The characters of The Mill, Series 2

2 July 2014

Esther Price (Kerrie Hayes)

*SPOILER ALERT*

 Esther Price (20) became an apprentice at Quarry Bank Mill aged 12 and now, approaching maturity at 21, she’s enjoying independence for the first time. Esther’s determined to make the most of her new-found freedom, exploring new pleasures – from the ale house to love. Though Esther can be careless, unpredictable and easily distracted, in times of crisis she’s reliable and loyal – she’s also very bright. As a result the younger apprentices often turn to her for advice, and even newly-married Susannah looks to Esther for support. Esther’s a natural rebel with a revolutionary streak founded on a strong sense of personal integrity and a concern for the welfare of others. She is prepared to risk her life for truth and freedom and to raise her fists to protect the vulnerable, but she also has a sharp sense of humour, a flirtatious nature and a desire for passion.

Esther Price is based on a real character who first entered the Quarry Bank Mill records as an apprentice in 1833. Esther finished her apprenticeship in 1838 and became a fully-fledged mill worker, sharing the cellar of the Howletts’ cottage with another family. She worked as a spinner, a reeler and – eventually – a weaver. In May 1839, Esther gave birth to an illegitimate child, William, whose father was named as William Whittaker, a shoemaker. William Price died in infancy in November 1840. Esther and Will went on to have three more sons, only two of whom survived childhood, and they eventually married in 1851. Esther died on 17 November 1861, aged 41.

Daniel Bate (Matthew McNulty)

Daniel Bate (28) is Manchester-Irish, Chief Engineer and Head of the Union at Quarry Bank. A brilliant, talented mechanic, Daniel is a natural socialist with great faith in the transforming power of technology. He’s an idealist who has seen both sides of the manufacturing divide – as a committed working men’s organiser, and as an aspiring entrepreneur. Daniel’s latest cause is Chartism and he attends meetings in Manchester, encouraging others to accompany him with passion and integrity. However, personal experience has made him bitter about political campaigning and left him with a scepticism towards John Doherty, one of Manchester’s leading political activists, though they have now put their personal differences aside. Daniel is naturally taciturn, but with a fierce temper and a keen nose for injustice. Despite his progressive social opinions, Daniel holds traditional views on gender roles, believing that wife Susannah belongs at home with the children.

Daniel Bate was a clockmaker who was bought out of debtor’s prison by Samuel Greg to work at Quarry Bank Mill in 1788. He married former apprentice Caroline Holland in 1796, and they lived in Styal for a few years before moving elsewhere. Little else is known about him, and we do not know what his political motivations were, but his ideas are representative of well-documented working-class Chartists of the time.

Miriam Catterall (Sacha Parkinson)

Miriam Catterall (19) is younger and less savvy than her sister Susannah, with a kind, generous spirit and naïve tendencies. With her quietly inquisitive attitude, Miriam is drawn to newcomer Peter who’s recently arrived at the mill from the Greg’s slave plantation in Dominica. Miriam is intrigued by Peter’s background and disregards the discriminatory attitudes of other mill workers towards their growing friendship. Fearful of reprisal, Miriam is cautious, hard-working and shies away from testing boundaries. The other girls tease her for being so compliant, but Miriam’s a great listener.

Miriam Catterall is a fictional character.

Susannah Bate (Holly Lucas)

Susannah Catterall (25) is married to Chief Engineer Daniel Bate and is a mother of three, with her first born baby the illegitimate child of William Greg. With her comparatively comfortable lifestyle, Susannah’s the envy of the mill workers. But although she loves her family, Susannah’s growing frustration with her new role as a housewife is creating tensions in her marriage. Increasingly isolated from her friends and feeling taken for granted, Susannah strikes up an unlikely new friendship with economic migrant Rebecca Howlett, despite their husbands’ mutual antipathy. Proud, with a pragmatic view of the world, Susannah’s eyes are open to the political struggle taking place for better working rights and conditions. She’s used to playing surrogate mother to many of the younger apprentices who frequently turn to her for advice.

Susannah Catterall was one of two apprentices at Quarry Bank Mill who appear in the records as having had an illegitimate child. The father of her child is unknown but Robert Hyde Greg paid for time in medical care and for the midwife, though she had to pay this back each month.

Hannah Greg (Barbara Marten)

Hannah Greg (68) was brought up within the progressive and cultured merchant class in Liverpool, with close relatives and friends who are prominent in the abolitionist movement. Marriage took her to the mill and the countryside, and away from the educated people with who she feels at home. At the mill, the harsh nature of child labour is not lost on her and, as a champion of health and education, she has established a permanent doctor and a school. She is a great supporter of the abolitionist movement to free enslaved Africans in the colonies, putting her at odds with her husband and sons. The Gregs own a plantation on the Caribbean island of Dominica which Hannah visits, returning with ex-slave-turned-apprentice Peter, who is given work at the mill. Despite her failing health, Hannah introduces Peter to Quaker abolitionist Joseph Sturge and helps him to uncover the truth about his history.

