Summary
A well-preserved and rare example of a mid-C19 Lancashire integrated cotton spinning and weaving mill complex.
Reasons for Designation
Britannia Mill, an integrated cotton spinning and weaving mill of 1845-6 with alterations of the 1860s and 1890s, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date and rarity: as a relatively early purpose-built integrated Lancashire cotton weaving and spinning mill, of which only 15 remain substantially complete;
* Survival: for the completeness of its complex, including substantial in situ remnants of the power transmission system;
* Technological interest: in particular for the range of different bearing designs throughout the power transmission system, and the design of the trusses in the weaving shed, illustrating changes in typical mill building technology.
History
Britannia Mill was established as a purpose-built integrated cotton spinning and weaving mill in 1845-6 by Henry and Joshua Maden, cotton manufacturers of Dulesgate and proprietors of the adjacent Hogshead Colliery. The complex was named Mount Pleasant Mill on the Ordnance Survey first edition 1:10,560 map surveyed in 1844-7. It appears as a single block without a separate weaving shed; its layout meant that powered looms could also be placed within the mill, and documentary sources support this. This map also shows the stream that was culverted beneath the later mill buildings and fed the reservoir to the N of New Line, that is shown on the 1893 1:2,500 map (at which time the mill had given its name to the surrounding settlement and nearby railway station). Some of the houses in the immediate vicinity were erected for workers in the mill, including 141-183 New Line and those on Nelson, Sutcliffe, William and Ernest streets.
The mill, then known as Brandwood Mill, was advertised for sale in 1856, and taken over by the Britannia Cotton Mill Company Ltd, the shareholders being Joshua Lord, Richard Smith and William Sutcliffe. A warehouse was added in 1865, and a new engine house in 1868. Between 1868-70, offices, a piece room, a weaving shed and preparation rooms were added. The detached warehouse on the opposite side of Deansgreave Road was the last work of this phase. In March 1886, the mill sustained a large fire and was repaired with insurance monies. It was sold as a going concern in September 1905, operating intermittently until 1915, when The Britannia Mill Company was formed. In 1923, the mill was taken over by the Deansgreave Manufacturing Company and then bought by the Lancashire Sock Company in 1926, but was not working when further fires occurred in 1930 and 1931. By May 1933, the weaving shed was occupied by Messrs Gaskell & Co, felt manufacturers. Gaskells moved out in 1990. The Lancashire Sock Company currently produces synthetic coated insoles for shoes at the mill.
The mill was powered originally by a 30hp beam engine supplied by John Petrie of Rochdale, who also supplied a boiler rated for a 40hp engine in May 1846. Further Petrie engines were installed in 1860, 1868 and 1895. In 1897, the mill closed for nearly a month while a 500hp twin beam engine was installed to replace the Petrie engines. Three new Lancashire boilers supplied by Joseph Foster & Sons of Preston were purchased at the same time.
In 1851, 168 operatives were employed at the mill, which housed 2240 mule spindles, 3064 and 1200 hand mule spindles, 146 cloth and 38 sheeting looms. By 1879, the mill housed 18,000 spindles and 400 looms. In 1891 (five years after the first fire) the mill housed only 12,000 spindles and 400 looms. By 1922, the mill housed 20,000 ring spindles, with spinning and doubling being carried out.
Various minor additions and demolitions have taken place since the late C19 including the addition and removal of a large brick dust tower to the weaving shed, and erection and removal of single storey buildings in the SW corner of the site.
Details
Integrated cotton spinning and weaving mill of 1845-6 with alterations of the 1860s and 1890s.
MATERIALS: mainly local yellow sandstone, squared and laid to courses. Welsh slate roofs.
PLAN: the mill faces onto New Line to the N, and is bound to the S by the disused Rochdale-Bacup railway line and to the E by a row of terraced houses and modern industrial/commercial property. The extant buildings comprise: a four-storey spinning block of water-shot and random masonry, with gables to New Line and a single-storey office to the W; a two-storey preparation and cloth warehouse to the E; a ten-bay weaving shed to the rear of the warehouse block, incorporating an engine house; a square chimney between the weaving shed and spinning block; and a two storey warehouse to the W of Deansgreave Road. To the N of New Line is a stone-lined reservoir with sluices, fed by a stream that is culverted beneath the mill, and which supplied the boilers.
SPINNING BLOCK:
EXTERIOR
The spinning block is a 13 x 5 bay rectangular structure measuring approximately 138 x 76 feet (42.1 x 23.2m), the stone walls laid in water-shot style using a lime mortar. Typically, the windows are large rectangular openings, with replacement timber units. Each window has a plain flush stone surround, with a projecting sill. The roof is of slate with some glazing in the valley.
