Dane Mills Bosley

R Pownall Chris

Description

This book provides an industrial and social history of the people and business activities at two mills in rural Cheshire, known as 'Dane Mills Bosley'.This is where author Chris R. Pownall served his engineering apprenticeship between 1959 and 1966. The very fond memories of that period have prompted him to write about the culture, as well as the industrial processes in operation at that time.There is a brief over-view of the history of the mills, which date back to the mid-eighteenth century. They were originally constructed by the famous industrialist Charles Roe, who engaged the services of engineer, James Brindley, to harness waterpower from the nearby River Dane and Bosley Brook.The mills have been used for different purposes, beginning with the refining of copper and brass into sheet and wire. Textile manufacturing, both silk and cotton followed on from the metallurgical processes, and more recently, the mills have been engaged in the grinding of various products and materials, ranging from corn in the beginning, to a wide range of organic fibres in the present day.Chris has focused upon the people employed at the mills during his time, listing most of their names, and recording stories about fellow workers, that have remained in his memory after all this time.The book will appeal to those interested in local history as well as followers of our industrial heritage, over a period of two and half centuries.Inevitably, in works by this author, there is humour as well as a more serious record of Chris' apprenticeship as a fitter, plus a short period in the drawing office.Book reviews online @ www.publishedbestsellers.com

Sujets

• Histoire
• Manufacturing
• History
• Cheshire

Informations

• Publié par: Pneuma Springs Publishing
• Date de parution: 21 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781782281764
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Dane Mills Bosley

An industrial and social history of Dane Mills, Bosley


Chris R. Pownall
First Published in 2012 by: Pneuma Springs Publishing
Dane Mills Bosley Copyright © 2012 Chris R. Pownall
Chris R. Pownall has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work
Pneuma Springs British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Pownall, Chris R., 1943- Dane Mills Bosley. 1. Dane Mills Bosley--History. 2. Dane Mills Bosley-- Employees--History. 3. Mills and mill-work--England-- Cheshire--History. 4. Pownall, Chris R., 1943- --Career in engineering. I. Title 338.7'67'094271-dc23
Kindle eISBN-13: 9781782281245 ePub eISBN 9781782281764 PDF eBook eISBN 9781782281184 Paperback ISBN: 9781907728402
Pneuma Springs Publishing E: [e-mail] W: www.pneumasprings.co.uk

Published in the United Kingdom. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher.
Acknowledgments
I wish to extend my grateful thanks to the following individuals who have kindly assisted in some of the preparation and research for this book: - Andrew Lowden George Bowden David Thompstone Violet Shingler Robert Shingler Johnnie McCurrie Brian Thompson Maurice Goodwin John Pickford Norman Edwards Cynthia Edwards Daisy Kirk Geoff Lovatt Preston Shaw Malcolm Belfield Janet Bailey Harry Hodgkinson Rachel Burton – Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd Peter Green (NSRC) The author and publisher wish to extend their grateful thanks to the (NSRC) ‘North Staffordshire Railway Company (1978) Limited’ for their kind permission to reproduce some of their photographs on pages 9, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 81 in this publication. The author and publisher wish to extend their grateful thanks to Mr David Thompstone, and to Wood Treatment Ltd for their kind permission to reproduce some of their photographs on pages 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 28, 30, 83, 92, 98, 99, 104, 107, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137 & 139 in this publication.
Foreword
This book is dedicated to those who worked at Dane Mills Bosley between 1959 and 1966. During this period, I was an employee serving an engineering apprenticeship, followed by a couple of years, working in the drawing office.
I have very fond memories of Dane Mills and I wished to recapture the culture of the place, by relating some stories about fellow workers, the owners/management at the time, and the production operations taking place.
The mills have a long history going back to the mid-eighteenth century, when they were constructed by local industrialist, Charles Roe and his partners. I have provided a brief overview of the history, leading to the period of my employment.
I have endeavoured to record the plant and machinery in operation at the time I was there, as many of the equipment manufacturers are no longer in business, or, they have moved their manufacturing business offshore.
Bosley village, and in particular Higher Works and Lower Works, was a close-knit community, and I have recorded the residents that occupied the mill cottages, during the period of my employment.
The quality of life was good in those days, and although we worked long hours in somewhat dirty and noisy conditions, we were a happy bunch, who had considerable respect for the management and supervisory teams.
They were formative years for me, where I learnt a lot, not only about mechanical engineering, but social skills of team working, and having respect for others.
Whilst we had lots of fun, we were committed to our work, and put in a fair day’s work, for a fair day’s pay.
The memory of this industrial environment, plus the surrounding community, has stayed with me all these years. I hope my recollections of how it was, will portray a true and accurate representation, of the history and heritage of Dane Mills, Bosley.
1. History of the Mills