Hannah Greg was the real wife of Samuel Greg, and the character reflects her political and social convictions. But Hannah died in 1828 – five years before the first series begins, and five years before the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. Hannah had several friends who were abolitionists, and we can probably assume that she too hoped for the end of slavery. However, she left no record of her personal views and would not have publically expressed views which could have been seen as undermining her husband’s family. She never travelled outside the UK.

William Greg (Andrew-Lee Potts)

William Greg (28) is impetuous, naïve and brimming with the self-confidence of those born into privilege. He considers himself as more of a man of the people than his buttoned-up older brother Robert but still demands and expects the respect of his workers that he believes befits his status. As new master of the mill, he’s keen to make his mark on the family business and has put his youthful affair with mill worker Susannah behind him. Running a business through a recession will gradually toughen him up, and William is forced to make ruthless decisions to survive.

William Rathbone Greg never ran Quarry Bank Mill, which remained under his brother Robert’s leadership from 1834–1870. William ran his own mill, first at Bury, and then at Bollington. He was not particularly business-minded and turned his back on the mill world in 1850. There is no evidence that William was the biological father of Susannah Catterall’s child. He is remembered as an essayist of many publications about politics, economics and theology.

John Howlett (Mark Frost)

John Howlett (40) is a tough, weather-beaten farm labourer who’s recently moved his family from Bedforshire to the North in search of work in response to new hardships in the South. Strong and well-built, John’s no stranger to hard work and believes that individuals have the power to improve their own lives through application. A proud, serious man, he wholeheartedly adopts the ethos of the Poor Law Amendment Act and is keen to prove his own work ethic. John believes in discipline, hierarchy and order and has the integrity to practice what he preaches. His ambition is driven by a desire to improve the lives of his family.

The Howletts were one of the first families in 1834 to participate in the migrant scheme which saw Northern mill owners offer work to unemployed Southern rural labourers to improve the rate of the poor relief for the remaining families in that area. The Howletts lived at 5 Oak Cottages in Styal village, as did the real Esther Price, who lived in the cellar. John Howlett was a mill worker at Quarry Bank Mill for two years before becoming a labourer on the Greg estate – he was never an overlooker.

Rebecca Howlett (Laura Main)

Rebecca Howlett (35) is John’s wife. She was reluctant to leave the South, abandoning her sisters and friends, but she understands the importance of duty and accepted John’s decision as head of the family. Though Rebecca is often frustrated by John’s stubbornness, she has deep love and admiration for him and appreciates the value he places on the importance of family. Rebecca’s only brother died at Waterloo, having never seen his newborn son, and not long afterwards his grieving widow also passed away. John didn’t hesitate to save Rebecca’s orphan nephew from the workhouse by agreeing to raise him as his own. She was also grateful when John allowed her blind old father to make the journey North with them. But she secretly resents him for encouraging their oldest son Job to join the army, and she misses him enormously.

Rebecca Howlett is a fictional character. John Howlett’s wife was called Mary.

Timothy Howlett (Ewan Phillips) and Jack Howlett (Joshua Isherwood)

Timothy (13) and Jack Howlett (8) are both cheeky, lively, funny lads. They have an old-fashioned respect for their father but he’s a strict disciplinarian and his standards are hard for them to live up to. Like their mother the boys didn’t want to move North – they hate working at the mill and they miss their friends.

Timothy Howlett is a fictional character. The Howletts had two daughters and a son, Jack, who worked at the mill.

Will Whittaker (Mark Strepan)

*SPOILER ALERT*

Will Whittaker (22), a handsome apprentice shoemaker, is John and Rebecca Howlett’s nephew and has accompanied his family on their journey North in search of work. Forced to leave his sweetheart behind, Will’s determined to return home as soon as he can afford to. He’s in awe of John and painfully aware of the debt he owes the family for saving him from the workhouse. He’s also enormously loyal to his grandfather Abe, who is teaching him his trade. Will can be slow to assert himself but possesses an inner strength that emerges in times of crisis. He’s a good man with a warm sense of humour.

Abe and Will Whittaker were father and son, and were not related to the Howlett family. Will was born and raised in Styal and was a shoemaker. He and Esther started a relationship in 1838, shortly after Esther moved to the village. In May 1839, Esther Price gave birth to an illegitimate child, William Price. Will Whittaker was the father. William Price died in infancy in November 1840. Esther and Will went on to have three more sons, only two of whom survived childhood and they eventually married in 1851, following the death of his father, who we assume disapproved of their relationship. After Esther died in 1861, Will remarried, and his eldest son changed his surname back to ‘Price’.