The N elevation has two equal gables. At the left are three second-floor windows and, between these, two ground-to-first-floor arched windows, the left hand one altered to a loading door. Between the two tall engine-house windows is a blocked rectangular opening with heavy stone block surrounds, originally for the framing of the internal steam engine. To the right are three vertical rows of openings; four windows at the left, to the right-of-centre an arched doorway with two loading doors above, and at the right, three unevenly-spaced windows. The first-floor loading door has a projecting steel beam, and above the second-floor door is an iron hoisting point. These two openings have complete stone surrounds, and there are numerous structural ties across the elevation. At the right is a single-storey lean-to with a quoined, arched doorway and a canted bay window.
Returning to the right the W elevation has regularly-spaced windows across three floors and the exposed basement, with the exception of the two left-hand first-floor bays which are blind. The central bay has fire doors in the openings leading onto an ornate five-stage iron fire escape initialled ‘AS Co’ in the spandrels of the brackets supporting each landing. Basement doors are found in bays 6 and 13. On the ground-floor, bays 1-4 (from the left) are obscured by the single-storey lean-to. This is in two parts, of coursed stone at the left with three large rectangular windows (including two four-light timber sliding-sashes), and a small high-level window, with a square cast-iron rainwater pipe. The right-hand part is dashed, with two large four-light timber sliding-sash windows in stone-quoined surrounds, a small basement window, stone quoins and stone gutter corbels. The roof is of slate, smaller to the right and larger at the left.
The S elevation is built in uncoursed sandstone rubble with flush sills and has five equally-spaced windows across each of the ground, first and second floors, and in the basement, stone-blocked openings within the western three bays and bricked-up eastern openings.
The E elevation is partially obscured by adjacent buildings, but has a window to the centre of each of its ten exposed bays, on each of its four floors, except for an inserted ground-floor doorway in Bay 7, and a blocked doorway in bay 9. Bay 11 is concealed externally by a later brick lift shaft, and bays 12 and 13 are abutted by the preparation block.
INTERIOR
A substantial cross wall divides the northern two bays from the rest of the floor, at ground-and-first-floor levels. Circulation is via a N-S corridor accessed from the doorway in the right-hand front gable. There is an internal stair tower to the W of this, with a quarter-turn stone stair, and separate stairs to the basement. The corridor ramps upwards to the ground floor, with double doors through the cross wall. The original engine house in the ground and first floor behind the left-hand front gable now has modern subdivisions, but retains evidence for the engine-deck level, framing for a steam engine and transmission of power from this house to the spinning floors. The construction is of hollow circular cast-iron columns (some with ornate spandrel brackets) supporting exposed timber beams and ceiling joists, and timber floors (a rubber floor covering has been applied to the basement and first floor). At basement level a tunnel runs to the western warehouse, accessed from bay 2 of the W wall, and probably lit by the low-level window in the western lean-to. There is considerable evidence for power transmission, with unusually-placed line shaft hanger fixings, wall-mounted bearing boxes, in-situ line-shafting with rope-wheels and an integral top-end bearing in one of the attic columns. The attic has only one central row of columns, and is boarded below the rafters. The trusses are of composite king-bolt type, with the principal rafters mounted in cast-iron shoes, and with two diagonal struts. The interior of the front portion of the lean-to was not accessible, but the rear portion retains office fittings and timber panelling to the window reveals.
WAREHOUSE AND PREPARATION BLOCK:
EXTERIOR
The principal N elevation is of roughly squared and coursed sandstone blocks, varying in size and colour between different parts of the elevation, with slate roofs. The block is of two storeys with varying eaves height, and at the extreme right it abuts the spinning block. At the left is a taller 10-bay preparation block with large rectangular windows (two with stone transoms), and loading doors to both floors in bay 6, the first-floor door retaining a wrought-iron railing and timber roller shutter. There is a long continuous rooflight across this pitch. To the right is an infill bay which is blind at first floor and has a central ground-floor loading door, with partly-blocked basement door at the right. To the right of this are four equal bays with windows at ground and first floor, and two wide sliding basement doors. In the three right-hand bays there is a third sliding basement door and a smaller pedestrian door, and above these, non-aligned ground and first-floor loading doors, and two ground-floor windows with larger first-floor windows aligned above them.
The E gable elevation is of similar construction to the N and has a first-floor loading doorway, blocked in two phases with stone and brick, with a monolithic sandstone surround, and a cast-iron pulley wheel housing in the wall above. There are also a brick-blocked ground-floor doorway and small brick-blocked apertures below the loading door, and a tall modern loading entrance with steel roller shutter. To the left of this elevation is the single-storey gable of a rear extension to the preparation block. This is obscured at ground level by a later brick lean-to, but the visible area is of coursed sandstone, with raised stone copings.
The S elevation is obscured at basement and ground-floor levels by abutting buildings. The left-hand six bays are set back, with first-floor windows. The projecting bays to the right are externally rendered, and blind at the left where the ridge is at the same level as the left-hand bays. The taller section to the right has a central hoist-tower, externally clad in roofing felt and timber battens, with two equally-spaced windows to either side. There is a long continuous rooflight in this pitch. The S elevation of the preparation block extension is abutted by the weaving shed, but its southern roof pitch also has a continuous rooflight.
