ond mill, known as Roper's mill was built and this also burnt down, The fire started in the engine house. In January 1889, the "May Mill Spinning Company limited" was formed to build a new fireproof mill to replace the one destroyed. The cornerstone was laid 25 March 1889, and the engines were dedicated May 1890. They were named Louisa and Helen.
May No 1 was driven by 800 hp cross compound engine by B Goodfellow, 1892. It had a 20 ft flywheel, 24 ropes operating at 62 rpm. The boilers were 30 ft by 8 ft high-pressure Lancashire boilers. The mill was lit by electricity gernerated by a Parson's dynamo.
May No 2 was driven by a 1500 hp cross compound engine by Ashton Frost, 1901. This had a 28 ft flywheel, 34 ropes operating at 62 rpm.
In 1946 May Mill had 77,964 ring spindles, but by 1948 this had fallen to 72,984. It was re-equipped around 1950. Between 1960—1962 the mill was converted to electric ring spinning frames. The mill was eventually taken over by Courtaulds in 1962—3 to produce carpet fibre and this it continued to do until the final closure on Friday, 17 October 1980.
At the invitation of the assistant manager, Mr. Bill Crank, the Winstanleys visited May Mill in September 1980. They said
|Mons formerly Hare||Abraham Stott||Todmorden||1907||1968||61|
|Notes: Seven-storeyed steam-powered cotton-spinning mill built for the Hare Spinning Company Limited. It was constructed of red Accrington brick, designed by Abraham Stott. Stott's design utilised rolled steel columns and reinforced concrete, and was unpopular when it was first proposed. The first sod was cut on 1 June 1907.
The final cost of the mill was £218,285. There were financial and board-room problems and the mill finally opened in August 1912. A second identical mill was proposed, but never built. There was the logo of a white hare on the mill chimney. The company was wound up in 1914. The mill was bought by William Hopwood for £131,450. He sold it to the newly formed Mons Mill Company Limited and the mill was renamed Mons Mill (after the Battle of Mons). There was a later company Mons Mill (1919) Limited which took over the mill in 1919.
The mill was originally powered by an engine built by Carel Frères of Belgium which drove about 73 belts.
In the 1950s, it was bought by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation which, in 1964, was taken over by Courtaulds. In 1968, the mill closed. From 1971, the building was used by Ward & Goldstone Limited until the 1990s when they left.
In the 1970s, the mill chimney was reduced by 30 ft. In 1986, the mill chimney and the engine house were demolished. The site was cleared in March 2000.
|Notes: Now demolished and replaced with housing. It was driven by a 1400 hp inverted vertical cross compound engine by George Saxon built in 1906.|
|Newby formerly Elm Mill||Joseph Stott||Linney Lane, Shaw and Crompton||1890||125|
|Notes: Opened as Elm mill in 1890 but the name was later changed to Newby. In 1950 it was a mule spindle mill supplying mule weft and twist. In 2008, now named Shaw No 3, it is part of Littlewoods' Shaw National Distribution Centre who have adapted it for warehousing and bulk storage for their catalogue distribution operations. It's linked by a new building to Lily (No.2) mill and by a bridge to a newer building that occupies the site of Rutland mill. Signs of its cotton heritage can still be seen including its engine house with original crane system which is still largely intact.|
The 1950 mills (O–T)
|Notes: Four floors from 29493 sq ft, 9425 sq m (103,820 sq ft) in total. Driven by a George Saxon, 1250 hp engine. It weighed 22 tons and drove a 22 ft flywheel. In 1915 it had 62000 rings. In 1960 it was taken over by Ferranti, it stands (2009) in mixed industrial use and is up for sale at £1,900,000. |
|Pilot||Bury SD 812,099|
|Notes: In 2008 the mill and engine house remain, the chimney is gone. Occupied by a luggage manufacturer. Driven by 2000 hp triple-expansion four-cylinder engine by J & E Wood, 1906. 23 1⁄2-inch (600 mm) HP, 36 1⁄2-inch (930 mm) IP, two 40-inch (1,000 mm) LP X 5-foot (1.5 m) stroke. 200 p