Abe Whittaker (Dave Hill)

Abe Whittaker (70s) is a blind shoemaker, proud of his privileged position as an artisan and disdainful of manual labour – he’s disappointed that his family has been forced to enter the mill and determined to teach his grandson, Will, his trade. He’s stubborn, boastful and fiercely proud, but his bluster masks his devastation at the loss of his only son and his secret shame that, even as a skilled man, he has been poor his whole life.

Abe and Will Whittaker were father and son. They were not related to the Howlett family. We assume he disapproved of Will and Esther’s relationship as they only married after his death.

Peter Gardener (Sope Dirisu)

Peter Gardener (24) is an ex-slave turned apprentice. In Series One, Hannah Greg was challenged about the fact that she’d never seen for herself the conditions on the Greg family’s slave plantation and was accused of hypocrisy. Since then she has made the trip to Dominica and returned six months later with Peter. He is handsome, enigmatic, fit and strong. Peter’s experienced many hardships and guards his true feelings closely. Hannah Greg believes Peter agreed to come back to England with her to speak at abolitionist meetings and give his first-hand account of his experiences as an apprentice in the colonies to help end the slave system, but she doesn’t realise that Peter has his own agenda too.

Peter Gardener is a fictional character and none of the freed slaves from the Greg plantations were brought to work at Quarry Bank. The character’s name, however, was taken from an enslaved African recorded in the history books simply as ‘Peter’, who was executed for being the leader of a slave rebellion at the Greg Plantation. The character is also inspired by a Jamaican slave called James Williams, who was brought to England by Quaker abolitionist Joseph Sturge to give talks around the country.

James Windell (Justin Salinger)

James Windell (44) is a self-made man who’s fascinated by maths. At Quarry Bank he became a clerk, and then a book-keeper, before eventually becoming mill manager. Small in stature, James is the quiet, unemotional power behind the Greg family business, keeping a close eye on the facts and figures. He is William Greg’s loyal right-hand man and self-effacing adviser, but William often impetuously ignores his advice, only to regret it later. Smart, efficient, and meticulous, James can be abrupt and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. In his spare time he is writing a book called A practical treatise on the slide rule, and he is working on inventing an improvement to the existing apparatus.

James Windell is a fictional character.

George Windell (Morgan Watkins)

George Windell (24) is James’ younger half-brother. He is the Apprentice House manager and also runs the village shop while the apprentices are at work. He owes both these positions to his more intelligent brother. Aware of this, George does what he’s told and concedes to James in all matters. George is uncomfortable in authority and has a kind heart, which he is constantly struggling to conceal. He is able to empathise with the apprentices, which makes him well-liked among the young workers, despite an officious streak.

George Windell is a fictional character.

John Doherty (Aidan McArdle)

John Doherty (38) is a handsome, charismatic, Irish political organiser and pamphleteer devoted to improving the lot of the working man and woman. Doherty knows that concessions are never given, they must always be taken, and to wrest them from the hands of the powerful requires both diligence and opportunism. John Doherty is a man with plenty of both.

John Doherty was an Irish trade unionist and factory reformer. He was a cotton spinner from the age of ten in his native Ireland. He published the influential The Voice of the People and was one of the leading campaigners of the Ten Hour Movement.

Lucy Garner (Katherine Rose Morley)

When Lucy Garner (19) first arrived at Quarry Bank Mill, she was timid, sensitive and shy. Over the years, Lucy and Esther have grown as close as sisters and the friendship has given Lucy’s confidence an enormous boost, despite her deep-rooted insecurities. A wedge is driven between the girls, however, when Esther leaves the Apprentice House and forms a new bond with apprentice shoemaker Will Whittaker. This tests their friendship, but love and loyalty won’t separate them for long. In Esther’s absence, Lucy struggles to fight her own battles but eventually learns the importance of standing on her own two feet.

Lucy Garner was an apprentice at Quarry Bank Mill who is recorded as having run away with Esther Price in 1836. This suggests that the two girls were close, but little more is known of the historical character.

Mary-Ann Murphy (Shannon Metcalfe)

Mary-Ann Murphy is a young apprentice who is taken under Lucy Garner’s protective wing after losing her sister to the workhouse. The pair become surrogate sisters, in absence of their own. Lucy does what she can to protect Mary-Ann from their dormitory tormenter and nemesis, Patience. Young Mary-Ann longs to be re-united with her older sister Molly but knows this would mean returning to the workhouse.

Mary-Anne Murphy is a fictional character.

Patience Dunn (Holly Kenny)

Patience is an angry bully who delights in tormenting her fellow apprentices, but like many of them, she too has witnessed her own share of pain and suffering. She is no stranger to using violence to assert her power, but is cowed by Esther. Patience longs for the day when Esther finally comes of age and leaves the Apprentice House.

Patience Dunn is a fictional character.

Martha Price (Vicky Binns)

Martha Price is Esther’s older sister. Her arrival at the mill catches Esther off guard and puts her in a difficult position.

Martha Price is a fictional character.