INTERIOR
The interiors of the (lower) warehouse are continuous at ground and first floor, with a cross-wall in the basement aligned with one of the original construction breaks. The walls are unrendered but painted, with timber floors except for the basement which has concrete. There is a stone staircase in the NW corner, and timber beams with cast-iron columns. Blocked large round-arched openings in the S wall indicate the position of former boiler-houses. There is some evidence for power transmission in the form of cast-iron bearing boxes and trimmers. The roof is of similar form to the spinning block, but underdrawn at rafter level with hardboard, and with some shipping and assembly marks. In the (taller) preparation block the roof is of steel lattice trusses and the first floor has no columns, while the rest of the construction is similar to the warehouse and spinning blocks.
WEAVING SHED:
EXTERIOR
The ground rises slightly to the SE, and the S elevation and lower portions of the E elevation are thus partly obscured. The N elevation abuts the preparation and warehouse block, and the W elevation is largely obscured by a modern infill covering the yard between the spinning and weaving blocks. Where visible however the walls are constructed of random sandstone rubble, with a very slight batter. The W parapet wall has multiple asymmetrical flat-topped gables, reflecting the north-light multi-span roof behind. High-level cast-iron plates mark internal fixings for bevel gears. The E wall has a flat-topped brick parapet, with a wide external cast-iron gutter.
INTERIOR
The weaving shed is of rough sandstone rubble internally, but with the S and E walls having a single-skin brick facing at the lowest three inches (0.91m) of the wall, capped by an in-situ timber dado rail for part of the S wall, and below a rendered wall above. The shed has ten transverse bays, all of eleven feet (3.35m) width with the exception of the north-central bay, which is fifteen feet (4.57m) wide and has a symmetrical pitched roof of similar height to the adjacent bays. The longitudinal bays vary from twenty-one feet (6.40m) to twenty-three feet (7.01m) wide. The roof is carried on hollow cylindrical cast-iron columns, with the fourth row from the S end of the shed having been removed completely. Iron straining rods between columns effectively form tie beams to the timber trusses above. The roof itself is of asymmetrical design, in all but the north-central longitudinal bay, with a glazed steeper north pitch. Its construction is somewhat unusual, comprising a mixture of iron and timber members and channel-section valley beams with rectangular-section principal timber rafters. The N pitches have continuous glazing bands comprising three-light timber panels placed between each principal rafter. The S pitches are sealed in almost every instance by lateral timber plank cladding, but beneath this in some areas are lath and plaster ceilings. The wider bay has a symmetrical roof. There is considerable evidence for power transmission, including a wall-head aperture with large dressed sandstone block surround and a number of ornate cast-iron pilasters rebated within the wall to carry line shafting, one of which retains its bearing plate.
ENGINE HOUSE:
EXTERIOR
The engine house of 1868 stands within the NW corner of the weaving shed. It is of sandstone construction, two storeys high, with a slate roof that is hipped to the E and gabled to the W. Above the weaving shed roof, the E elevation has a large round-arched window, blocked with brick. The S elevation has a blocked beam socket and two bearing boxes. The W wall is built of large squared blocks to the left, and sandstone rubble to the right, with the gable in brick. The N elevation is concealed behind a lean-to roof.
INTERIOR
Internally the N elevation has largely been removed but in the remaining stub walls at either side are large bearing boxes and the jamb and springing for a full-height arched opening. Also retained are wall-head cast-iron cross beams, timber-panelled reveals to the high-level window, and a timber water gauge. The engine bed has been removed and a concrete floor laid. To the N the interiors of the economiser retain brick flues capped with sandstone flags.
CHIMNEY:
This is square in plan and survives to full height, tapering to the top which is coped. It is constructed in coursed sandstone blocks finished externally in rock-faced style with tooled margins, with iron bands at regular intervals.
WESTERN WAREHOUSE:
Separated from the rest of the complex by Deansgreave Road this comprises a sandstone rubble 8 x 5 bay single-storey warehouse with a basement, with projecting quoins to each elevation and a double-span Welsh slate roof with long glazing bands on the inner pitch of both spans. The N elevation has a wide, quoined loading doorway at the left with a substantial cast-iron lintel. To the right are four ground-floor windows and four basement windows, the centre two with lower lintels. The roof is hipped. On the E return are similar windows but with basement lights only in the left-hand six bays, taller at either end and in the third bay from the left. The S elevation is partly obscured by abutting single storey buildings, but has vertical gables. The W elevation is blind. A tunnel from the spinning block affords access under Deansgreave Road into the fourth bay from the N end of the basement. The interior was not inspected.
RESERVOIR:
To the N of New Line, the reservoir is trapezoidal in plan and still in water. It is stone-lined with sluices in the SW corner, where the stream which feeds it emerges from the culvert under the mill.
