BYGONE INDUSTRIES OF THE PEAK: BOBBIN MILLS
This is one of a series of articles published in
The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper, on 16th June 1997 (p5), and
reproduced by kind permission of its author, Julie Bunting.
The series is now available as a fully-illustrated paperback, published in 2006
by
Wildtrack Publishing of Sheffield (ISBN 1-904098-01-0) See also this
Review by Alan Jacques.
BYGONE INDUSTRIES OF THE PEAK: BOBBIN MILLS
The production of wooden bobbins was a spin-off from the textile
industry. Yarn or thread was wound onto these cylindrical spools,
to be unwound in a smooth continuous movement during the
weaving process. A large cotton-spinning mill would have several
million bobbins in use day and night, giving rise to a constant
demand for the replacement of those which became broken and
damaged.
Bobbins were made from coppice wood and invariably manufactured
in a water-powered mill close to the timber source. The new wood
had to be dried and so was stored in drying sheds before use.
Inside the mill the turning machinery and lathes might also be
put to making other cylindrical wooden items such as tool handles
and cotton reels. As with bobbins, a smooth finish was essential
and production was finalised at the polishing section.
A specific type of bobbin, very narrow and about 4" long, was
used in making pillow or bobbin lace, a speciality in the
Middleton/Youlgreave area during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Lace-making bobbins were commonly made from fruit tree wood or
bone, weighted at one end with a circle of beads threaded onto
wire. Many bobbins were in use on one piece of work and the
addition of flat sided beads stopped them rolling about on the
pillow while lying idle. A bobbin-net machine for lace-making was
invented around 1803. Old pillow lace bobbins have become so
popular with antique collectors that wooden reproductions are on
sale.
Manufacture of the larger, commercial bobbins was often carried
out within easy distance of major customers. Hence on the western
outskirts of the Peak, the textile mills of Mellor supported a
number of bobbin turners throughout most of the 19th century.
Twelve were listed in the census of 1850, one of whom, Jesse
Stafford, was still in business twenty years later when he
employed eight men and five boys.
In the early 19th century a bobbin mill was recorded at Lumsdale
near Matlock, possibly that owned by Edward Radford who ran it in
conjunction with a large spinning and candlewick mill a short
distance away. At Bradwell the Fox family manufactured weavers'
shuttles for cottage looms which were once numerous in the
village. Around 1795 a venture known as Wightman's bobbin factory
was established at Fritchley but the original building was burnt
out in 1885, leaving a dam and mill tail to mark the site.
RECONSTRUCTION
The existence of Lumford Mill at Bakewell, which functioned as a
cotton mill until the end of the 19th century, may support the
local tradition that bobbins formed the early output of a mill in
Ashford Dale. Built in the 1870s as a water-powered saw and
wood-turning mill, it stands on the river Wye and comprises a
small complex of buildings which together house three
water-wheels. Operated by the Frost family, the mill went on to
produce carts and wheelbarrows. for self assembly.
Reconstruction of Ashford Mill was begun in 1977 by the Arkwright
Society with the cooperation of the owners, the Trustees of the
Chatsworth Settlement. Joint funding from the Chatsworth Estate
and the Peak Park Planning Board has enabled the Arkwright
Society to undertake renovation of the water-wheels. One of these
is a rare survivor of a type with ventilated buckets, an advanced
design which enabled air to escape as the buckets were filled
with water, thus improving performance. Housed in a separate
small building is the Sheldon wheel, so named because it drove
the pump taking drinking water from Pot Boil spring up to the
village of Sheldon. The system was in operating between the 1880,
and 1950s.
The Arkwright Society has also undertaken refurbishment of
Slinter Cottage in the Via Gellia. Standing on Bonsall Brook the
building is believed to have been built between 1800 and 1830,
probably as a slag mill, and still has its water wheel. The
subsequent installation of wood turning machinery and evidence
of coppicing in the area suggests bobbin production - the
building is only a short distance from the former cotton mills
at Cromford. In its later working life the little mill functioned
as a wood turning and saw mill, with domestic accommodation on
the upper floor.
Prior to its purchase by the Arkwright Society in 1991, Slinter
Cottage had been maintained and preserved for fifty years by its
lady owner. When it was put up for sale, at £65,000, its
historical significance attracted a contribution of £55,000
from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Further financial
assistance came from the Zochonis Trust and the Alan Evans
Memorial Trust.
A public footpath passes close to Slinter cottage (SK293570),
while the Ashford Mill site (SK182896) is a point of interest
for walkers using footpaths along the river west of Ashford.
© Julie Bunting
From "The Peak Advertiser", 16th June 1997.
© Copyright Julie Bunting, GENUKI and Contributors 1995-2008, &c.
GENUKI is a registered trade mark of the charitable trust GENUKI, see
About GENUKI as an Organisation
Are you lost in the Genuki hierarchy or arrived here from a Search Engine?
If so, use the up-arrow(s) at the top of the page to go up the hierarchy.
URL of this page: http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DBY/BygoneIndustries/BobbinMills.html
[Created 8 May 2003. Last updated 24 Oct 2008 - 11:24 by Rosemary Lockie]