The two mills located at Tunstall Road in the small Cheshire village of Bosley, date back to the mid-eighteenth century. Local industrialist Charles Roe and his partners constructed them around 1760 and initially, they were built to refine copper and brass that was produced at a nearby smelting plant, also owned by Charles Roe.
Prior to the construction of these mills, Charles Roe had an established textile business with a number of silk mills situated in Macclesfield.
He also had numerous copper and lead mines, and began smelting copper and brass at Macclesfield Common in 1758.
The Charles Roe mills in Bosley village were built on the banks of the River Dane, on land leased from General Charles Stanhope, the 3 rd Earl of Harrington.
Situated approximately half a mile apart, they were named Higher Works and Lower Works.
There were a number of cottages built in close proximity to both mills, intended as rental accommodation for local mill workers.

Charles Roe employed the famous water engineer James Brindley to provide waterpower to each of the two mills, from the nearby River Dane. Both mills had a water storage pool, fed direct from the river. The mill pool at Higher Works was also fed from a smaller river named Bosley Brook.
Two weirs were constructed on the River Dane, to provide a sufficient head of water. One situated two thirds of a mile upstream from Higher Works, and another, adjacent to the Higher Works Mill.
Water from the upstream weir flowed to the Higher Works mill pool by means of a leat. There were two penstock sluice gates located along the two thirds of a mile long leat, which could be used to regulate the head of water, as well as provide a facility for complete drainage of the leat feeder.
Both weirs on the River Dane were of stone construction with hinged wooden planks mounted on the top. These planks were held upright by steel chains anchored to the weir wall, by small steel fasteners. In the event of excessively high river water, the securing fasteners were designed to shear, thus allowing the wooden planks to fall forward, thereby lowering the head of water, and reducing the likelihood of flooding.
The mill pool at Higher Works was approximately 150ft long x 100ft wide x 15/20ft deep, with a storage capacity of approximately 2m gallons of water. This backed up by the leat, provided an adequate water supply to power several water wheels, used for driving the mill machinery.
When Bosley Brook was in full flow, its contribution to the mill pool was sufficient to drive a single water wheel.
The weir at Higher Works provided a head of water that was ducted partially underground to the mill pool at Lower Works.
There is no remaining evidence of the actual location of the water wheels at Higher Works, except from the tailraces that provide some indication of where they might have been situated.
At Lower Works, there is evidence where a single water wheel was located, and from the configuration of the fall race, it was an over shot design water wheel.
In the mid-eighteenth century, water wheels were a very common means of providing mechanical power to drive machinery.
Engineers were able to evaluate the theoretical power from a river, by means of a simple calculation.
The theoretical power available is a function of the volume of water, its flow rate, and the available head of water.
When the force of gravity and a factor for mechanical efficiency have been taken into account, this calculation can readily provide an engineer with a value for actual potential energy that can be harnessed from a typical river such as the Dane, flowing through the village of Bosley.

The rolling machines would have been very basic, probably comprising one set of adjustable steel rolls, that were counter rotated, to squeeze the copper, and thereby reduce its thickness.



Copper sheet was in great demand during the second half of the eighteenth century, commonly used by ship builders for sheathing the hull bottoms of merchant and naval ships, constructed from timber. The copper served to reduce the amount of deterioration of the timbers, from attack by shipworm, and various marine weeds.
Apart from this important application, there were many other requirements for copper and brass products and components.

The Mills were sold in 1801 and again in 1806, when other manufacturing processes were introduced.
In addition to the original non-ferrous metallurgical processes at both Bosley Mills, there followed silk throwing, cotton spinning, and wood turning, at some stage in their history.

In 1855 both Mills were converted into corn mills and records show that in 1860, they were occupied by three corn millers, and a silk, throwster.

Transportation links were developing with the opening of the nearby Macclesfield Canal, which passed through Bosley village, connecting the Peak Forest Canal at Marple, to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove. This meant goods could be transported by canal barge to Bosley, from the ports of Liverpool and Manchester.

Due to the incline terrain, a total of 12 locks had to be constructed on the Bosley section of the Macclesfield Canal, and to provide adequate water for these locks, a reservoir having a capacity of 402 million gallons of water, was constructed in Bosley village. The reservoir was completed in 1829 with the Macclesfield Canal opening two years later in 1831.
A rail link from Macclesfield to the Potteries was opened in June 1846 and a station was constructed in close proximity to the mill at Higher Works.



I can recall Mr Boden being the stationmaster during 1950/60s and he and his wife Martha, plus Leslie Boulton, their son from Martha’s first marriage, resided at the Station House, located a few hundred yards away, close to the Methodist Chapel.
There were a number of signalmen, but the only one I have a clear memory of, was Charlie Burns. He and his wife lived in one of the