Once upon a time the textile mill was a common feature of our towns and villages providing work and acting as a feature which defined the place it was set.
They date back to the very early years of the Industrial Revolution, worked wool, cotton and silk and a fair few still survive today.
That said many more have been demolished or linger on as empty and forlorn reminders of a lost way of work with a few chopped up and used for smaller businesses.
The lucky ones have been restored and provide stylish homes often in the heart of cities so helping fuel the return to inner city life.
During the last couple of decades there have been valiant efforts to record the history and the appearance of these buildings. They range from learned studies to short accounts limited to the date they were built, closed and their location.
Now what makes Peter’s contribution different is that he has painted them, and armed with that image I have dug into the records to come up with a few short descriptions.
And given that I am not an expert I openly confess to trawling the net for information which if it is wrong I am sure will be corrected.
So here are the first two in the series.
Butts Mill in Leigh was built in 1905 to to the designs of Stott and Sons.
"The six-storey mill has a steel frame faced with red brick and a flat roof.
It has an ornate tower with a terracotta Arts and Crafts details and parapet and is topped by a copper dome and finial.
The mill was used for carding on the lower three floors and spinning on the upper. The carding floors have large nine-light rectangular windows separated by narrow brick piers while the spinning floors have narrower windows and brick panels.
The mill's hoist tower is a single window wide capped by the mill's name BUTTS in white tiles. It was designed as a double mill but only half was built."*
Brookside Mill Leigh was a "weaving shed on Charles Street owned by Gamble and Smith who also owned Welch Mill. In 1891 it housed 832 looms.
After closing the property was used for light engineering."*
Paintings; Quarry Bank, Butts Mill & Brookside Mill, © Peter Topping, 2013, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook: Paintings from Pictures
* List of mills in Wigan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mills_in_Wigan#Bedford.2C_Leigh
 |
| Quarry Bank Styal, retored and now a museum |
That said many more have been demolished or linger on as empty and forlorn reminders of a lost way of work with a few chopped up and used for smaller businesses.
The lucky ones have been restored and provide stylish homes often in the heart of cities so helping fuel the return to inner city life.
During the last couple of decades there have been valiant efforts to record the history and the appearance of these buildings. They range from learned studies to short accounts limited to the date they were built, closed and their location.
 |
| Butts Mill, Leigh |
And given that I am not an expert I openly confess to trawling the net for information which if it is wrong I am sure will be corrected.
So here are the first two in the series.
Butts Mill in Leigh was built in 1905 to to the designs of Stott and Sons.
"The six-storey mill has a steel frame faced with red brick and a flat roof.
It has an ornate tower with a terracotta Arts and Crafts details and parapet and is topped by a copper dome and finial.
 |
| Brookside Mill, Leigh |
The mill's hoist tower is a single window wide capped by the mill's name BUTTS in white tiles. It was designed as a double mill but only half was built."*
Brookside Mill Leigh was a "weaving shed on Charles Street owned by Gamble and Smith who also owned Welch Mill. In 1891 it housed 832 looms.
After closing the property was used for light engineering."*
Paintings; Quarry Bank, Butts Mill & Brookside Mill, © Peter Topping, 2013, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook: Paintings from Pictures
* List of mills in Wigan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mills_in_Wigan#Bedford.2C_Leigh
No comments:
Post a Comment