National Trust background on Quarry Bank Mill

4 July 2013

Brief history of Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate

The Industrial Revolution originated in England in the late 18th century and wrought great change across the world. Its essential characteristic was an unprecedented and sustained increase in the rate of growth of manufacturing and the supporting trades and services. The speed with which the cotton industry grew was breathtaking. It grew six times faster than the population and saw an incredible pace of invention. Each machine was faster, bigger, more reliable, or produced a finer cloth than the one before.

The founding of Quarry Bank Mill

It was within this opportunistic climate of rising industry and high demand for cotton products that Samuel Greg built Quarry Bank Mill on the banks of the River Bollin at Styal in Cheshire in 1784. The mill would go on to produce cotton products for nearly 200 years.

Samuel was armed with business experience gained working for his merchant uncles in Manchester and the generous inheritance they had left him. He therefore seized the opportunity to take advantage of the desperate need for the expansion and industrialisation of the cotton industry, which was rapidly expanding.

Expanding the business

During the 1820s the Mill was doing so well that Samuel was able to expand not only Quarry Bank Mill but was able to construct five other cotton spinning and weaving mills, employing more than 2,000 people, including his four sons who joined him in the family business.

By 1860 Quarry Bank Mill had become the headquarters of one of the largest cotton manufacturing businesses in Britain – an empire of five mills at the heart of ‘Cottonopolis’ (Manchester – the hub of Britain’s cotton industry).

With his ever increasing business Samuel needed an increasingly large workforce. He built cottages in Styal Village for his workers, and the village expanded to include two chapels, a school, a shop, a farm, and a pub.

The Apprentices

Over half of the Greg’s workforce was made up of poor and orphaned children. The Apprentice House had been built by 1790 by Samuel to house them, and was designed to be home to 90 children who were cared for by a series of husband and wife superintendents.

The Apprentice House has a rich history of runaways, accidents and punishments, as well as success stories and the reputation of providing a greater standard of care for its young charges than other mills of the time.

The children were provided with quality medical care by the Greg family doctor, Dr Peter Holland. They also received a basic education three nights a week in writing and maths, with the boys progressing further than the girls, who were expected to learn housekeeping skills such as sewing. The Gregs gave prizes to the apprentices for their achievements.

In terms of punishing bad behaviour, rather than resorting to corporal punishment, the usual reprimands included working overtime, girls were threatened with shaved heads and, for more serious offences, the apprentices were locked in a room for a few days at a time with only porridge to eat and no bread, as in the case of Esther Price.

The Quarry Bank Appeal

Earlier this year a £1.4 million appeal was launched to raise funds to complete the restoration of Quarry Bank Mill and digitise its enormous archive. To date the appeal has raised over £400,000 and a recent first round bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for support was also successful, meaning the restoration project can now begin to get underway.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank-mill/donate-now/

Further Resources:

The National Trust: Quarry Bank Mill website:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank-mill/

The National Trust: Quarry bank Mill- GCSE Resource pack: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1349107091038&ssbinary=true

David Sekers’ book: A Lady of Cotton: Hannah Greg, Mistress of Quarry Bank Mill is published by The History Press

 

For National Trust Press Office, contact Alison Dalby, Senior Press Officer 01793 817780  or 07824 418351 alison.dalby@nationaltrust.org.uk

For enquiries about Quarry Bank Mill contact Debbie Peers on 07887 630218 Debbie.Peers@nationaltrust.org.uk