Toponymy:...
to Richard Arkwright Junior
Richard Arkwright Junior
Richard Arkwright junior , the son of the famous Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, was the financier of Samuel Oldknow of Marple and Mellor and a personal friend. His son Captain Arkwright married Francis Kemble, daughter of the famous theatre manager Stephen Kemble.-Biography:Richard...
for a loan of £11,000. Oldknow also had to sell the Heaton Mersey and Anderton operations. Although the Hillgate factory did not come into full production until 1793, Oldknow was by then in financial crisis. He was forced to lease Hillgate in 1794 and had sold it by 1801.
Oldknow shifted his operations to Mellor, where he pursued his interest in high farming as well as running a spinning factory. By the early 19th Century the mill had over five hundred employees, including a number of parish apprentices, who were brought up from London. The mill at Mellor was never particularly profitable, and Oldknow's debt grew, reaching £206,000 at the time of his death.
Oldknow's other business ventures included farming, coal mining and production of lime at Mellor and Marple, and he improved communications with nearby industrial centres to sell his products.
Oldknow was one of the sponsors of the Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
, which opened in 1804. He also invested in a turnpike road which went to 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...
. Oldknow's farming activities allowed him to supply his workers with milk, meat, vegetables and coal and he also built housing for the workforce. Oldknow used his own system of paper money to pay his workforce which could be exchanged for goods at the village shop or for cash via third parties, he was known as a good employer.
Oldknow was a regular worshiper at the Church of All Saints, Marple
All Saints Church, Marple
All Saints Church, Marple, is in the town of Marple, Greater Manchester, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. In the churchyard is the tower of an earlier church. This is also listed Grade II...
and is credited for raising the funds for its restoration and rebuilding work which commenced in 1808 and was completed by 1811, with continued improvements to 1816. In 1826, Oldknow donated the land for the building of its Vicarage.
Oldknow also served as High Sheriff of Derbyshire
High Sheriff of Derbyshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...
in 1824.
In his later years, Oldknow was engaged in his farming interests and, shortly before his death, became President of Derbyshire Agricultural Society. At his death his factory was mortgaged to the Arkwrights and he played a minor role in its running.
Following Oldknow's death on 18 September 1828 the factory passed to the Arkwrights. Oldknow's Factory was destroyed by fire in 1892 and although no ground level evidence still exists there are underground parts of the old mill still present. Oldknow was buried at the Church of All Saints, Marple.